Dilly Beans and Fresh Bacon

Today was one of the nicest days of the summer. Even the sunlight seemed different today. Here in Vermont you definitely can feel the season changing. This morning I took out the motorcycle and saw so many trees starting to change color on Appalachian Gap. Afterwards I went for a bicycle ride on my favorite trails and witnessed the same here in the Champlain Valley. The air was right.... Today is a great day for playing in the kitchen. I had two pounds of fresh beans from Lewis Creek Farm and of course pork belly. First, I love dilly beans. Seriously, I turn into Tyrone Biggums looking for some rock if I don't have it at least once a year. These are so easy! Everyone should be making them. Here is my recipe....

Dilly Beans

-2# Fresh Green/ Yellow Beans

-4 Cups Cider Vinegar

-2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt

-4 Garlic Cloves, Sliced
-8 Sprigs Fresh Dill

-1 teaspoon, Red Pepper Flakes

First things first. Have a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. There is nothing worse than waiting for water to boil. They say a watched pot never boils, but I disproved that theory today. It will eventually boil.

Make sure you snip the little stems off the beans, and gather your ingredients before you blanch them.

Blanch the beans for about 3 minutes and quickly transfer them to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Take the vinegar and remaining ingredients and place in a small sauce pot and bring to a boil.

If you dont have your jars already free from bacteria, place the cleaned jars in the oven at 200 degrees for a few minutes before packing them. When you're ready pack the jars with the blanched beans and dill.

Make sure the jars are not overfilled. If so the jars won't seal properly, or worse, break. Place the lids on and gently tighten them. While the jars are hot, rev up the canner! Holy CRAP! As I am typing this a hot air balloon just crashed in my backyard!!! That is strange! Well, the fire department can deal with a basket full of tourists. Back to the beans!

When the water in the canner has come to a full boil put the jars inside and process them for twelve minutes. Carefully remove the jars and let cool on your countertop. Put them in your pantry and enjoy!

Next project was fresh bacon. Two of the greatest ingredients in life are fresh bacon and good olive oil. Fresh local pork belly=GOOD BACON!!

***Balloon Update... They are out of my trees and stuck in the neighbors yard.. Good!***

The dry cure mixture for bacon is....

Basic Dry Cure

-1 Pound Kosher Salt

-8 Ounces Granulated Sugar

-2 Ounces Sodium Nitrate

Mix all of the ingredients listed well.

To make this bacon extra special, you have a few options. My favorite is adding three sliced cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon of cracked black pepper.

Dredge the pork belly in the salt and sugar mix and rub the cure mix in with your fingers. After, add the black pepper and garlic and work that into the belly.

You will have at least one quart of dry cure mix leftover. Save this! You can use it on many cuts of meat. It especially works well on pork ribs. Let the bacon sit in the fridge for nine days. Once its ready, hang on to your socks! Or, you can freeze it for three months, but why torture yourself!

Bacon truly is the gateway meat!