Carb free bacon

[encoretraiteur]

I have a family member who is on a VERY carb resttricted diet....he is looking for bacon that is cured without any sugar based products. Schneiders does make this , but it is not available here...and he likes to buy in bulk as he consumes more then 2 kg a week...any ideas?

[Zalbar]

Easiest thing to do would be to cure your own. The entire process involves dredging a pork belly in a cure of salt and sodium nitrate, put it into a ziploc bag and stuffing in the fridge for a week. Then you take it out, rinse it off and throw it into a 200 degree oven till it comes to an internal temp of 145-150. Cool and refrigerate. Once it's cold you can either freeze it or slice as you need it. Use thick diced pieces for lardons in salads, soups and pasta. You can alter the flavour with other savory herbs and spices if you want. The only reason people use sugar in cured meats it to balance out the saltiness (which, in any case, can be altered before cooking it by soaking in water after rinsing off the cure).

[FrankJBN]

I don't even play a doctor on TV, but I have a feeling if you have a friend who is on a "VERY" retricted diet as to anything, that friend should not be eating 5 pounds of bacon a week.

Smithfield, a national producer in the US, markets a "No Sugar Added" bacon.

[encoretraiteur]

he is the picture of health, surprisingly....i agree I dont support with a carb free lifestyle, but he has been living this way for 15 years...and fit as a fiddle at age 65....do you know of any local butchers perhaps in the montreal area?