Make your own bacon

Everyone loves the smell of bacon (even vegetarians). Have you thought about making your own? You should – it's fun, rewarding and achievable at home. Starting the day off by tucking into a bacon bap, this course celebrates all that is wonderful about British bacon. Learn which pig breeds produce the most intense flavours and which parts of the glorious pig turn into the tastiest of lardons. Hugo Jeffreys will introduce you to the wonderful world of wet cure, dry cure, show you how to butcher a middle of pork to suit all your bacon needs, and guide you through a number of different curing recipes and methods. The session is based at our Borough Market HQ in Jubilee place. It begins at 10:00 and ends at 13:30 and includes:

A welcome bacon butty and mug of builders' when you arrive;
an introduction to rare breed pork, and discussion about what makes great bacon;

a demonstration of how to butcher a middle of pork for bacon purposes – you'll be invited to get involved too;
hands-on practice of boning out and skinning pork belly and loin cuts;

recipes and materials for curing pork belly and loin, so that you leave with streaky bacon, back bacon and a block of pancetta to finish at home;

further tastings of bacon and charcuterie through the course.