First time curing

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rscardina

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 13, 2017
8
10
Livingston, Louisiana
How long does it take before a pork belly begins to look like the curing is taking place? I've been curing mine for 2 days and it doesn't look much different than when I began.
 
What recipe did you follow? Dry or wet? If proper quantities were used it's curing whether it shows or not. Give it enough time and it will happen guaranteed.

Stop watching it , go have a beer (wine scotch).
 
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Al
 
After 7 days curing, there is very little liquid in the bag and the pork belly is still reddish and raw looking. Shouldn't it be beginning to turn brownish?
 
After 7 days curing, there is very little liquid in the bag and the pork belly is still reddish and raw looking. Shouldn't it be beginning to turn brownish?

There will be times that you may not get more than a teaspoon of visible liquid with a dry cure, other times you may get greater than 1/2 a cup. It depends upon the moisture content of the meat, temperature, and the additives used in the curing process.

As for the "look" of the meat. Pork belly is a strange critter. Sometimes mine has the brownish color on the red meat portion, and other times it looks almost like it did when I put it in the bag. If your bag has a really low oxygen content the myoglobin in the meat fades to the darker brownish color, if your bag has oxygen in it, you'll have the reddish pink tint to it. Did you vac pack or ziplock it?

You're only about half way into it, have a cold one, kick back, read the forums, and dream about the BLT you'll be making next weekend after you smoke that perfectly cured belly.

What I'm saying is, if you did exactly like they said to, you'll be good to go.

Please let us know how it turns out, or if anything changes.
 
As Cranky says, each batch can look different and there is often very little moisture released.

Which of the cures are you using from Bass Pro as there are several?

Was it the LEM Products "Backwoods" Meat Cure? If so then this is just a re-badged Cure #1. 

In the Bass Pro site there is no mention of the High Mountain Buckboard Bacon Cure containing any Nitrite however if you go to the High Mountain web site it does state the ingredients as containing 0.7% Nitrite - so it is more like Morton Tender Quick.

What were the basic instructions that you are following?
 
I used the High Mountain Buckboard Bacon Cure. I used a ziplock bag. I read reviews where others used the product with pork belly with success. The instructions said 7 - 10 days. How long should I get it cure? I have read as few as 5 days and as many as 30 days.
 
RS, morning...    General rule...   7 days per inch of thickness...    For buckboard bacon, made from a pork butt, I remove the blade bone and cure 2 thinner hunks of meat...  seems to work very well for me...
 
After 12 days curing, the pork belly looks great. I cut it in half to check it. I will smoke it Saturday. Can't wait. A little patience was the ticket.
 
I rest my smoked bellies for 7+ days on a wire rack in the refer...   I think the moisture left in the slab, the smoke, salt, sugar etc. have more time to homogenize throughout the meat...  the meat continues to dry and intensify the flavor...    I usually keep adding time to my bacon making process....   the flavor just keeps getting better the longer I ignore it...  A belly slab now, takes me ~30 days from start to finish using a dry rub method....  14 days in the cure...  rinse and 7 days rest in the refer...  1-2 days cold smoke < 70 deg. F...   7+ days rest in the refer...
 
Looks like the bacon turned out well!

Dave has you covered about the rest period, but if you want to sneak a slice or 5, that'll be ok too!

Great work and welcome to the addiction!
 
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