名厨教你如何吃培根更省钱？

以前，培根的销售会有淡季。在夏季的烧烤黄金时节，这种无处不在的汉堡配料及其母产品五花肉会迎来销售旺季，而在冬季通常会进入淡季。

但这种情况正在发生变化。2017年7月，彭博社报道称五花肉价格在上半年上涨了80%，并预测一直高居不下的培根价格还会继续上涨。原因很简单：需求持续增长，没有受到季节的影响。

美国前500家连锁餐厅有约80%在菜单中包括至少一种培根菜品。培根这种腌肉产品如此深入人心，专注于早餐文化的网站Extra Crispy甚至专门设立了一个“培根评论员”职位；金爵曼熟食店（Zingerman’s Deli）更是在密歇根州举办了为期五天的培根美食节；在活动上推出了完全免费的培根菜品，例如用培根碎作为配菜制作的“缤纷鳄梨色拉”。

甚至素培根也备受欢迎。现在，高品质的人造汉堡日益流行，素培根成为许多公司的“法宝”，例如比尔·盖茨投资的Beyond Meat。

培根创造了无数的机会，但其中有一点你或许没有注意到：自制培根。自制培根非常简单，不需要专门的设备，只需要四种原料，而且都可以从超市买到。

培根专家

玛丽安·森斯克的丈夫是加州纳帕森斯克酒庄（Robert Sinskey Vineyards）的主人，她在酒庄担任厨房总监。森斯克根据自己的经验专门编写了一本适合在家中烹制的食谱《威廉姆斯-索诺玛家常菜：在厨房创造传统》（Oxmoor House出版社）（Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen）。

上世纪90年代，森斯克在Plump Jack Café餐厅担任厨师期间，曾被《Food & Wine》评为“最佳新秀厨师”。她说道：“自制培根让你可以完全掌控这种往往无法控制的食物。你可以买一块上好的猪肉，根据自己的口味添加调味料，制作属于你自己的培根。为什么不呢？”

制作过程非常简单：将精心测量的各种调味料，涂抹在五花肉上。森斯克保证：“三天后你就能用自制的培根做早餐了。”她发现这种干腌法比湿腌法更容易，因为你不需要在容器里搅拌盐水。

森斯克的培根充分入味，还带有一点甜味。因为这种培根并非熏制，所以味道更浓郁均匀；她将这种培根比作意大利腌肉。它的用法与在商店购买的熏培根一样，可以做色拉、三明治或者培根煎蛋，或者用来烹制需要用到培根的任何一道菜。

将其包好后放在冰箱，可以存放一周。如果希望长时间保存，将其切片，每片之间用牛皮纸隔开，用塑料包好放在冰箱里。这样可存放几个月，你可以随用随取。如果你喜欢烟熏味的培根，可以在户外烹制，或者直接在炉灶上使用烟熏锅熏制。也可以在腌制时用烟熏盐代替粗盐。

菜谱

这份菜谱节选自玛丽安·森斯克的《威廉姆斯-索诺玛家常菜：在厨房创造传统》一书。注意：这种培根不含硝酸盐；商店购买的多数培根用硝酸盐形成粉色，并突出腌制的味道。而这种培根则是更直接的猪肉味道。

制作约2磅培根

1/2杯粗盐，1/4杯红糖，1茶匙甜椒粉（可选），2 1/2磅去皮五花肉，颗粒大小约1 1/2英寸的现磨粗黑胡椒（可选）

将盐、糖和甜椒粉（可选）混合。将四分之三混合后的调味料涂抹在瘦肉部分，剩余四分之一涂抹在肥肉部分；肉的每一面都要涂抹均匀。如果使用黑胡椒，将黑胡椒轻轻拍到肥肉部分，然后再涂抹盐糖调料。

用密封袋密封五花肉，排空空气。在冰箱里放置3天，每天翻面。（液体用袋子收集；不要倒掉。）

用冷水简单冲洗培根，用纸巾拍干。将培根放在架子上，将架子放在平底锅上或冰箱里，不要覆盖，阴干两个小时。将培根切片煎制，可根据个人喜好选择厚度。若要制作熏培根，请根据厂家的说明，使用室内烟熏锅熏制，或在户外烤架上熏制。

（提示：如果你想在两天后尝一下腌制的味道，可以切下一两片。用冷水冲洗，轻拍至完全变干。煎一下就可以享用了。如果你喜欢更咸的口味，把五花肉放回到袋子里，在冰箱里再放一天。）（财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

Bacon used to have a slow season. Sales of the ubiquitous burger topping—and its parent product, pork belly—were known to heat up in the prime-time grilling months of summer, while in the winter, sales traditionally cooled off.

That’s changing, though. In July 2017, Bloomberg reported that pork belly prices had increased 80 percent for the first half of the year, and that bacon prices, already high, were projected to continue to climb. The major reason was simple: ongoing demand, no matter what time of year it is.

Approximately 80 percent of the top 500 restaurant chains in the U.S. offer at least one bacon item on the menu. The cured meat has become so pervasive that a “bacon critic” position was created at the breakfast-oriented website, Extra Crispy; five-day bacon camps are put on by Zingerman’s Deli in Michigan; and completely gratuitous bacon dishes like “fully loaded guacamole” with a crumbled bacon garnish, are pushed out.

Even fake bacon is prized. Now that high-quality plant-based burgers are getting more popular, faux bacon is the holy grail for such companies as Bill Gates-backed Beyond Meat.

In this time of overwhelming bacon opportunities, there’s one you don’t see much of: the kind you make yourself. Yet makin’ bacon is supremely easy, requiring just four ingredients—all available at the supermarket—and no specialized equipment.

The Expert

Maria Sinskey, the culinary director at her husband’s Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa, Calif., created an especially home-friendly version for her cookbook, Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen (Oxmoor House).

“Making your own bacon gives you total control over a food that is frequently out of control,” says Sinskey, who was named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine when she cooked at Plump Jack Café in San Francisco in the 1990s. “You get good-quality pork, customize the seasonings to your taste, and make it your own. Why not?”

The procedure is simple: Rub a carefully measured mix of seasoning on a pork belly. “Three days later, you’ll wake up to bacon,” promises Sinskey. She notes that a dry cure like this is easier than a wet cure, so you don’t have to deal with sloshing containers of brine solution.

Sinskey’s bacon is nicely salted, with a hint of sweetness. Because it is not smoked, the flavor shines through; she compares it to Italian pancetta. Use it as you would store-bought smoked bacon, whether for salads and sandwiches, as a side for eggs, or in any recipe that could use a bacon boost.

Store it, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for a week. For longer life, slice it, place parchment paper between the slices, wrap them in plastic, and store in the freezer; you’ll have bacon on demand for months. If you like your bacon on the smoky side, cook it on an outdoor or stove-top smoker. Or just replace some of the kosher salt with smoked salt for the cure.

The Recipe

This recipe is adapted from Maria Sinskey’s Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen. Note: This bacon is nitrate free; nitrates pump up the pink color of most store-bought bacon and also accentuate the cured flavor. This bacon has a more direct pork flavor.

Makes About 2 Pounds

1/2 cup kosher salt1/4 cup packed brown sugar1 tsp. sweet pimenton (optional)2 1/2 lbs. skinless pork belly, about 1 ½ inches thickCoarsely ground black pepper (optional)

Mix the salt, sugar, and pimenton (if using). Rub three-quarters of the mix into the meat side and the remaining one-quarter into the fat side; rub it in around the sides of the slab, too. If using black pepper, pat into the fat side of the meat before adding the salt-sugar mixture.

Seal the belly in a Ziploc bag, pressing the air out. Refrigerate for 3 days, turning each day. (Liquid will collect in the bag; do not pour it out.)

Rinse the bacon briefly with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place it on a rack over a pan and refrigerate, uncovered, to dry for two hours. Slice the bacon from the slab—thick or thin, according to your preference—and fry it up. For smoky bacon, cook according to manufacturer’s directions over an indoor smoker or smoke it on an outdoor grill.

(Testers note: If you want to test the cure after two days, cut off a couple of slices. Rinse them with cold water and pat completely dry. Fry the slices and taste. If you want the bacon saltier, return the pork belly to the bag and refrigerate for one additional day.)