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Dry curing ,I may have messed up !

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ramman123

ramman123

Newbie
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Jan 2, 2016
21
10
Ontario, Canada
So I had some awesome bellies in the freezer and decided to take a wack at dry curing but I sort of missed a step and now I'm wondering if it will be OK.

I skinned the bellies and applied the dry cure rub. The part I missed was the "run cold water over them and Pat them dry "
Is this a game changer ?
I hope I didn't ruin them.

Let me know.

Thanks
 
ramman123 said:
So I had some awesome bellies in the freezer and decided to take a wack at dry curing but I sort of missed a step and now I'm wondering if it will be OK.

I skinned the bellies and applied the dry cure rub. The part I missed was the "run cold water over them and Pat them dry "
Is this a game changer ?
I hope I didn't ruin them.

Let me know.

Thanks
Click to expand...
You were wanting to rinse the rub off before you smoked the belly?
 
As NEPAS asks - when did the rinse and pat dry come in?
If you mean before you put the cure on - not a problem.

If you mean after it had cured for several days - most likely your bacon will be way too salty.

The recipe I use calls for rinsing the belly and then soaking for 30- - 60 minutes before smoking it. There is also the fry test as soon as you rinse it to see exactly how salty it is. This will dictate whether you soak for 30 or 60 minutes.
 
Yes bacon is the end game for the bellies.
The instructions I had read a few days before said to rinse and Pat dry before I applied the cure .
I just missed that one step.

I bought a hog already slaughtered and split in half for $1.00 lb. ( That's Canadian dollar ) !
I'm a butcher by trade so processing is quick.
But smoking bacon is new to me.

I figured it's probably not a huge deal.......But I thought I'd ask.
I did 4 pcs two dry cured one I just out in with some cottage I already had on the go and 1 I mixed up a small brine of BSA olde fashion bacon brine.
That one smells like it had alot of cloves in it.....Maybe too much for my taste. I added a bit of brown sugar to it and some black pepper.

I'll be smoking in Maple wood.

Thanks for all the help.
DSC_0044.JPG

DSC_0044.JPG

 
Slipaway said:
As NEPAS asks - when did the rinse and pat dry come in?

If you mean before you put the cure on - not a problem.
If you mean after it had cured for several days - most likely your bacon will be way too salty.
The recipe I use calls for rinsing the belly and then soaking for 30- - 60 minutes before smoking it. There is also the fry test as soon as you rinse it to see exactly how salty it is. This will dictate whether you soak for 30 or 60 minutes.
Click to expand...
Some members wash/dry their meats before curing (or cooking). I do it sometimes. It's been debated here. Obviously not a must-do step.
 
Here is the bellies .
I still have four more slabs.

Called the farmer the other day says $.86 a lb right now and that's slaughtered with federal inspection. So if he puts tax on probably still a $1.00 lb

I doubt I can raise them for that.
IMG_20170106_183355.jpg

IMG_20170106_183355.jpg

 
No tax on meat in our province.

That's what I said too: can't understand how they stay in business.

Do you slaughter too? Or just butcher?
 
Atomic smoke

Good call in the tax ...Yes probably not....Yet.
They only tax 2 things in Ontario... Everything you want and everything you need.

Yes I do slaughter for myself and the odd time for a neighbor.
I'm killing a heifer for a neighbor here in the next lil while. I kill cut and wrap and I get one side of the beef.
It's pretty generous offer from them. But with 500+ head no biggy possibly for them to be so generous.
I was a meat manager in a large corporate supermarket back in the good old days of sides of beef and not boxed meat.

I generally land some beef in trade every year for the processing of it.

We raise 60-70 chickens in the fall to 12 weeks old.
Here is my kill a few weeks ago.
8.1 lb average. Largest just over 10 lbs.
This photo is half of them. I own a commercial plucker that will do 3-5 birds at a time in 15 seconds. So the job is pretty quick.
As for killing pigs for the price I can get them already in sides I'll save my time for fishing !
 
You got that right. Hope the premier is not a member here , or you will see meat taxed too .

Ha ha! You guessed right...I was going to propose you do some killing for me. Good choice ...Enjoy fishing.
 
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