The Potting Shed

Guides, gift ideas and honest answers from the people who hand-pack every kit.

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A cured pork belly and strips of drying beef on a wire rack in a cool kitchen setting.

Meat curing at home: the food safety basics every beginner should know

Fresh meat, exact cure quantities, constant refrigeration and cooking bacon through. What curing does, where nitrites fit in, and how dried meats differ.

A slab of home-cured streaky bacon part sliced into rashers on a wooden board beside a long carving knife.

How to slice home-cured bacon: thickness, chilling and the right knife

Home-cured bacon slices best cold, firm and with a long sharp knife. Rasher thicknesses explained, plus the freezer trick and how to freeze your slices.

A plain brown parcel tied with string on a kitchen worktop next to a slab of cured pork belly and a small gold-repaired bowl.

Gifts for the person who says they want nothing

They do not want more possessions, so give something that gets used up: bacon curing, cheese making and kintsugi kits, and how to give them without fuss.

A slab of home cured pork belly on a wooden board beside thin cut rashers and a small bowl of curing salt.

Smoked vs unsmoked bacon: what the difference really is

Smoked or unsmoked, streaky or back: what actually separates them, why green bacon is not green, and why dry cured bacon behaves so differently in the pan.

A slab of pork belly coated in dry curing salt and spices resting in a dish on a rustic wooden kitchen table.

How long to cure bacon: a day-by-day guide to dry curing

Dry curing bacon takes about a week. Here is what happens on each day, why the joint changes the timing, and how to tell when the cure is done.

A piece of pork belly being rubbed with dry cure and spices on a wooden board in a farmhouse kitchen.

Curing salt explained: what it does and why bacon needs it

What is actually in a bacon cure, what the salt and the nitrites each do, the two rules you should never bend, and how the cure works step by step at home.

Home cured bacon on a board, showing how to cure bacon at home with a dry cure

How to Cure Bacon at Home: A Simple Dry-Cure Guide

How to cure bacon at home with a simple dry cure: what curing is, dry cure vs brine, the honest nitrite answer, a step-by-step method and fixes.

Bacon curing kit with dry cure, three seasoning sachets and sliced home-cured streaky bacon on a board

Bacon Curing Kits: How to Cure Your Own Bacon at Home

Why dry cure beats supermarket bacon, what's in a bacon curing kit, buying the right pork, the full week-long process and the nitrite question answered.