Questions about making bacon.

[old smokey nj]

Hello,

I'm attempting making bacon for the first time, and have a couple questions.

First, is a wet cure easier than a dry cure? It seems with a wet, I won't have to worry about the cure being uneven. I'm concerned that with the dry cure, there may be small areas where the cure is heavy or light.

Second, do I have to use brown sugar (or any kind of sweetener)? My family doesn't care for sweetness in meats. But most basic recipes, (trying to keep it simple for the first time), show 1) Cure #1, 2) Salt, and 3) Brown Sugar.

Any advice on either question would be most appreciated!!!

 

[Preacher Man]

I made bacon for the first time a couple of months ago. With mine, I used a dry brine and found the process to be very simple and effective. I turned my bags every couple of days and everything got cured.

I, also, don't like sweet on my bacon. None of my 4 flavors used sugar of any kind.

You can read about my process here: Bacon - 4 Flavors

 

[tx smoker]

Howdy and welcome to a world from which there is no return :) Once you start making bacon you'll need to resign yourself to never buying store bought products again. It's that good!!

Now to your questions. There are positives to both dry and wet curing. Over the course of the past year I have made over 160# of bacon and I've always done dry cure. There have never been any issues at all with it being "uneven". The trick is to turn the slabs over every day or so in order for the cure to absorb from both sides. As the meat cures it will create somewhat of a brine all by itself. The pork bellies are thin enough that 7 to 10 days of curing time will ensure that it's cured throughout. The general rule of thumb is one day of curing time for every 1/2" of meat thickness. Bellies are typically only about 2" thick so 4 days of cure time should do it theoretically but it's always wise to give any meat a few extra days just to make sure.

Sugar is not required for the curing process. It is typically used to offset the flavor of the salt in the cure. The base cure uses just regular granulated sugar as opposed to brown sugar. The brown sugar will impart a deeper, richer flavor and color to the slabs but it is not a requirement by any means. Some sort of sugar is recommended for the reason previously stated. I keep three different flavors of bacon on hand, one of them being a pepper crusted version. That has absolutely no sweet flavor at all. I have followed a process posted by one of the members here that goes by the moniker of Disco. His technique has been spot on and never failed to give incredible results. Another member that goes by the moniker of Pops6927 uses a wet cure that a lot of people have used and swear by. I'd recommend doing a search for those and see which one fits your thought processes the best. If you'd like to send me a PM with your email address, I'll send you a conversion table that can convert any weight or liquid measurement to any other measurement (ex: ounces to grams, kilograms to pounds, etc...). It also has a chart that will exactly calculate the amount of Cure #1, salt, and sugar you need for curing bacon. This has proven to be an invaluable tool and I use it every time I make a batch. Feel free to fire off any additional questions you may have.

Hoping to help from Lago,
Robert

 

[Preacher Man]

Howdy and welcome to a world from which there is no return :) Once you start making bacon you'll need to resign yourself to never buying store bought products again. It's that good!!

^ Truer words were never spoken.

 

[disco]

Both wet and dry cures work fine. I prefer the texture of dry but have had some mighty fine wet cured. As for sweetener, the salt and curing salt are necessary while the sweetener is for flavour. However, I will let you know that it won't taste like the bacon you are used to without any sweetener. Most recipes call for so little sweetener you don't really notice the sweetener but would miss it if it wasn't there. The problem is that the salt gives a sharp taste that the sugar offsets as mentioned by tx smoker. Preacherman gets around this with the use of herbs and other flavours.

I would suggest you try half your pork with sweetener and half without. Then keep on making the one you like best.

 

[SonnyE]

To the above sage advice's I would add that Dry Brine is only so at the beginning. So no worries about the cure getting everywhere. The moisture gets drawn out of the meat, combines with the curing moisture in the bag, and the liquid moves it all about.

I would add that it is important to massage your meat. It helps it relax and it enjoys the attention.
Before Christmas, my wife went to Hawaii to visit family their, and to see the Cousins first born daughter.
She texted me and asked what I was doing. So I told her,
"I'm playing with my nuts." (I was making various piles of flavored nuts, Peanuts, Pecans, Cashews, and Almonds.)
Aunt Christy asked how my nuts were doing. Now, you have to be very careful with me. I play, but I don't play fair.
She got an eye full.

Playing with your Nuts



My wife was visiting her Auntie and Cousin in Hawaii. Yesterday, texting, she asked if I had a good night and what was I doing....
With me, that can be a loaded question. Here is what transpired while I was playing with my nuts, and concocting flavor powders....

I told her, "It's raining here. So I'm playing with my nuts.
Almonds and Pecan Pieces. Making some Christmas varieties. Sweet to Hot. Playing indoors."
SonnyE

She wrote back, "Auntie wants to know how your nuts are doing."


Asking me a question like that will get very elongated replies. The question came in at a very inopportune time, as I had me hand on my nuts.
The following was my reply:

Right now....
Sorry I had my hands full...
Right now I'm brining my nuts.
I have to soak them in a Salt/Sugar brine, It's COLD!
Takes 10 minutes. Talk about having blue nuts!
The scary part is next my nuts have to go in the dehydrator to dry.
After about an hour at a balmy 130 degrees, I have to turn UP the heat to 160 degrees.
I would imagine my nuts will probably shrivel up, because they need an hour in there.

After that, I can smoke them.
I think I should powder them before they go in the smoker.
I think it would make me feel better about abusing my nuts.
I have several Interesting ideas I think I'll do with some powdered honey, just a sweet simple taste to suck on.
But I also have some Hot Honey powder.
It's Honey powder, but has some Cyan powder mixed in.
I think it will makes some Sweet Hot Nuts to enjoy!
Otherwise, Some Garlic, and maybe try some SPOG.

For those who got this far, SPOG is a nice thin powder (think Baby Powder, but for my nuts) of Salt, Pepper, Onion, and Garlic. It gets ground together in a Mortar & Pestle. If you don't grind it, it can mess with your nuts, and make them uneven in the mouth.
Also thinking about some brown sugar on my nuts. Kind of a sweet molasses taste, sort of Southern, without the Cajun, heat on my nuts.
I'll let you know how my nuts fare.
I have to go take care of Chase (Grandson), he needs a donut.
Nuts, an interruption in handling my nuts.

More later....

She wrote back, "Auntie and Tia loved your net saga. Will there be a sequel too, they want to know."

My reply, " Oh, it was just a bunch of nuttiness. I have 4 flavors I just started smoking, and 9 ounces to make sweet for the kids and whom ever. Honey Powder Almonds.
Done. Sitting back and wait now.

A sequeel?
Just be glad I don't make sausage.
That would really turn into a bunch of Baloney.
But you can tell them that my nuts are hot at the moment...
SonnyE
________________________________________________

Yeah, you could say I am a different kind of nut.....

Going to vacuum pack my nuts today for Christmas.
Then I'm unveil them at the Christmas Party at the Daughters house for all the friends and family to fondle and taste.



Yeah, you can't take me anywhere. I'll just make people blush.

So you see, I think massaging your meat is also a good idea. It let's your meat know you care and are thinking about it while it hangs out in the cold darkness waiting for your hand to reach in and share some personal care for it.
Eventually, after 14 days, the brine liquid will often be reabsorbed, and you'll find your meat dry and cured.
Then comes the bath. OMG! You rinse your meat in cold water, then you plunge it into an Ice Water bath for an hour.
After the timer calls you, you remove your meat and dry it with some paper towels and put it naked on a rack back it the fridge for a while (days) until it forms a Pelican. Kind of a sticky dry surface on your meat.
Woo-Hoo! Ready to put your tortured meat in the smoker. Thank God! Finally some warmth.
I smoked my meat, and my nuts too, for 6 hours. It tasted done to me at that point.
Out of curiosity, the next time I played with my meat, I double smoked it. One day for 6 hours. And overnight in the curing fridge. The for 6 more hours the next day.
It took on a kind of a nice golden tan. Made me think of Bikini clad meat playing on a warm sunny beach....
Anyway, Dave recommended letting my meat age in the fridge for a bit so the smoke could mellow and even out throughout the hunk. Dry aging, an added time to make my meat even tastier.
So, you might be thinking how long do you play with your meat? (If you are still with me, that is...)
I believe it was pretty near the whole month, 25 days. Then you slice it up and lay it out in pretty bacon slices and put up your meat in pounds. I'm not sure why, but I guess the girls are use to getting a pound of meat when they reach for it. Anyway, it makes a nice way to keep track of the results.
When you get to this point, (if you got to this point), it is a good idea to pick up or get out another slab of meat. Time to start again, massaging your meat.
The more Love you put into your meat, the more you can get out of it. I think the massaging is important because you don't want to let your meat loaf.

I do know everybody said they liked my Nuts and Meat.

 

[old smokey nj]

Thanks - I ended up doing one batch with half the sugar and the other with regular amount. I'll let you all know how they turned out.

And Sonny - thanks for your amusing info. That's the first time I laughed out loud hearing about a guy playing with his nuts!!!!!

 

[disco]

Thanks - I ended up doing one batch with half the sugar and the other with regular amount. I'll let you all know how they turned out.

And Sonny - thanks for your amusing info. That's the first time I laughed out loud hearing about a guy playing with his nuts!!!!!

Another first for SMF!

 

[SonnyE]

What?
It's all true, and good clean fun.

Please refer to my Disclaimer... ;)

And if anyone is offended, I apologize.
Please have your brain washed, and apply a fabric softener to it.

 

[old smokey nj]

Hilarious, good clean fun!!!!:p

 

[old smokey nj]

Hello again,

Well my bacon has been in fridge curing for about 2 weeks. I'm ready to take it out and soak it in ice water, and I discovered that I don't have a container big enough to lay the slab(s) in. Is it okay to slice it in half? I'm just concerned about the "cut" edge when I go to smoke it. I'm planning on hot smoking (150 F). Will that area be adversely affected? Would it be even worse if cold smoked? Or not an issue either way?

 

[rexster314]

Hello again,

Well my bacon has been in fridge curing for about 2 weeks. I'm ready to take it out and soak it in ice water, and I discovered that I don't have a container big enough to lay the slab(s) in. Is it okay to slice it in half? I'm just concerned about the "cut" edge when I go to smoke it. I'm planning on hot smoking (150 F). Will that area be adversely affected? Would it be even worse if cold smoked? Or not an issue either way?

Nothing to worry about. The cure comes in from all directions and 2 weeks is certainly long enough. I only cure mine for about 8 days. I have got the cure ratio perfect in that I don't have to soak it for any period of time to get rid of excess saltiness.

 

[tx smoker]

No, there will be no adverse effects if you cut the slab into two pieces. Matter of fact, I have found that it makes handling the slabs much easier. The worst thing is that you'll have 2x as much "waste". That's the ends where you start slicing before you're getting full, perfect slices and the other end where your fingers are getting too close to the slicer blade. I set all of those pieces on a paper plate until I'm finished slicing then get out the cleaver and cutting board, chop all that stuff into "crumbles", and vac seal it separately. That's used to top salads, in soups, in scalloped potatoes, etc. You can never have too much "waste" where bacon is concerned. There's always a nifty way to use it. I do the same thing with Canadian Bacon, dried beef, and any other meat that I cure and smoke.

Just curious....why are you going to soak it in ice water? Not saying it's wrong but I've never heard of it nor have I ever done it. I just rinse the slabs in cool water, apply a light coating of whatever flavorings were used during curing (minus the cure) and set if back in the fridge uncovered overnight before smoking.

Hoping to help a bit,
Robert

 

[old smokey nj]

Thanks Rexster and Robert. Robert, I got the idea to soak it from this thread from Disco:

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/bacon-step-by-step-video.282831/

Not sure where I got the "ice" part from??? I'm guessing the soaking is to make sure the saltiness level is acceptable to your preference. I'll rinse it and cook up a piece - if too salty, I'll soak it.

Glad to hear it can be cut - I wasn't sure if the cure went all the way through, or went just far enough in to protect exposed area.

Thanks!!!

 

[disco]

Nothing to worry about. The cure comes in from all directions and 2 weeks is certainly long enough. I only cure mine for about 8 days. I have got the cure ratio perfect in that I don't have to soak it for any period of time to get rid of excess saltiness.

No, there will be no adverse effects if you cut the slab into two pieces. Matter of fact, I have found that it makes handling the slabs much easier. The worst thing is that you'll have 2x as much "waste". That's the ends where you start slicing before you're getting full, perfect slices and the other end where your fingers are getting too close to the slicer blade. I set all of those pieces on a paper plate until I'm finished slicing then get out the cleaver and cutting board, chop all that stuff into "crumbles", and vac seal it separately. That's used to top salads, in soups, in scalloped potatoes, etc. You can never have too much "waste" where bacon is concerned. There's always a nifty way to use it. I do the same thing with Canadian Bacon, dried beef, and any other meat that I cure and smoke.

Just curious....why are you going to soak it in ice water? Not saying it's wrong but I've never heard of it nor have I ever done it. I just rinse the slabs in cool water, apply a light coating of whatever flavorings were used during curing (minus the cure) and set if back in the fridge uncovered overnight before smoking.

Hoping to help a bit,
Robert

Thanks Rexster and Robert. Robert, I got the idea to soak it from this thread from Disco:

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/bacon-step-by-step-video.282831/

Not sure where I got the "ice" part from??? I'm guessing the soaking is to make sure the saltiness level is acceptable to your preference. I'll rinse it and cook up a piece - if too salty, I'll soak it.

Glad to hear it can be cut - I wasn't sure if the cure went all the way through, or went just far enough in to protect exposed area.

Thanks!!!

I do not soak to "get rid of excess saltiness" as I cure with a lesser amount of salt than some. However, I do soak because I use the outside trim pieces in several dishes. Dry curing leaves a higher salt content and the surface and I find these are saltier than I care for in my other dishes. An hour soaking will have practically no effect on the saltiness of the inside of the bacon.

In short, there is no need to soak for the overall saltiness of your bacon but it does affect the trim pieces.

 

[old smokey nj]

Thanks Disco - that makes total sense! Appreciate the feedback.

 

[SonnyE]

Something I'm doing now when getting to the slicer part is to cut my slabs in half in the middle.
That gives me a straight, square edge to slice from toward the raggity edge of the cured slab.
I think I get more pretty slices that way, and still have my trimmings for Dutch's Wicked Beans.

I do soak my slabs in iced water for an hour between the Cure and the Pelican's. I can't say there is any real benefit in it.
But I can see the ice helping to keep the temperature lower. Then onto a rack over a sheet pan and into the fridge to form a pellical.
After that, it's the hooks, Martha. There is just something I like about meat on hooks...Muh, ha, ha, haaaa.

I have two days curing left to go on my Disco's Peppered Bacon. Got my jar of cracked Black Peppercorns all ready.

I over heard my wife telling her Brother that she is using more and more Pepper... I'm leading her down the garden path.

 

[old smokey nj]

Well I got it all done, but it's very salty. I did test a couple pieces in the frying pan prior to smoking, and I guess they were too small because they didn't seem that salty. Now I know to test a bigger piece next time! Disco was spot on - the batch I did with sugar was definitely better - the batch with reduced sugar was sharper tasting.

Does anyone know if there's anything I can do to get rid of some of the salt? It is already sliced up. I was thinking of trying to soak it in water, but not sure if it's too late for that.

 

[SonnyE]

I made some Buckboard Bacon that came out rather salty.
Not a problem though. I use it to cook with, like Dutch's Beans, or to add to other stuff.
My slab (Pork Belly) seems to come out less salty cured side by side with Pork Shoulder.
My guess is that Pork Belly has more fat, so it absorbs less of the salt. Just my thoughts on Shoulder VS: Belly bacon's.
I do cure for 14 days, so that may have some bearing on the salt absorption.

So that is what I'm doing with my salty bacon. Let the Beans have it.
(Might have salty stains to your panties though.)

 

[old smokey nj]

Thanks Sonny - Hopefully no stains! We have about 10 pounds of this and was hoping to enjoy some as bacon and not mixed in with things. So you think it's too late to try to get some of the salt out? Soaking won't work?