So I have 5lbs of pork belly I want to make into bacon. My plan is to rub the dry cure into the belly, then vacuum seal and refrigerate. My refrigerator only cools to 43 degrees. Is that cold enough?
My instructions say 10 days for curing a pork butt. It also says for a pork belly cut cure time in half. As far as temp I am now confused the instructions say 40-45,everyone here says not over 40.Shutter. I just used that cure twice , check your instruction, it should say cure 10 days turning after 5 days. It also says place in refrigerator at temp 40 to 45 degrees. You get written instruction on the web. By the way it was great, I think we ate LTB sandwiches for 3 days..
The package came with 1lb of cure packaged in 3 equal packets. I weighed them and used 1 packet. The instructions in the box also say the cure can be used for pork loin or pork belly bacon and curing time can be cut in half for thinner cuts. My pork belly is 1.5 inches thick.
From the HI Mountain site...
"Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Proper temperature is 40 to 45 degrees F. Let meat stand in refrigerator at least 10 days, turning on the 5th day."
.64 oz to a pound is what it called for... amount for 8.5 pounds would have been 5.44 oz..
keep following the instructions and you will be fine.