All.. So, I'm working on curing some bacon. The first batch I did I used 2.2% regular salt, 0.2% cure, and 2% white table sugar. Where I went wrong is I vacuum sealed the mixture together, and I'm thinking that didn't give it enough space to pull moisture out of the bacon. After 3 days or so, I sliced a small hole in the bag to add air, then re-sealed, this time not vacuuming closed and after a couple more days, I saw a slight bit of moisture forming in the bag. After a little while, the moisture disappeared, almost as if the bacon sucked it back up. Nevertheless, I took it out at 7 days, smoked it, tasted it, and it tasted like smoked ham. Not quite bacon. So, I sliced it up and dehydrated it for about 8 hours, and lo-and-behold, it tasted a helluva lot more like bacon.
Fast forward a month, and I'm trying again. I have two pork bellies, this time, I started them off in Ziploc bags. I used 2.5% regular salt, 0.2% cure, and 2% white table sugar. After the first two days I saw quite a bit of moisture being pulled out. I continued turning every morning, but slowly over the past 9 days, the moisture seems to be "disappearing", again, almost as if the bacon is sucking the moisture back up. I doubt it could be due to the moisture evaporating through the bag, as it seems like the moisture disappeared almost overnight for both of them.
Am I not using enough salt? Or am I doing something else wrong?
Please help!
Fast forward a month, and I'm trying again. I have two pork bellies, this time, I started them off in Ziploc bags. I used 2.5% regular salt, 0.2% cure, and 2% white table sugar. After the first two days I saw quite a bit of moisture being pulled out. I continued turning every morning, but slowly over the past 9 days, the moisture seems to be "disappearing", again, almost as if the bacon is sucking the moisture back up. I doubt it could be due to the moisture evaporating through the bag, as it seems like the moisture disappeared almost overnight for both of them.
Am I not using enough salt? Or am I doing something else wrong?
Please help!