First Attempt at Bacon

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It looks as if it is designed for touch screen. Do you not just scroll the weight until the required weight is in the middle?
 
Bought my bacon hook. Just waiting for my cure number 1. What app is this and where is it? Sorry to ask...
 
Hi Steve, 

Yours seems to be a different app.  The one I downloaded was from I Store and the layout is totally different.


Just for reference I didn't use 0.4% of sugar in the cure.  I used 0.4% of black pepper which works out at 8.8 grams for that particular piece of meat.
 
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Well I have my 2kg of rindless pork loin and my prague powder... time to start making me some bacon!
 
Well I have my 2kg of rindless pork loin and my prague powder... time to start making me some bacon!
Don't forger the photos as you go 
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Hi Tom

The main difference between most of the dry cure techniques that you will find on here and the one you refer to in the River Cottage book is that the RC method only uses salt to remove water from the bacon and it does not use any Nitrite for additional biological control.

Because HFW is not using any Nitrite he does not worry about how much salt he is actually using - as much of it will be lost when he pours away the brine each day. To make up for the lost salt he simply adds more - hence the larger quantity required. Unfortunately when he pours away the brine he is actually also pouring away some of the flavour. 

When using Nitrite in the cure you have to know how exactly how much is going to be taken up into the pork - and this would be impossible to calculate using the RC technique. With the method we use on here we calculate the precise amount of salt and cure required and we do not pour away any of the resulting brine. We also turn the pork daily ensure that the cure and brine are kept in contact with the meat as it cures. 

I think the main reason the celebrity chefs use more salt in their cures and do not mention Nitrite is that if not used correctly Nitrite and Nitrate can be toxic - potentially exposing the chefs to a legal minefield if someone tried to follow their recipe using it and made a mistake calculating the cure quantities. By limiting the cure to salt and sugar, should things go wrong, the end result may be inedible but at least it wouldn't be poisonous.

I hope this helps explain.

Wade
 
Yes, Wade has hit the Nail on the head. The Smoking and Curing Meat course both Wade and myself did, only used Salt & Sugar, and that was for the same reasons as Wade pointed out regarding legal stuff.
 
Makes sense, for cost effectiveness and learning about processes - yours seems the best option Wade.

Thanks for the tips and guidance. Will be doing some curing over the Winter with the correct weather etc.

Just as a side note....any books you recommend, have the Steve Lamb River Cottage book, any other good home curing books for a beginner ? 
 
Hi Tom

I initially started out with "Home Smoking and Curing" by Keith Erlandson and this got me hooked. I then went through several other books but for reference now mostly use "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages" by Stanley and Adam Marianski. For some this may be a little technical but it will not only tell you what to do but why you are doing it.
 
Well... so much for that first attempt. Later that day I was admitted to hospital and only came out day before yesterday. Didn't get a chance to start it!!
 
Bit of a crisis here. 3 kg of pork loin and wife has thrown away my prague powder. Any suggestions on alternatives? To prague powder not the wife...We will answer that later. Bit urgent...
 
Yes I saw that as well but that's for belly. As I understand it significantly different than loin as there is more fat so not sure if that would make a difference. Thanks though!
 
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