Wet vs Dry and Hot vs Cold

nitrousinfected

Meat Mopper

Original poster

Jul 19, 2007

190

11

Van Buren AR

• Jan 14, 2015

• #1

Long story short, Im sick and tired of paying $8-$9 a lb for craptastic salt pork rolled in black pepper. So I am researching bacon curing and smoking. Ive read thread after thread ( here and elsewhere) articles upon articles, and a ton of youtube videos. Leaving me with a few questions.
#1 - wet or dry cure, and why?
#2 - hot or cold smoke, and why?
#3 - will whiskey have any effect on the curing process?
Im sure I have more questions but I left my list at work and cannot remember the rest.

 

pc farmer

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Feb 17, 2013

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Central Pa

• Jan 14, 2015

• #2

Theres alot of ways to cure bacon.

I perfer to dry cure with a long warm smoke.

Dry cure to me gives a better meat texture and warm smoke to take more smoke flavor in a shorter time than cold smoking.

 

daveomak

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• Jan 14, 2015

• #3

I prefer the brine cure and cold smoke at 60 deg. F.....

 

dirtyduc83

Fire Starter

Jan 2, 2015

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Seattle, WA

• Jan 14, 2015

• #4

Dry cure as it produces a firmer finished product and cures faster.

Cold smoke for 8 hrs to get some good smoke penetration.
Warm smoke for 4 hrs for some color and accelerated aging/mellowing.

My last batch I did three ways and the piece of bacon made with the above process turned out the best.

 

Last edited: Jan 14, 2015

nitrousinfected

Meat Mopper

Original poster

Thread starter

Jul 19, 2007

190

11

Van Buren AR

• Jan 14, 2015

• #5

Ive been leaning towards dry and cold, if I use a bourbon for flavor during the curing process, will the alcohol effect the curing process?

 

brandon91

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Mar 10, 2014

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the pit

• Jan 14, 2015

• #6

NitrousInfected said:

Ive been leaning towards dry and cold, if I use a bourbon for flavor during the curing process, will the alcohol effect the curing process?

Click to expand...

I think I've read a few things that mention using alcohol with meat can denature the proteins on the surface, preventing flavors from being absorbed. That doesn't seem conducive to curing, maybe someone can correct me if wrong.

 

nitrousinfected

Meat Mopper

Original poster

Thread starter

Jul 19, 2007

190

11

Van Buren AR

• Jan 15, 2015

• #7

In tinkering with a jerky recipe a few years ago I came across a particular whiskey that added a very  nice flavor that I think would be awesome in bacon, but if it hinders or screws up the curing process I guess that maybe out.

 

cgrubb1

Newbie

Jan 21, 2014

7

10

Nc

• Jan 15, 2015

• #8

I do wet cure because Pop's brine is awesome, and the safety of the recipe is tried and true.
I hot smoke because that's what I have and am used to.
That's the way I have made it and everyone who has tried it says it's the best bacon they have ever had.

 

cdn offroader

Meat Mopper

Nov 14, 2013

292

63

St Albert, AB

• Jan 15, 2015

• #9

I recently did a Maple bourbon bacon, wet brine, 16 hour cold smoke with pecan and apple. The bourbon didn't seem to significantly affect the end product, but it sure tasted good.

 

dirtsailor2003

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Oct 4, 2012

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• Jan 15, 2015

• #10

One thing to ask is do you have a good digital scale? If not it's hard to do a dry cure. You need to be able to weigh the meat and the cure. For a brine cure you need to ask do I have enough room in the fridge.

Both methods provide a good product.

My preference for smoking is to cold smoke bacon, unless I am giving it away as gifts. I cold smoke for 6-8 hours. Then rest in the fridge overnight. Smoke for another 6-8 hours, rest in fridge overnight. Repeat until I get the color I like. Usually 18-24hours of total smoke time. Once done I will let it rest 2-3 days in the fridge. Then slice and pack for the freezer.