To Cure Bacon

Ingredients

• One hundred pounds of ham
• Seventy pounds of salt
• One pound of sodium nitrate
• Two ounces of common red pepper
• *Double recipe for every 100 lbs of ham*
• Total Prep Time: 4 weeks

Directions

1. Rub the needed amount of seasonings onto the hams and its shoulder, adding an additional amount of pepper and sodium nitrate to the hocks.
2. Assure ham is completely covered and well-rubbed in seasoning, stuffing the inside and out.
3. Allow ham to sit in salt for 4 weeks, the shoulders and jowls for 3 weeks, and the middlings only a fortnight.
4. When ready, wash off the ham(s) and shoulder(s) and hang by their larger ends. Let sit for 1 day.
5. When the day has passed, begin smoking the hams accordingly.

Source — Creole Cookery Book
Prepared by Haylee Ingle
Louisiana Anthology
September 14, 2022