Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumProcessed meats are bad but....
So i've been wondering - what if I still want breakfast meat? Ham, Bacon, Sausage - all bad? is there no other options?
but what if I made my own sausage? ground pork, spices...is that still 'processed'? I grew up on a mini-farm and one year we did make our own sausage - it was awesome
can we make our own bacon or ham? and would that be a healthier option?
OnDoutside
(19,908 posts)for briming Irish style bacon. I can ask him if he has it ?
Btw I've made pork sausage burgers. I got my local butcher to mince some loin pork chops, and then added spices, salt, pepper. You can add whatever you want.
TalenaGor
(1,103 posts)OnDoutside
(19,908 posts)https://www.amazon.com/Hi-Mountain-Buckboard-Bacon-Cure/dp/B004RDON22/ref=pd_aw_sbs_3/146-3626063-2265205?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B004RDON22&pd_rd_r=2f7f480a-6513-4f2e-ab88-4c9963b138e8&pd_rd_w=O4KVe&pd_rd_wg=TDpM5&pf_rd_p=aae79475-6dc9-4a12-80e8-27b63108fa72&pf_rd_r=22AJWFX5678C3KFY1M0S&psc=1&refRID=22AJWFX5678C3KFY1M0S
And
check out this website in New York: https://oscarsadksmokehouse.com/product/irish-style-sliced-bacon/
TalenaGor
(1,103 posts)japple
(9,773 posts)then form into patties, fry them, and then cool and freeze for later use. I do this all the time usually with pork and turkey. You could do a huge batch if you have a big freezer. Make sausage patties & cook in a skillet, then cool and freeze on a large sheet pan. When they are solid, transfer into a freezer bag or other type of container.
safeinOhio
(32,531 posts)lamb and goat from local farmers and fresh road kill for me.
japple
(9,773 posts)iwillalwayswonderwhy
(2,598 posts)Ground pork, sage, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes, mix it up and fry it off. I usually fry off a tiny one to check my spices and salt.
Whats missing? Nitrates and other chemicals.
I make a bunch and freeze them, so that I can take out one or two for the microwave with breakfast.
irisblue
(32,829 posts)Clash City Rocker
(3,379 posts)First, the obligatory Simpsons joke...
Im going to become a vegetarian.
Does that mean youre not going to eat any pork?
Yes.
Bacon?
Yes Dad.
Ham?
Dad all those meats come from the same animal!
Right, Lisa, some wonderful, magical animal!
Im tempted to make a joke about tofu bacon, although Im sure that actually exists. Not sure what it tastes like.
Also its interesting that you know how sausage is made and you still enjoy it. That old line about knowing how the sausage is made always implied that the process is so disgusting that it would turn a person off sausage forever.
My best answer is that anything is okay in moderation, just dont overdo it. Of the three you mentioned, I would think that ham is the healthiest, but Im not a nutritionist, so what do I know.
Or you can just get your protein from eggs, or be European and eat beans for breakfast.
yonder
(9,631 posts)TalenaGor
(1,103 posts)that way im not using all the pig anuses scraped up off the floor lol
TalenaGor
(1,103 posts)I was vegetarian for 3 years and regularly used Morning Star breakfast 'sausage' but bottom line, I knew it was still just processed foods so i quit it....
Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)So while you can make your own pork products, without nitrates they wont be bacon or ham and the shelf life will be far more limited.
The reality is nitrates protect people from food poisoning which is far more of a bad thing than any risk derived from nitrates added during the curing process. Its also true that the vast majority of nitrates you are already consuming comes from vegetables as it occurs naturally. Your own body produces them as well.
As with many other things, everything in moderation, including moderation.
Kilgore
(1,733 posts)I use this recipe,
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/breakfast-sausage-recipe-2103185
Also leave out the fatback and nutmeg for my taste. When pork butts are on sale at Costco is when I make a batch. They get put up packs of 4 smallish patties which is just right for breakfast.
Super tasty and I know whats in it. Cost comes in about half of Jimmy Dean.
demigoddess
(6,640 posts)but does not have the nitrates etc. I love it and buy it whenever I see it and stick it in the freezer. They also make an 'uncured' pepperoni stick and 'uncured' bacon, which I buy whenever I see them. My grown kids smoke their own meats on their patios. None have died or gotten sick yet. Americans made home cured meats like ham, bacon, & sausage since the 1800s at least. and I bet they did not have nitrates as far as I know.
Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)Saltpeter has been around for pretty much all of recorded history. Long before refrigeration people figured out botulism and other pretty nasty pathogens are best controlled with nitrates.
sir pball
(4,726 posts)...celery powder in the "uncured" products. Provides just as much nitrate/nitrite as standard pink curing salt, but the FDA considers it a flavoring agent so the.company can't even legally call it "cured" even though it's, well, cured.
sir pball
(4,726 posts)Even the cheapest store-brand brown-n-serve or Italian sausage won't have added nitrate/nitrite, that's only in bacon, ham and dried sausages...the quality of the other ingredients might leave something to be desired, but fresh sausage itself is more akin to a flavored hamburger than a country ham.