What is fresh bacon. Is it pork belly or is it something els

markjass · Post by **markjass** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 14:45

Here is the Recipe for Jadgwurst that is on the sister site http://www.meatsandsausages.com/

Jadgwurst - German Hunter`s sausage

Meats Metric US
lean pork butt 500 g 1.10 lb.
lean fresh bacon 500 g 1.10 lb.
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat

salt 18 g 3 tsp.
Cure #1 2.5 g 1/2 tsp.
pepper 1.0 g 1/2 tsp.
coriander 1.0 g 1/2 tsp.
mace 0.5 g 1/3 tsp.
mustard, ground 2.0 g 1 tsp.
ginger, ground 0.5 g 1/2 tsp.

In different countries the same word can mean different things. Is the fresh bacon mentioned here pork belly, cured smoked pork belly that is cooked or uncooked? I know some people talk of ham being the cured variety of pork others mean fresh meat from the rear leg; others talk of bacon as being pork belly others and a cured un/somoked/cooked etc. What got me thinking is the word fresh.

Mark

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 22:08

I would question the term "lean bacon". bacon is a product made from pork belly. I make a product that resembles bacon using the slab of meat and fat from the skin side of a shoulder butt. Some folks here make "Canadian Bacon" using a strip of lean meat called a loin.

tazplas · Post by **tazplas** » Fri Jun 21, 2013 10:40

Hi Mark

I'm with ssorllih when he says ' i would question the term lean bacon' as it really depends on in what part of the world you were brought up in as to what 'bacon' is.
To my mind, fresh bacon could be in fact 'green' bacon. Cured but not cooked until the final moment when you eat it.
For example, http://boksbacon.com.au/ do 'green' bacon only. Loin and belly.
That's all i made until i was forced to make 'normal cooked bacon' when i moved to Perth.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents worth.

cheers

steve

crustyo44 · Post by **crustyo44** » Fri Jun 21, 2013 20:10

Hi Steve,
Good to hear from you again. We will be in Hobart on holiday in August and I definitely will be
visiting Boks and bring back some old Dutch style bacon.
No doubt I will pick Marcus Bok's brains a bit as well.
Cheers,
Jan.

Post by **Butterbean** » Sat Jun 22, 2013 03:22

Mark, you are definitely sharper than I am because I recently made this and I used what I call bacon. Cured breakfast bacon and the end result was far to salty for me. Didn't do the math but you might be well served to check the salt percentage or better yet, just use some belly meat for the sausage. Can't say I know what Jadgwurst is really supposed to taste like but if its supposed to taste like a salt lick then I did a terrific job.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jun 22, 2013 04:45

I believe that this recipe needs to be explained.There are many terms used in food recipes that are misused. Sometimes stores sell cuts of meat by the name of the recipe that they may be used in. There is no cut called "london Broil" but you can often find top round being sold as that recipe. just as there is no cut that is called pot roast but bone in blade chuck works very well for pot roast. Bacon in a product just as sausage is a product. You will never find a chart that labels portions of a hog carcase as head cheese, breakfast sausage, pulled pork, or smoked ham.

patrad · Post by **patrad** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 03:42

When I read that I take it to mean fresh, uncured pork belly. As for the "lean" part. . that's very subjective. But I would think a fresh belly that is on the leaner side. . .in comparison to others I guess.

crustyo44 · Post by **crustyo44** » Sat Jun 29, 2013 09:46

I agree with Patrad, I would have used just plain fresh pork belly for the jagdwurst.
After all, in the early days it was made by hunters ( hence the name) in the field, they didn't have time to cure it.
The jagdwurst nowadays probably isn't even close to the earlier versions that was made by hunters generations ago.
Cheers,
Jan