Bacon cure question for less salty taste

[DaveWNY]

I have been using smoking bacon for this past year and I have perfected the art of the needed smoke needed for a cold smoke bacon, but I am still having an end product that is a bit too salty than what I typically prefer.

I amusing the following measurements for the brine and then soaking the bacon in water (completely submerged) for 30 minutes before placing back in the fridge for the 24 hour pelicle (sp) development.

• 1/3 cup kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper or cracked black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons pink curing salt, such as Prague Powder #1
• 1/3 cup Sugar in the Raw

This is the recipe for 5 lb pork belly by the way and I am letting this cure in the fridge in the brine for 5 days.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

The only thing that can come up with is that some of the thinner pieces are completely reaching the salt equilibrium state that I can't get any more cure into them but at the same time I can't pull any out either or very little with a 30 minute soak.....

 

[chef jimmyj]

How much water are you using to brine the belly? With 1/3 cup Kosher Salt, you need at least 1 Gallon of water and 1 Tablespoon Cure #1 to brine cure the belly. If your belly is a pretty much standard market weight size, it should be between 1.5 and 2 inches thick. 5 days in the brine will barely penetrate 1/2 inch from both sides and is not long enough to reach uniform equilibrium. You likely have a high concentration of salt in the outter 1/2 inch and can taste it. If you figure 7 days per inch in the gallon of brine, plus a 7 day rest in the refer to guarantee equilibrium, you will get a better product. If still too salty, there is no rule on how long to soak it. Try 30-60 minutes and test fry. Still too salty, add fresh water and soak another hour, test fry and repeat as needed...JJ

 

[DaveWNY]

Good point I forgot to add in there. The brine is a straight rub directly on the pork belly. I have mis-typed....

Basically a straight/direct rub onto belly and then into a ziplock bag for 5 days, then the soak and then 24 hours in fridge for set up before smoking...

Would a wet brine work better for what I am doing then based on your response rather than a direct rub?

By the way I am smoking for 10-12 hours cold smoke here (temp never gets above 80 degrees in summer and stays below 50 degrees in winter) and then freeze the bacon whole in slabs after vacuum sealing...

 

[chappy4o]

I like pop's brine, it's what I have in the smoker right now

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/bacon-made-the-easy-way.124885/

 

[chef jimmyj]

Depending on the brand of Kosher Salt you use 1/3 cup Kosher is between 2.5 and 3% of the meats weight. Pretty strong. Most guys around here shoot for 1.5 to 2% salt by weight.
Curing Belly Bacon with a dry rub, what you describe, or in a Wet Brine, make a good product. The difference is the Dry Rub gives a firmer, more Country Style, bacon while the Wet Brine is more like national brand grocery store bacon. The style is your choice. With the Dry Rub figure 5 days per inch thick and 7 days per inch with the Brine method. A 5-7 day rest in the refer will give a better product either way...JJ

 

[pa42phigh]

I think you’re using to much cure and salt for a dry brine

 

[pa42phigh]

This may help you out
http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html

 

[chef jimmyj]

I think you’re using to much cure and salt for a dry brine

I concur. The most common amount of cure recommended for 5 pounds of meat is 1 teaspoon. However, 2 teaspoons is still a safe amount. Digging Dogs Calculator makes determining the amount of cure and other ingredients easy, especially when you have an amount of meat that is not a multiple of 5 pounds. The calculator is usually set to 156ppm which covers a broad range of meats and sausages. For Bacon 120ppm is recommended by the USDA...JJ

 

[rexster314]

When you do a dry brine/cure, usually you have to rinse/soak the meat for at least an hour to pull out the salt then dry out to get a pellicle. I didn't see where you're doing that. I've found a happy place for my cure mix of perfect salt ratio and don't have to waste time soaking the meat

 

[smokerjim]

ive used pops brine quite a few times, its very good, ive done the digging dogs also, but will go back to pops brine, just easier for me not having to remember to turn it every day. you can always reduce the amount of salt too,

 

[DaveWNY]

Thanks for the response gang. I'll try thee wet brine, but there is 1 question that I have still. For this wet brine, is the amount of ingredients specific to a weight of the belly or more in a relation to the amount of water? The reason that I am asking is that I am seeing multiple entries with belly wts but the constant is the 1 gal of water ratio. I just want to be sure that I am not missing something here... Thanks again!!!

 

[DaveWNY]

Also I am seeing that the soak time I am using is just a bit too short. I'll also increase my soak time if I go back to the rub method of curing, but I must admit, the ease of not having to remember to flip the bellies is a nice plus.

 

[daveomak]

I use the "dry rub brine" for my bacon and have very good success....
I use a grams scale 0-100 grams... about $15 on amazon... If you reload ammo, get the scale out....
convert the weight of the belly to grams...
5#'s x 454 = 2,270 grams...
I prefer 1.75% salt = 39 grams salt
1% white sugar = 23 grams sugar
cure added at 0.25% = 5.7 grams cure.. ~150 Ppm nitrite... very safe....
between the salt and cure, the meat is now 2% salt... with the 1% sugar it is very palatable... only a very light rinse is necessary to form the pellicle and cold smoke...
Mix all the ingredients, sprinkle to cover both sides of the skinless belly... If skin is on, 10% on the skin side and 90% on the meat side...
Plastic zip bag it for 14 days.... I find 14 days provides the best flavor..
light rinse... pellicle and cold smoke.. I prefer 4-6 hours of cold smoke... it doesn't overpower the flavor of the pig...
Rest in the refer at 36-38F for another 5-7 days on a wire rack... ages and dries out the meat a bit to intensify the flavor... put in the freezer for 2-4 hours to firm it up to slice.....

My last bacon.....

 

[smokerjim]

Thanks for the response gang. I'll try thee wet brine, but there is 1 question that I have still. For this wet brine, is the amount of ingredients specific to a weight of the belly or more in a relation to the amount of water? The reason that I am asking is that I am seeing multiple entries with belly wts but the constant is the 1 gal of water ratio. I just want to be sure that I am not missing something here... Thanks again!!!

pops brine ingrdedients is for a gallon of water, you can adjust the salt sugar, add flavors if you like but don't adjust the cure, no need to weigh the meat just make sure its submerged hold down with a plate or something if needed, brine time is 1 day for every 1/4 inch plus two days, so if your meat is 2 inched thick it would be 8 days plus 2 days =10 days, you can inject thicker cuts to help out the curing process