Bacon, Gammon & Kassler

Bacon, gammon and Kassler are the perfect ways to add value and greater choice to your selection of pork cuts.

Is there anything that says ‘Good morning’ better than the smell of bacon cooking? And everyone of your customers will instantly recall the delicious sizzle of bacon, the soft, juicy tenderness of gammon and the sheer luxury of Kassler the moment they encounter these options in your butchery or deli.

According to the Oxford Companion to Food, bacon was originally developed in the British Isles and produced abroad generally by those of British ancestry using methods developed in Britain.

 

The first large-scale bacon producing operation was in Wiltshire. Started in 1770’s by John Harris, Wiltshire still remains the main bacon producing area of Britain.

Originally, Wiltshire was a stopover for the herds of pigs shipped over from Ireland. It was here that the process called the Wiltshire Cure was developed. The process is still used for high end products such as Wiltshire’s back bacon and Gammon. The Wiltshire Cure takes 4 to 7 days, whereas the American method can be completed in two or three.

While it all still starts with a pig, today’s pigs are a different animal than what even our grandfathers knew. Modern bacon pigs are raised in conditions more hygienic than a hospital and are often so genetically uniform, they are identical in size and shape. This makes the processing easier and the final product more uniform.

When other parts of the animal are cured, we get various other types of bacon, which are classified as follows.

From the middle of a pig, we get middle bacon, back bacon comes from the loin and this is the favoured bacon in the UK, also referred to as Canadian bacon, if taken from between the ankle and foot, it is called hock. Gammon is usually a Wiltshire cured hind leg and picnic bacon is made from the shoulder beneath the blade.

 

Bacon is made by immersing pork bellies in a solution of salt and saltpetre or nitrates. This produces green bacon, which is then smoked to give it that traditional bacon flavour. Salt pork is generally dry salted pork whilst hams are made from the hind leg and often has sugar added to the cure. Immersing meat in a solution of water and salt is called brining, whilst adding nitrates to the solution produces a process called curing. In earlier times ham and bacon referred to different cuts of meat and could be pickled together.

Most bacon comes from the belly of the pig. The rind is removed as well as excessive fat and any mammary tissue. Then it is run through an injector to ensure even cure. It may sit for a day or two in curing vats. Generally, temperatures should range between 2°C and 4°C for the best cure. However, unless a special curing solution is used, it is recommended temperatures must be maintained below the limits to ensure the nitrates are effective.

Higher temperatures than 10°C creates a possibility of bacteria growth. Through modern ad mixtures, a cure can be adapted to the specific needs of the smallest or largest operation.

After injection the meat is placed in a vacuum tumbler with a special cure and tumbled for twenty minutes or more. This increases the amount of cure the tissue can take up. The meat is taken from the tumbler, hung on racks and put into a smoke oven. Modern smoke ovens are fully automated and are able to produce a consistent product time and time again. This is a big step forward from the days when skilled workers used piles of smoldering sawdust, a method that required skilled and constant attention.

Smoking techniques, which have been in existence for centuries were first used as methods of preserving meats. The art of smoking meat has evolved into a unique food processing technology.

When it comes to natural smoke flavour and colour, using natural wood sawdust provides refined, savoury natural smoke flavours which can be produced from a wide variety of natural wood sawdust in the time honoured tradition.

Once smoked the bacon may go into a freezer both to ensure no organisms survive and to improve the slicing qualities. The next day the bacon is allowed to soften slightly then sliced and packed under near freezing conditions to help ensure the product remains free of bacterial growth.

Gammon is a particular cut of bacon or ham, and according to Wiktionary, the name comes from the Old Northern French word “Jambe” for hind-leg of the pig. This is a particularly tasty and lean type of bacon. It can be divided into corner, middle, knuckle end and slipper gammons.

With Christmas on the horizon, butcheries and deli operations should ensure that they can meet their customers demands for this succulent festive faire. Ready prepared and decorated gammons are always popular and take just a little time to score and decorate.

Kassler is another fine smoked pork product that is particularly South African though it has its origins Germany.

Its name is derived from a German butcher named Cassel who lived in the late 19th century. He is said to be the first person to prepare Kassler style smoked pork loin.

Kassler is most often made from the bone-in pork loin but in Germany pork necks and shoulders are also used and other regions may also use other parts of the animal. Kassler is generally mild flavored and low in salt.

Previously, the only option of pumping whole legs of pork with cure required the use of a small pump and single needle that worked using a hand operated trigger. While single needle systems are still used for small batches, modern injectors can handle boneless product as well as bone-in pork legs and shoulders.

With modern curing methods and flavours, butchers can also offer more choice, by adding, for example, flavours such as Honey Ham or Natural Hickory Smoke.

For those catering to the health conscious market, the good news is that the salt content is no longer the concern it once was. With the addition of new ingredients methods and technologies the percentage of salt in bacon has declined from the 5-7% it was 155 years ago to around 3-4% today. Finland is pioneering a process that has reduced the salt content of bacon to as little as 2%.

In short, there is no reason not to enjoy one of these tastiest products on the market.

 

Suppliers in South Africa include Feinschmecker, Lynca Meats, Eskort, Hartlief Deli, Braeside Butchery, Winelands Pork, Malu Pork and Holstein Meats to name but a few.