First batch in the refrigerator - hope I did it right

van becker · Jan 22, 2016

I've got my first pork curing right now, and I'm pretty sure I figured everything right. However, there was not a lot of rub at all compared to a lot of the videos and pictures I've seen. Here's what I used:

6 lb piece of pork

1 ounce brown sugar

2 ounces kosher salt

just under 1 1/4 teaspoons of pink salt

My meat is not very thick (about 3/4 inch through most of it - up to 1 1/2 inch on one end), so there was a lot of surface area to coat with the rub. Did I do this right? Thanks.

van becker · Jan 25, 2016

It's day 4 and not much liquid coming out of it. I saw someone on here say they added a small amount of water to the bag. Would you all suggest I do that? Thanks

JckDanls 07 · Jan 25, 2016

I'm in the same boat you are... mines been in for 8 days.. I seen that about adding a little water as well.. which I did... but I haven't seen any liquid come back out... mine were a lil over 2 lbs and one over 4 lbs... so I had even less cure than you.. talk about worried... sure wasn't very much cure ... waiting to see what they have to say to your question...

van becker · Jan 25, 2016

Thanks for the reply - nice to know I'm not in this boat alone! Not sure why no one is responding to my question. We're all newbies at some point!

murraysmokin · Jan 25, 2016

When I first did bacon I thought the same thing no way in he'll is this little bit of cure enough but I trusted it, cured for 8 days & it was good. There are some cure calculators floating around that give you a cure time for thickness of meat.

van becker · Jan 25, 2016

Thanks Murray. That makes me feel better.

pc farmer · Jan 25, 2016

I am sure it will be fine. I have added water.

I measure everything in grams. More accurate.

I use this.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/124590/universal-cure-calculator

van becker · Jan 26, 2016

Thanks c farmer. I'm going to add a little water when I turn it tonight.

Murray - I might give that recipe a try next time. Looks good!

tropics · Jan 26, 2016

I just did a 2 pound piece for BBB with TQ I had some liquid come out 6 or 7 days into the cure,by the 14th day most had returned to the meat.I did not add any liquid.

Richie

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/241226/bbb-started-1-6-16

van becker · Jan 26, 2016

Thanks tropics. My plan is to smoke it on day 12 or 13, but I'll wait and see what it looks like then.

larryfahn · Feb 11, 2016

About the ilovemeat.com recipe...

They say to put on the honey and then the rub, which includes the pink curing salt #1. Doesn't the honey kinda hold back the salt? Idk. It seems like it would.

I used the amazingribs.com recipe and loved that one. I made the regular and the maple one and like both. They're a wet cure.

daveomak · Feb 11, 2016

van becker said:
Thanks tropics. My plan is to smoke it on day 12 or 13, but I'll wait and see what it looks like then.

If you let the belly cure for 14 days, then rinse and let bloom in the refer for another 7 while sitting on a wire rack, uncovered... It will be better bacon.... smoke and then let sit another 7 days, on a rack in the refer for another bloom cycle... You will be amazed at the difference in flavor....

Dave

van becker · Feb 11, 2016

LarryFahn said:
About the ilovemeat.com recipe...

They say to put on the honey and then the rub, which includes the pink curing salt #1. Doesn't the honey kinda hold back the salt? Idk. It seems like it would.

I used the amazingribs.com recipe and loved that one. I made the regular and the maple one and like both. They're a wet cure.

I'm honestly not sure about the honey. I do think I prefer my curing salt to be directly on the meat. I will check out the other recipe as I plan to do a wet cure in the near future. Thanks!

van becker · Feb 11, 2016

DaveOmak said:
If you let the belly cure for 14 days, then rinse and let bloom in the refer for another 7 while sitting on a wire rack, uncovered... It will be better bacon.... smoke and then let sit another 7 days, on a rack in the refer for another bloom cycle... You will be amazed at the difference in flavor....

Dave

Dave, I have a question about the time here. From what I've read, if you're going to go over 30 days, aren't you supposed to use cure #2? If I'm looking at your comment right, you'd be at 28 days. Or, does the cure stop when you start smoking? The reason this concerns me is because life gets in the way and I'm afraid I'd end up not being able to do things exactly on the right timetable. I know this time I ended up running about 5 days past when I had anticipated being done because of my work schedule. I'd love to try it your way - just want to make sure if I run a little longer that I won't have a problem with the cure. Thank you!

daveomak · Feb 11, 2016

The 30 day cure #1 thing is for "How long it takes to cure a hunk of meat..".... A 25# ham takes months... cure #2...   bacon, loin, butts, turkeys.... they fall into the fast curing column...

Once you put the meat in a smoker over 100 ish degrees..

Drying out the surface of the meat for 10-40 min at 112-130° F (45-55° C), some very light smoke is acceptable, although not necessary. Besides drying out the surface of the meat, the temperature speeds up nitrite curing.

Cold smoking, the nitrite is still working, the meat is fully cured... no worries about time... besides, the meat is in the refer keeping cold....

I have found that time table is like aging a steak... the flavor develops...    First time I used that time table, Bride commented, " it was the best bacon to date"....   That's what I go by.....   What Bride says....

If the last resting period is in doubt, place the belly in the freezer... wrapped, vac-packed or what ever..   You'll be good to go...    actually any of the steps can be lengthened.. as long as refrigeration is at hand...   It ain't real scientific but a guideline....

pc farmer · Feb 11, 2016

DaveOmak said:
If you let the belly cure for 14 days, then rinse and let bloom in the refer for another 7 while sitting on a wire rack, uncovered... It will be better bacon.... smoke and then let sit another 7 days, on a rack in the refer for another bloom cycle... You will be amazed at the difference in flavor....

Dave

I agree with this Dave guy.

I have found the long rest after the smoke makes a big difference.

After the cure time I usually only let rest for 2-3 days before smoking

van becker · Feb 13, 2016

DaveOmak said:
The 30 day cure #1 thing is for "How long it takes to cure a hunk of meat..".... A 25# ham takes months... cure #2...   bacon, loin, butts, turkeys.... they fall into the fast curing column...

Once you put the meat in a smoker over 100 ish degrees..

Drying out the surface of the meat for 10-40 min at 112-130° F (45-55° C), some very light smoke is acceptable, although not necessary. Besides drying out the surface of the meat, the temperature speeds up nitrite curing.

Cold smoking, the nitrite is still working, the meat is fully cured... no worries about time... besides, the meat is in the refer keeping cold....

I have found that time table is like aging a steak... the flavor develops...    First time I used that time table, Bride commented, " it was the best bacon to date"....   That's what I go by.....   What Bride says....

If the last resting period is in doubt, place the belly in the freezer... wrapped, vac-packed or what ever..   You'll be good to go...    actually any of the steps can be lengthened.. as long as refrigeration is at hand...   It ain't real scientific but a guideline....

Thank you. That makes a lot of sense. Next up I believe I'm going to try Canadian bacon. Definitely going 30 days on that and might smoke it for an hour.

Cfarmer - I agree on sitting after smoking. My only complaint with my first bacon was a little too much smoke flavor. It calmed after just sitting open for a day, so I'm thinking longer would be even better.

First batch in the refrigerator - hope I did it right

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