Why Simon Howie’s bacon will transform your Christmas cooking
Everything’s better with bacon – even Christmas! Read on to find out how Simon Howie’s award-winning product range will elevate your festive feasting
Whether you’re latticing it over your Christmas turkey, wrapping it around sausages to create moreish Pigs in Blankets, or making it the star of the show in your breakfast bap; you can’t beat a great bit of bacon at this time of year – and Simon Howie knows it. That’s why the Scottish Butcher has created some of the best varieties your money can buy.
Simon Howie understands good bacon starts with good meat, which is why the company only works with farms who have industry-approved welfare certifications – and the labour of love doesn’t end there. Once the meat arrives at the Simon Howie HQ, each loin is dry cured by hand using a mixture of salt and its own exclusive cure, before being left to mature for a minimum of seven days.
And, because Simon Howie only uses smaller, well-trimmed loins, you’ll find its rashers are far leaner than most, giving you just enough fat to cook up succulent, flavoursome bacon. Hungry yet?
Dry cure vs wet cure
The truth is, not all bacon is created equal. It can be cured in a variety of ways, dry cure and wet cure being the most popular methods. Dry curing involves rubbing the outside of the meat with a special blend of salt and seasonings and allowing it to rest for a long time, while wet curing involves mixing the salt and seasonings with water. The meat is then immersed in the liquid and, again, is left for some time.
While both varieties are enjoyed up and down the UK, Simon Howie has long championed dry curing for its fuller, more robust flavour – and because it doesn’t contain any added water, it means there’s less shrinkage in the pan when it’s cooked.
Smoking the loins of pork over different types of wood also helps to create subtle flavour differences. Applewood, oak, cherry and hickory wood are just some of the variations that can be used, though Simon Howie’s Smoked Bacon always uses beechwood in its Perthshire smokehouse. The result is an incredibly moreish bacon that smells as good as it tastes – no wonder it’s won multiple Great Taste Awards!
Demonstrating commitment to retaining its title as the UK’s best-selling dry cure bacon brand, the company has also recently invested in an exciting new piece of machinery –installed last month into its purpose-built factory extension – lovingly called The Bacon Room. Prior to slicing, the loins are scanned so that each pack is sliced for maximum accuracy – it’s taken usage of the pork loin from 90% to over 97%! With increased production capacity, less wastage and new-look packs to boot (not only do they look great, but they’re much easier to recycle!), be in no doubt that the team at Simon Howie is ready to help you bring home the bacon this Christmas!
Why not experience the magic of Simon Howie bacon for yourself with this quick and easy Pigs in Blankets recipe? It’s sure to become your new Christmas dinner staple.
Sticky Christmas Pigs
Ingredients
Method
1. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. In a bowl, mix together the honey, soy sauce and mustard and set aside.
2. Wrap a rasher of bacon around each chipolata. Place the sausages on a baking sheet and brush each one with the honey mixture.
3. Cook for 10 mins, then glaze the sausages with more of the mixture. Put them back into the oven for another 5-10 mins or until cooked through and golden.