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Try The Natural Casing Co; PO Box133 Farnham Surrey GU10 5HB - about £13/kg

Lynn 505, you sound like just the person I would like to chat to about making my own bacon and ham. Please help.
Thanks
Lise Bee

please do lynn505 im looking forward to having a go at this

JJ 9th DEC att lynn505 any chance you can send again please?

Hi Lynn505,

I just read your message. I get a copy of everything posted and I can assure you that you weren't edited out - it looks like your post didn't come through.

All the best,

--
Ian

Wednesday 3rd November lynn505 Me to hope I can hear from you soon JJ

thanks lynn505,look forward to the recipe if the editor allows

JJ, Jaybeetee, Just replied to you but have been edited out. Have enquired as to why - will revert when I have editor's advice. Apologies for not replying sooner

Lynn505 No did'nt do blackpudding had to slaughter in summer at an abbatoir and did'nt think I could cope. I'm still a newcomer to it all but the sausages worked out well. We bought a thing that squirts the fixative/concrete between large floor tiles and adapted it to manually make sausages. My dry cure bacon is almost like parma ham I had some sliced wafer thin. The wet cure we did in a large plastic dustbin down in the celler.I would like to try making air dried ham so if anyone out there has done it before please let me know.JJ

hi lynn505,i might be best to start with something small till i know i can do it so the panctta type would be ideal for this i think

jaybeetee, Are you interested in curing a whole ham, if so, approximately what weight. Or making a pancetta type bacon with a cut of fat belly pork?

can anyone tell me how to do a dry cure if i cant get any curing stuff from a supplier ,what would i add to plain salt ?how much salt ?how long in the fridge?in fact as much as you could tell me i would love to give this a go. i tried hugh fernley whittingstal's recipe but all i had in the end was very salty pork

JJ, Did you have a go at black pudding too?

JJ Look in yellow pages under butcher supplies. I reared 2 pigs this year and did my own curing, as you say saltpetre no longer available but I managed to get curing stuff also different flavourings for sausages from a butcher suppliers, they were very helpful. I did a dry cure with a cure mix and soft brown sugar, rub it in well for a couple of days,place meat on a shelf in fridge (good to have a spare fridge) with shef underneath to catch drips.

Ooops sorry, should have read Pink not ink!!!!

I have been curing bacon for 30 years. Used to be able to buy salpetre from the chemist. Since it can be used in bomb making general sales stopped a long time ago. As I understand it whilst salpetre has preserving qualities its real purpose in curing is to make the meat ink. Curing in brine tends to render the meat a little sad looking and the salpetre lifts the colour. I don't use it anymore. Just use salt.

It has occured to me that perhaps "curing salt" refers to a mix of salt and other spices, rather than a special kind of salt. I have been using regular table salt for curing, as I said for 30 years, with great success.

I'll be doing my next batch of curing next weekend.

Good luck

Have you tried asking your local butchers or farm shops if they do their own curing. If they do i am sure they will be able to either sell you some salt or tell you where to get some. Ifthey don't do their own they may be nice enough to tell you their supplier so you could ask them.