Why do we need to heat up the salt when curing bacon? What should we do if the bacon is too salty?

Bacon is usually pickled in winter, when everyone is preparing for the Chinese New Year and preparing preserved food for the New Year, including not only bacon but also preserved fish. In some places, salt is fried before pickling bacon, so why is this?

Why do we need to heat the salt to cure bacon?

In fact, different places have different customs, and different foods have different cooking methods. Not to mention different provinces, cities, counties, and even different villages, the cooking methods are different. Some rural areas use salt to heat up the cured meat, which is a tradition passed down. There are four reasons:

First, after the salt is fried, it can be rubbed on the bacon more easily and dissolves easily in the bacon, which can effectively disperse the moisture in the meat and make the bacon evenly marinated.

Second, when processing bacon, there is a curing time, and the length of the curing time is closely related to the meat. Generally speaking, the higher the temperature, the more salt is added, and the shorter the curing time will be. Sometimes the curing starts after the pork is slaughtered, and the temperature is high at this time, so the salt is not heated.

Third, salt can disinfect and sterilize the bacon, and when put into a container for fermentation, it can protect the bacon from spoiling.

What to do if the bacon is too salty

1. Put the whole piece of meat directly into the bucket and soak it in rice washing water or clean water for a whole night. The salt in the bacon will be neutralized and the saltiness will be less. The longer the time, the more the saltiness will be diluted. If necessary, you can soak it for two or three days, but remember to change the water for soaking for 12 hours.

2. If you are going to use it immediately, boil it in clean water, either whole or cut into required sizes, and then boil it in clean water again until the salinity you want is reached.

3. Choosing appropriate dishes to cook and match can also remove the salty taste. For example, green vegetables, winter bamboo shoots, radishes, potatoes, etc. will all be particularly flavorful.

4. You can also dry the bacon naturally and cut it into strips, then cook it and make it into a snack. You can eat a little while watching a TV show, or eat it with other vegetables.

How to store bacon

Bacon itself is an air-dried food, so it is very easy to store! Just put it on the beams of a rural house or in a ventilated place in the yard. If you are in the north, it is recommended not to freeze the bacon, because after thawing, you have to eat it all in one meal, otherwise it will go bad easily! If you want to freeze the bacon, you can only keep it for a maximum of six months, otherwise it will go bad.

The storage time of bacon is still very long, as long as it is kept in a ventilated and constant temperature place!