Breakfast Brunch

Do Smoke’s Brilliant Bacon Bap Recipe

Could this be the best bacon bap recipe in the world? We certainly think so!

5 days curing time plus ½ day smoking time prep,

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

For the bacon

1kg/2lb 4oz pork loin or belly pork (with or without rind)

75g/3oz cure salt/sodium nitrate

75g/3oz coarse sea salt

6 juniper berries, smashed

40g/1½oz soft light brown sugar

50g/2oz maple syrup

For the bacon baps

8 rashers cold smoked streaky bacon

2 large floury white baps, cut in half

Lashings of salted butter

Condiment of your choice

Method

1 Place the meat on a board and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Mix together the cure salt/sodium nitrate, coarse sea salt, juniper berries, sugar and maple syrup to make the dry brine, then rub this all over the meat. Transfer the meat to a heavy-duty freezer or ziplock bag with any remaining cure and squeeze out all the air. Place the bag on a tray and refrigerate for 5 days for belly or 6 days for loin (as belly is thinner than loin). Turn the meat daily to ensure an even cure.

2 After curing, remove the meat from the bag, wash off the cure, and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Place the cured meat on a clean tray and leave in the fridge overnight to let the pellicle form. The next day, the flesh should be dry and sticky, ready for smoking (do not put wet meat into cold smoke). Cold smoke the meat for 12–14 hours over oak chippings.

3 To make your bacon baps, grill the bacon until wonderful and crispy on both sides. Meanwhile, spread lots of cold salted butter on both sides of the bap. Place the hot crispy bacon inside and eat it straight away, with a condiment of your choice. I’d highly recommend beetroot ketchup!

Excerpt and recipes extracted from Do Smoke: A modern guide to cooking and curing by Jen Goss and Scott Davis, published by Do Books. Photography by Heather Birnie.