VENISON BACON FROM SCRATCH RECIPES

Steps:

• Toast the cloves, allspice, and peppercorns, then grind with the nutmeg in a spice grinder and combine with the salts and sugars.
• Meanwhile, cover the wood chips with water and store in a cool place in a covered container that won’t absorb scents, like a metal mixing bowl covered with cling film, for example. The chips can be soaked overnight, or for a couple hours, just make sure they're damp to get the most mileage from them.
• Wearing gloves, rub the venison belly, flap or breast with exactly 6 ounces of the cure, or 1 cup for the total 2 lbs of meat. (Weighing the seasonings helps ensure things don’t come out too salty.) Rub the cure in well, massaging it in to ensure proper seasoning. Refrigerate the meat for 2 days, preferably in a vaccuum sealed bag.
• If you don't want to weigh the cure, you don't have to, just coat the meat with it, rub it in, and shake  off the excess. If the bacon comes out too salty, blanch it in water for a minute before cooking.
• Smoke the venison bacon at 225 for 3 hours, or until tender, preferably with a steam pan underneath, then cool, vacuum seal for long term storage, and freeze until needed. Kept in the freezer, the bacon will last a long time. In the fridge, it will last for a couple weeks.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas 6.
• Put the onions into a fairly close-fitting baking dish.
• Melt the butter in a pan. Add the rest of the ingredients, then pour over the onions. Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes.
• Remove the foil and cook for another 45 minutes or so, until the onions are coloured and sticky.