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Pork is big here but they have never figured out how to produce bacon. So this English guy starts raising pork and proudly announces "we now have bacon". I am thrilled and get 5 lbs. I fry it and it though it has plenty of fat, none melts off. The stuff is hard as a rock and when I try to finely dice it, some won't even cut through. There seems to be a rind, but even without that, this is so tough as to be inedible.
I did some in the slow-cooker according to a recipe for "pork belly" I found online. Now it's curled up and rock hard. I put some uncooked in the freezer, so if anyone has ever run across this, I'd love to hear about it. What a ridiculous waste of money! (wasn't cheap, either)
I got some rich broth from the crock-pot, but that's about it....
From what a sibling says after relocating and living in the UK for decades, the British have a very very different sense about what bacon actually is. One of the Christmas gifts I try to send her each year is "American" style bacon. It never lasts very long in their household. It is one of the only things she still misses and mourns.
Well, first of all, I'd go back to the guy you bought it from and raise your concerns, especially since it wasn't cheap.
My spouse had tried his hand at curing some bacon once from a leftover piece of pork belly. It came out really salty and fairly hard, not as bad as yours, but still tough. I ended up boiling it in water to get rid of some of the salt and make it tender. Don't remember how long I boiled it but it was for a good while (simmered actually). After that I diced it up and used it in kasespatzle.
It probably does have a rind on it. Lots of people leave the skin on, which is probably what you are calling rind.
I've cured some bacon-like products since and it's hard to get the salt ratio right even if you have an accurate scale. It seems like everybody has their own ratios and no one agrees. I ended up taking several and averaging, and it was still a bit salty when we cooked a small piece and tried it, though that also could have been because we had a hurricane here during the time it was curing and it's cure time got extended by almost a week longer than it should have. I just soaked it in some plain water, cut off a small piece, cooked it, tasted great, and then hubby smoked it.
I love home made bacon, but, the meat is brined and then left to air dry for a couple of days. If it is left to dry for too long, it could become jerky.
I'd try to return it for a refund, but barring that, home cured bacon usually needs to have the salt rinsed off. If it is that tough, I think it was over-dried. Try rinsing it and then soaking it overnight to re-hydrate. Then drain and rinse again, and see if that solves the problem.
Veering a bit off topic, if you can buy raw pork belly, try salting one, just the amount of salt as if you were going to roast it fresh and eat it. Coat it generously with brown sugar and cracked pepper. Place it in the fridge for a couple of days, then give it a brief rinse, slice it really thin, and fry it. Dont fry it until it is crisp and brown , but done to the point the fat has cooked and rendered a bit.
If you've got some sort of barbecue where you can control the heat really well, you can lightly smoke the whole thing.
It's not store bought bacon, but it is darn tasty.
Remove the rind, you can cook that separately. Here in Texas, they deep fry it in lard. You could also bake it for a long period of time to make it crispy. Then just add salt and eat.
As for the belly, you can do the traditional cure which takes a couple of days to a week. You can do a wet or dry brine. Most American bacon is then smoked. You can skip this step.
Here's an example of taking a raw pork belly and then (sort of) make bacon out of it within several hours. I've done it myself it does turn out pretty good. After this process you can then slice and cook in a pan, on the grill or whatever. You could also elaborate on the spices used.
It should make very good seasoning meat for greens when cooked as well as green beans.
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