Bacon, breed, and off-smell

[tjkoko]

Awhile back I posted here (I think) about having cured and smoked bacon for over four years and I was compelled to discard 2/3rds of a cured and smoked belly due to odors that were "off". Well, a vendor nearby (in south Georgia) explained to me that that belly may have come from an uncut hog, a boar that wasn't castrated, And therefore the extra hormones circulating in its system will produce an "off" odor. The flavor, once cooked, was okay but you wouldn't have wanted to smell the final product even though it had been properly cured and smoked and froze in the freezer for storage.

 

[Tim J]

Boar taint, a combination of androstenone and skatole, (steroids that are secreted by intact males and accumulated in fatty tissues). In many cases, the distinctive smell can be detected in the raw carcass at slaughter, resulting in condemnation of the carcass in a commercial slaughter facility. Some folks are very sensitive to the smell, while other folks will not notice any "off-odor" at all. Typically cooking enhances the boar taint smell, and it can lead to off flavors as well, so if the smell dissipated after cooking, you may of had regular spoilage.

 

[tjkoko]

Good to know! And I didn't notice it until mold had developed on some of the sliced product in the fridge. Then, I also noticed the taint when the mother slab had been defrosted.