The Potting Shed

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

All articles Kintsugi Cheese making Gin making Meat Chilli sauce Wine making Kimchi Gift guides
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.

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