What is dry cured bacon?

Dry cured bacon is possibly one of the most delicious kinds of bacon you will ever eat – ever.

It’s a darker, smokier and a little sweeter version of your classic bacon and will make you feel like you’re sitting around a campfire (or a meat smoker) eating breakfast.

We make dry cured bacon in addition to our other bacon from our warehouse in Richmond. They’re all made by hand with McIvor Farm Foods beyond-free range old breed Berkshire pork using sustainably sourced red gum wood chips.

Here are the ins and outs to give you an idea of how we dry cure our bacon.

What is dry cure bacon?
A style of bacon that uses loins of pork (with belly attached) which are infused with salt, sugar and aromatic spices then placed in a small enclosed area and exposed to smoke to enhance flavour.

What is the process for making dry cured bacon?
We rub the pork with the salt and spice blend to allow the proteins in the meat to active and the curing process to commence. They’re left here for a couple of weeks to cure. Once cured, they’re placed in a smoker and cold smoked 5-6 times to get a good colour and flavour in the meat. 

How long does it take to dry cure bacon?
We spend around 2 weeks curing and smoking ours

How is dry cure bacon different from other bacon?
CURE

• Most styles of bacon are already cooked. They are injected with a wet cure or brine and then put straight into the smoker within 48 hours and cooked/smoked
• Our dry cured bacon takes around two weeks. We use a dry cure like a rub and the bacon is then cold smoked but not cooked.

SMOKING TIMES

• Regular bacon it is normally only smoked 2 - 3 times max. Dry cured is smoked around 5 - 6 times. 

COOKED

• Regular bacon is also cooked while smoked so you could just eat it without recooking, the dry-cured is just smoked but not cooked so needs to be cooked before eating 

Where does this style come from?
Dry curing bacon is typically thought to be English originally called ‘Wiltshire Cure’

Is Hagen's dry cured bacon made using free-range and higher welfare pork?
Of course! We use beyond free-range pork that is ethically raised and sourced locally from Victorian producers McIvor Farm Foods. 

Is Hagen’s dry cure bacon use natural nitrates (from celery) or traditional nitrates?
Traditional 

How does dry cured bacon get its darker colour?
From the smoke. The more times it runs through the smoker the richer the colour will be.

How should I cook it?
Just like regular bacon, dry cured bacon can be cooked any way you can think of – fried or baked in pasta, stuffed in a chicken, in burgers, on pizza, wrapped around protein or veggies, with eggs, in rolls, candied, in chocolate – anything you like.

Our 3 top ways to enjoy:

• Spaghetti Alla Carbonara 
• In a bone-marrow burger
• Wrapped around chicken either whole chicken, or chicken pieces.