How Denhay Dry Cured Bacon is Made

Originally we cured the bacon on the farm, but as we grew, it became necessary to find a larger site with better access: bringing lorries into the Marshwood Vale was not acceptable.

In July 2005, we moved into a state-of-the-art factory 20 miles away in Honiton. The factory was designed to allow us to retain our traditional curing skills so that we could continue to make award winning bacon. (since the move we have won 21 awards of which 16 are Gold). However, Honiton is a facility that offers innovative equipment, the best in hygiene and increased capacity so that as we continue to grow we will be able to maintain our traditional artisinal cure but improve our performance to meet our customers’ expectations of quality, consistency and service.

The Pork
We source our pork from British outdoor reared herds which spend over half their life outdoors and then come into straw barns. For our spoiltpig bacon, the pork is from Freedom Food assured herds.

The Denhay Cure
Our Dry Curing technique involves a unique mixture of dry sea salt, nitrite and Vitamin C massaged into the pork loins and bellies which are then cured for between two and three weeks.

Denhay Smoking
The loins and bellies to be smoked are selected and gently smoked over beech or cherry wood. We replaced our old original smoker, which was becoming unreliable, with a new smoker that smokes more evenly, uses wood better and produces less tar. This is a healthier way to properly smoke.

The Special Slicing
Once cured, the bacon is 'fresh sliced' and then shingled. Most bacon is frozen solid and pressed into shape before slicing; we will not do that as we believe that the freezing contributes to the unwelcome white scum and harms the flavour. Shingling is the process whereby the bacon is layered so that all slices can be seen. It is also much easier for consumers to lift a slice of bacon from the pack and to see what they are buying!

Every batch of bacon we slice is eaten both when new and on the day it goes out of shelf life. The factory has been audited and achieved the BRC Global Standard accreditation at Grade A.

Duchy Originals Bacon
We have been dry curing Duchy Originals bacon using its own traditional recipe since 1998. We cure both Organic and Free Range British pork which is supplied to the multiple retailers and is available nationally. The ethos of our two businesses fits well together: a care and passion for producing great products.