Adding spices to the cure- a waste of taste?

[Geir Widar]

I’m about to start yet another bacon cure, and I’ve finally found the time to make this thread. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.

I’ve been making salted cured pork belly for many years, and after getting the WSM, and joining the forum, I’ve tried to add spices to the mix, and started cold and hot smoking as well.
I have tried garlic, basil, cumin, and a few other dried plants, mainly borrowed from the Mediterranean kitchen. I’ve also used brown sugar as well as pure maple sugar.
Now, I have a strong feeling that I end up with a product that tastes as, well, bacon.

That’s great, and my guests and relatives think the taste is great, it’s far better than anything you can buy in the store.
As far as I can see, it is not a fantastic achievement, as long as most of the store bought bacon is unsmoked, the smoke taste is artificial.

Stepping down from my soapbox, do you have the same thoughts? Or can you clearly tell a distinct taste of basil and maple sugar in the final product if you add the two ingredients?

I would love to answer “yes”, but I’m afraid that would be a lie. My bacon does not simply “respond” to added spices the way I would like. I usually cure my bacon four to seven days.

The most important part is that it is delicious. Any thoughts?

These spices become more of a sort of feature, such as telling people “I’ve cured the belly with different herbs and pure maple sugar” Sounds great, but if no one can taste a difference, it becomes a verbal show- off, and nothing else.
Since there is no taste from the herbs, I might as well try let’s say banana, coconut and macadamia nut bacon.

 

[Bob Correll]

I've never been able to taste any flavors added to the cure, only when added (pressed or rubbed in) before smoking.
I was very pleased with my cinnamon and pepper bacon.
But then again, I don't have the most refined of taste buds.

 

[Pete in PG]

Well.... I'm a complete bacon NOOB and have my first 2.5 lb slab of pork belly curing in the fridge. I'm looking forward to adding this to my repertoire of good eats.

 

[GreggP]

I have definitely tasted some good and not so good things that I've added to the cure.

Garlic - You can taste it....And it is good.
Pickling spice - You can taste it....And it's kind of gross.

 

[Mike Leiter]

I use a pepper and spice blend that I put on with the cure and it gets rinsed off before drying. I don't put anymore on it when smoking but it definitively adds the flavors to the bacon.
The maple ones I did had a hint of the maple but nothing like the spice one does.
The spice version has pepper, fennel seed, caraway seed, rosemary, thyme and basil along with some peppercorns all ground up and smeared on with cure. Its my families favorite one so far.

 

[Russ Sylvester]

I'm with Bob. I've only done a few sessions of bacon so far, but I've found that I either have to really overload the spices during the cure or add a little after the cure and before smoking to get the distinct flavor I'm trying for. I thought it was me, that my taste buds were shot from all the competition stuff that I do.

Russ

 

[Geir Widar]

Adding spices after curing is a different cup of tea. I have noe problem with that. It can give a great spesific flavor.

It's just that I've seen numerous reciepes calling for different spices, juices, sugars and so on during curing, and I have tried several of them, and at best getting just a hint of extra taste from the added ingredients.

So, It might be wiser to add extra taste to the bacon after curing, as far as I can see.

Smoking is not a very important part of it. I make panchetta, and have tried to add the spices to the mixture, and rinsed it off. No extra taste. If I press in garlic, ground peppers, mustard seeds, basil and so on before drying after curing, it gives a rich and extra taste to the final product.

Thank you for your replies, but there is still possible to share your wisdom in the next post.

Mike Leiter, for how long do you cure your belly?

 

[Mike Leiter]

Adding spices after curing is a different cup of tea. I have noe problem with that. It can give a great spesific flavor.

It's just that I've seen numerous reciepes calling for different spices, juices, sugars and so on during curing, and I have tried several of them, and at best getting just a hint of extra taste from the added ingredients.

So, It might be wiser to add extra taste to the bacon after curing, as far as I can see.

Smoking is not a very important part of it. I make panchetta, and have tried to add the spices to the mixture, and rinsed it off. No extra taste. If I press in garlic, ground peppers, mustard seeds, basil and so on before drying after curing, it gives a rich and extra taste to the final product.

Thank you for your replies, but there is still possible to share your wisdom in the next post.

Mike Leiter, for how long do you cure your belly?

7 days the first run and then 8 days the second run. First run I actually left a hint of the pepper on one of the three and it really tasted of it. The second run I did as shown in this picture I rinsed 99% of the seasoning off and it still really flavored the bacon without adding more to the smoke process. I dont know if the herbs penetrate the raw pork more but it defintely leaves more traces of it in the pork than any of the maple or molasses versions I have done lately. The few black specs are actually minute specs of the cracked pepper that stick like glue for some reason I grind my spices up in a marble spice pestle for the recipe.

This is the last run I did of spice last week and as seen in the pic the spices are pretty much gone before it makes it to smoker...



This is where I got the spice recipe from if anyone wants to try it...I omitted the salt and sugar part as I used MTQ for my cure and put in smoker and not oven..
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Home-Cured-Bacon