First Time Smoking and way too salty!!

[db5000]

I hope someone here can give me some help on my first attempt at making bacon.

I followed a recipe that someone elsewhere on the net had posted for curing my bacon, and used 1/2c kosher salt,1/2 cup brown sugar to a 2 lb slab of pork belly.

I was going to cure it for 7 days, but due to other circumstances, it ended up sitting for 2 weeks.

We smoked the bacon today, and it is so salty we can't eat it.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Did I use too much salt? Did I cure it too long?

Is there anything I can do with it now that it's been smoked?

I'd really appreciate any feedback you veterans can give me. Thanks so much.
Debbie

 

[glued2it]

Did you wash off the excess salt or soak it after curing?

 

[chadpole]

You can soak it in cool water for about two hours and it will draw some salt out of it. Just like salt cured country hams....I soak them for about four hours putting ice in the water to keep it about 33 to 36 degrees. Just my .02 worth.

 

[smokin for life]

Yepper I'd say it was cureing to long, and as Glued asked did you wash it off.The only bacon I ever made was a butt using Hi-Mountain cure. I let it cure for 10 days and the soaked for about an hour or so. It turned out really good. I just now found where I can buy pork belly's, so tomorrow I'll start cureing them.

 

[dacdots]

There telling you right,too long in the cure,Ive done it myself cause I just didn't have time cause of working unexpected overtime.Be careful about the soaking time,if it goes too long it wont have any flavor at all.Next time when you take it out of cure put it under running water and lightly scrub it with a medium stiff brush.This will get rid of the salt build up on the outside.Dont be discouraged,give it another try,its just too good of eatin to give up on.Heres my recipe.

5 quarts ice water 38-40 deg
1 1/3 cup powdered dextrose
1/3 cup Instacure #1
1 lbs. salt

 

[jerrykr]

cut it up and package it in small packages for the freezer.

Use it in beans or other dishes that bacon is good in. Let your bacon provide all the salt for the dish. It should not go to waste.

lots of side dishes benefit from bacon flavor.

 

[db5000]

Thanks for all the replies!
I'm going to try to address all of you in this one post, so as not to clutter the forum with multiple answers.

Yes, I did wash the slabs off after curing, but I didn't soak them. As a first timer, I didn't realize just how salty they would be.

Oh, and I guess I neglected to mention that it was a dry cure that I did, not a wet one.

Chadpole, are you saying that I can soak it now that it's been smoked and it won't harm the flavor any?

And, if all else fails, I will be cutting it up and putting it into the freezer. Live and learn, I guess.

 

[richtee]

Hia DB5000- Welcome to SMF. Now that you got all that info, drop an intro off on yourself in the Roll Call forum.