Brown Sugar Cure Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Position racks in the top and bottom of the oven. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil and set cooling racks into the baking sheets.
• Using your fingers, crumble together the brown sugar, smoked paprika and several grinds of black pepper on a plate. Dredge the bacon on both sides in the brown sugar mixture, rubbing so the sugar adheres. Arrange the slices on the racks without touching.
• Bake until the bacon is crisp and caramelized, flipping the slices and rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through, about 20 minutes total. Let the slices cool on the racks, turning once or twice so they don't stick.

Steps:

• Double this mix as much as you have meat.
• Weigh down meat so that it remains covered.
• Be sure to boil plent of water day before so it is good and cold.
• Put your meat in wood barrels or vinegar stone crocks.
• Leave small boned meat chunks submerged for 2 days.
• Bacon submerged for 4 days.
• Cut hams and shoulders 14 days.
• Whole hams 21 days.
• Storage area must be extremely cold, but not freezing to prevent fermentation.
• After submersion, run thick thread through corner of meats and hang in smokehouse.

Steps:

• Pat fish dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine sugar, salt, pepper, spices and zest. Rub mixture all over fish. Place in a dish, cover and let cure in the fridge for at least 4 hours and preferably 8 hours. Rinse fillets and pat dry. Generously oil salmon.
• Light the grill. Once coals are hot, scatter drained hickory chips over coals. (If you're using a gas grill, place them in a disposable metal pan on the grill next to the salmon.)
• Place salmon flesh-side down on grill and cover, closing top vent so not much smoke is released. Smoke salmon, covered, for about 5 to 6 minutes, then flip. (If the fish is sticking to the grill grate, then it's not ready to flip. Cook for another 3 to 10 minutes, depending upon how hot your fire is. The fish is done when the interior is medium pink and exterior crisp and smoky. Serve with lemon wedges.

Steps:

• Combine everything in a large bowl. Mix well. Apply generously to a whole salmon side. Refrigerate salmon overnight. The sugar will melt into the fish.

Steps:

• Place the pork belly in a large Ziploc bag. Add the salt (and pink salt if using) and the cure additions. Rub the cure into the pork belly, turning the bag over and over and pressing the cure into the flesh. Close the bag, squeezing out all the air and refrigerate for seven days. Each day, flip the bag over. Some liquid will begin to gather in the bag.
• After seven days, wash the cure off the meat, rinsing thoroughly. Pat the bacon dry with paper towels and set it on a rack over a baking sheet. Allow the bacon to air-dry in the refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Roast the pork belly in the oven to an internal temperature of 150 degrees for about 90 minutes. Chill the bacon well, then slice thick or thin, to preference. Any bacon that doesn't easily slice may be cut into chunks, for starting a pot of beans or soup. Wrapped in parchment paper, then wrapped in plastic wrap or foil and placed in a Ziploc bag, the bacon will keep for three weeks in the refrigerator and three months in the freezer.

Steps:

• Combine sugar and molasses in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer on medium speed, mixing until molasses is completely incorporated.
• Store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Arrange bacon on the baking sheet in a single layer; edges can touch or slightly overlap. Sprinkle brown sugar generously on top. Sprinkle pecans over the sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and glazed, 10 to 15 minutes.