First Cure .... Did I use too much PINK SALT?

I understand the price issue, but it is so much better than store bought.

Smokin Phil said:

I just wish I could get bellys for something resembling affordable. When I can buy Oscar Meyer bacon for about half the price of raw belly...... Well, not gonna do that. My BBB is great though!!

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Where are you buying the belly at?  I've found that Asian markets tend to have good prices on belly and it's good stuff as well.  A lot of butcher shops have figured out that like brisket, we want the other "cheap" cuts and will pay for it.

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Phil...Oldtime Meat and Deli should have bellies but judging from their Bundle prices, are not cheap. How about Far East Grocer and AMKO Asian Foods, they should have bellies at better prices. Is Restaurant Depot on 1030 W Division St, Chicago too far? You need a Tax ID/Business licence or KCBS Membership to get in. You may have friends that can help, my daughter's boyfriend shops there on the Tax ID of his boss' Towing Biz...JJ

Quite happy to have stumble on this thread, as I'm second-guessing mysel for a week or so... I've made bacon before, but this time, since I had some basic dry cure not doing anything, I've decided to follow Rhulman & Polcyn instructions. 

Using the salt-box method, I've cured about 3 kg of side, cut in 4 parts (each in its own bag). I've weigted the dry cure before and after, and found that I've used about 180 g of dry cure mix for my 3 kg of meat, dredged one piece at a time in the mix. That amount to about 14 g of pink salt, to a concentration of 292 ppm... that is, if the mix was constant throught the 4 pieces.

I've found it curious at first, then thought it ok, but a voice in the back of my head keep coming back: that's too much...

I'm smoking it this afternoon... should I just throw it out?

I guess not - after all, I just followed the instructions from the book... But I'm still a bit unsure. I know that this book have some problems, but still...

Louis Gilbert said:

 
Quite happy to have stumble on this thread, as I'm second-guessing mysel for a week or so... I've made bacon before, but this time, since I had some basic dry cure not doing anything, I've decided to follow Rhulman & Polcyn instructions. 

Using the salt-box method, I've cured about 3 kg of side, cut in 4 parts (each in its own bag). I've weigted the dry cure before and after, and found that I've used about 180 g of dry cure mix for my 3 kg of meat, dredged one piece at a time in the mix. That amount to about 14 g of pink salt, to a concentration of 292 ppm... that is, if the mix was constant throught the 4 pieces.

I've found it curious at first, then thought it ok, but a voice in the back of my head keep coming back: that's too much...

I'm smoking it this afternoon... should I just throw it out?

I guess not - after all, I just followed the instructions from the book... But I'm still a bit unsure. I know that this book have some problems, but still...

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Congrats on taking the time to weigh stuff out and do the calculations...   Very scientific and the proper way to do stuff...

Louis, morning...   A bit too much...   200 Ppm nitrite max. ingoing, used in a dry rub, is for commercial applications selling to the public...    when you cook it, the nitrite level will be reduced...

Once cured, if you dry it and let it age for a week or two, in the refer on wire racks, the nitrite level will also lower a bit...  I age my belly bacon for 7 days after the cure step, and again for another 7 days, after the smoke... 28-30 days in all... 

May I suggest, next go 'round, you weigh the slab and the appropriate amount of cure for each piece....  add the required amount of salt and sugar and what ever else you will add, and cure each piece individually...  

The "BOX" method is for those curing hundreds of pounds of meat....   then all the meat is thrown into a lug or tub or rack...   it's a FAST way to process the meat... and it's not very accurate...

FWIW, I cure my bacon, with a dry rub, and usually shoot for around 150 ish Ppm...   Brined belly nitrite limits are 120 Ppm nitrite...  same deal.... that's for commercial producers selling to the public.....

Thanks for the fast reply!

Yeah, I would normally weight everything down according to the weight of the meat. I'm not exactly sure what went throught my mind doing it this way last week. I guess it went something like "well, let's try it like they say anyway" - and then, had some doubt.

I know, yet I don't understand, that there are such - let's say - imprecisions in Charcuterie. I don't want to critic the book - I know it's been done to death, and I have to say I still love it, but it's just curious that some of the pink salt usage is inconsistent, without explanation.

Anyway, here mine after about 3hr of smoke. I've done nature and peppery bacon.

Dave, I noticed in your pics that you smoke the bellies with the fat down. Can you give me some insight on that? 

jpgauthi79 said:

 
Dave, I noticed in your pics that you smoke the bellies with the fat down. Can you give me some insight on that? 

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Never noticed ????  Guess I like the pretty side up...

That's good enough for me!