WET VERSUS DRY CURES B y now, you must have seen that high-falutin’ bacon that seems to be invading every farmers’ market and supermarket in the country (not to mention online sources) Is it worth its premium price? As far as flavor is concerned, that’s simply a matter of personal preference But there’s a far more compelling reason to pick the fancy stuff over the standard supermarket brands, and it’s in the cure All bacon is cured—that is, treated with salt in order to alter the structure of its proteins and preserve it Traditionally, the cure was a dry cure: salt (often with other seasonings) was rubbed onto slabs of pork belly Over the course of a few weeks, the salt worked its way into the belly at a leisurely pace, while the meat slowly lost moisture The result was a dense hunk of deeply flavored belly with relatively little residual moisture Many high-end bacons are now produced using this time-consuming method Most supermarket bacons, on the other hand, are cured with a wet cure: a saltwater solution is injected into the meat in many spots With this technique, the salt can penetrate the meat much faster What once took weeks is accomplished in a matter of days Of course, with the injection of added water and insufficient time to dry, this shortcut bacon is far wetter than dry-cured bacon, with two results First, it means that you’re paying more for it than meets the eye That 1-pound package contains at least an ounce or two of added water weight Second—and more important—it won’t cook the same way Try it: fry a piece of regular supermarket bacon side by side with a strip of high-end dry-cured bacon The supermarket bacon will shrink and curl considerably more than the dry-cured bacon as its moisture evaporates It’ll also spit and sputter far more, due to the excess water droplets it’s expelling as it cooks So, putting flavor aside, if you’re constantly enraged by bacon grease sputtering onto your stovetop or that darned strip that just won’t lie flat, you may want to consider switching to a bacon produced the traditional way, with a dry cure By cooking bacon over low heat, the shrinkage differential can be minimized, keeping your bacon flatter and allowing it to cook more evenly A large heavy skillet with even heat distribution is essential Want to cook bacon for a crowd? Do it in the oven An oven heats much more evenly than a skillet does, delivering perfectly crisp bacon by the trayful ... more important—it won’t cook the same way Try it: fry a piece of regular supermarket bacon side by side with a strip of high-end dry-cured bacon The supermarket bacon will shrink and curl considerably more than the dry-cured... flat, you may want to consider switching to a bacon produced the traditional way, with a dry cure By cooking bacon over low heat, the shrinkage differential can be minimized, keeping your bacon... the injection of added water and insufficient time to dry, this shortcut bacon is far wetter than dry-cured bacon, with two results First, it means that you’re paying more for it than meets the