Innovative Eye Care are an optometry practice with two locations across Adelaide. Among other things, they specialise in Orthokeratology, which involves rigid contact lenses that correct your vision by reshaping your eye while you sleep……crazy shit that’s way beyond the comprehension of most people. Check out their website.
Late last year they opened a new practice on Hutt Street, and threw a grand opening party to celebrate. I’ve been mates with their director, Lachy, for ages so I went along to check things out. As seems to be the case with most of my conversations over the past year, soon enough we ended up talking about bacon, and Lachy offered to trade a pair of sunnies of my choice.
These aren’t your run of the mill servo sunnies, he only stocks top quality shades from well known brands, and as Lachy loves bacon and I hate unfiltered sunlight, it was the perfect trade.
A week later I returned with a selection of meaty treats and chose a rad pair of Marcs shades. Check ‘em out.
If you’ve read my About TIFB page you’ll know that one of the reasons I started Tradeitforbacon was to source the best quality pork and ingredients, and the produce the finest quality bacon possible. Well, Lachy’s trade was a big step in the right direction.
I sourced the pork for this trade from Michael Wohlstadt at Barossa Heritage Pork. Michael raises heritage breed Berkshire and Tamworth pigs at his farm in the foothills of the Barossa Ranges, small scale and free range. He keeps a small herd of Jersey cows for the sole purpose of feeding their full cream milk to his pigs, which supplements their diet of local grain (which he mills himself) and whatever they graze from pasture. No feed additives, no growth stimulants, no hormones….no worries.
Photo credit: barossa.com
If you’re interested in learning more about Michael and his pigs, have a look at this Vid.
The resultant pork is marbled, delicate, creamy and delicious…..so much so, that it seemed a shame to turn it into bacon. Anyway, I did.
I brine cured the pork in a sweet and spiced brine consisting of salt, dark muscovado sugar, juniper, pepper and allspice (among a few other things). I then hot smoked the bacon for about five hours using french barrel oak that I nabbed off a winemaker mate. The bacon was delicious, perhaps a tad salty given the delicate nature of the pork…but nonetheless, my favorite bacon yet.
Lachy also got some of my dry cured pancetta which I cured for about nine days with salt, dark muscovado sugar, garlic, pepper, juniper, thyme and nutmeg, then dry aged for about three weeks in the fridge. This un-smoked pancetta is stong, spicy and meaty…..delicious in a pasta or on a salad.
Heritage Pork
Pork – Loin
Origin – Barossa Heritage Pork
Breed – Tamworth/Berkshire cross
Cure – Brine cure with salt, dark muscovado sugar, juniper, pepper and allspice
Length of cure – 4 days
Smoke – 5 hours with French barrel oak
Pancetta
Pork – Belly
Origin – Unknown
Breed – Large White
Cure – Dry cure with salt, dark muscovado sugar, garlic, pepper, juniper, thyme and nutmeg
Length of cure – 9 days
Smoke – Un-smoked
Dan the Butcher
Creator, blogger, butcher, chief bacon curer & smoker.
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