Dry Curing Bacon #2 - Enhancing and personalising flavours in your dry cures

In my simple dry cure recipe I mentioned that it was really just a base from which to experiment. In addition to the basic Salt, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Cure #1 and Pepper that I used there are allsorts of additions you might like to make to get something perfect for your personal tastes! Here are a few suggestions for flavourful additions to the basic recipe.

Brown Sugar Replacements: I have used Maple Syrup (Sirop d'Erable), Honey (Miel) and Molasses (Melasse) with great sucess, in place of the brown sugar of the basic cure recipe. The Maple Syrup in particular gives a very good flavour to any cured meat. With molasses you need to be a little more careful cos although it can be a great addition, it can easily overpower the flavour of the meat.

Chile Powder/Flakes (Piment Moulu): Thoroughly untraditional addition but I quite like adding a little chile powder to my bacon cures. I wouldn't recommend more than a gram per kilo of meat unless you are a hardened chilehead though! 

Onion Powder/Flakes (Poudre d'Oignon): I could have put this in the basic cure recipe really, as its rare that I dont add both Garlic and Onion to dry cure mixes.

Paprika (Paprika/Pimienton): I use a lot of Paprika and have the great advantage of living not too far from Spain. I buy by the kilo and save loads over the price in France. Usually there are three types available, Mild, Hot and Smoked any are useful for curing, adding both colour and flavour. The smoked version is particularly handy for those who like a smoky taste to their bacon but are not equipped or inclined to smoke the bacon itself! 

Allspice (Piment de la Jamaique): An aquired taste and best to use in only very small quantities, as it can be somewhat overpowering. 

Bay Leaves (Feuille de Luarier): I often used to add Bay Leaves to my wet cures but never to my dry ones, but I discovered that crumpling a couple of leaves quite finely into a dry cure mix makes a great flavour addition.

Juniper Berries (Baies de Genevrier): Very nice traditional addition...again dont use too much,  1g per kilo is about max for me...crushed before adding to the cure. Even better you can get some for free anywhere around here on the Causse. 

Marjoram (Marjolane) or Oregano (Origan): I am fortuante to have a large supply of fresh Wild Marjoram in my garden...it's beutiful fragrance is one of the delights...who am I kidding...THE ONLY DELIGHT...when mowing the (what passes for a) lawn with a push mower on a 45° slope!!!!! I digress, Marjoram and Oregano add a lovely fragrance and subtle flavour to lots of cured meats, so are always worth a thought when making up a new cure.

This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list, just a few of my fav's. Your imagination and taste buds should be your only bounds. If you have a particular fav addition please leave a comment....and I will add the suggestions to the list........and try a few of the new ones out myself!!

Happy Curing

Guy