Nitrate Free Bacon - What's the difference?

If there’s one thing that many of the latest diet fans agree on, it’s bacon.

Despite its mouthwatering flavour, though, not all bacon is created equal and there’s a science behind making nitrate-free bacon. But what does nitrate-free bacon really mean, and what’s the difference to the bacon you would usually buy from us?

Both of our nitrate-free and traditional bacon has been crafted by Rob with over 35 years experience in meat smoking and curing processes. Our passion for dry cured processing with natural wood shavings and sea salt ensure that the product is fully Tasmanian.

We can guarantee all our pork produce is sourced from a pastured, humanely-raised hog from local Tasmanian farmers.

Cheap bacon is known to be injected with water and curing agents that can make it look watery and cause splatters in your pan. The best bacon contains only protein and fat, and looks dry.

Sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite are common additives used to preserve meat. Sodium nitrate is sold as a salt for curing meats like bacon and jerky, but you can also find naturally occurring in vegetables like celery. Sodium nitrite is also sold as a salt, and acts as an antioxidant that prevents cured meats from browning. Nitrates and nitrites give processed meats their iconic pink color and sharp flavour while preventing harmful bacterial growth during the curing process.

Essentially the difference between our Casalinga bacon products is in the curing stage of the process. Traditional bacon is prepared for smoking and cooking in a soaking brine which contains nitrate, while nitrate-free bacon is slow cured using sea salts.

We stand by our recipe which has proven to be National award winner and we continue to work with Tasmanian health auditors to ensure our products are regularly tested to meet all Australian & New Zealand standards.