Bacon color question

[breeves]

I'm working on my first try at Buck Board bacon and after 13 days in the frig with himountain cure I pulled it out to rinse and soak today and noticed sections of the meat are red and the rest is a brown.

IMG_2079.jpeg

• breeves
• May 2, 2014

Before I smoke it and eat any I want to check with the experts, did I mess up, should I apply more cure to these areas?

 

[pc farmer]

When it is cured the center should be a nice red/pink color.  The outside will be brown from the oxygen that gets to the outside.

Looks good to me.

Maybe some bacon experts will chime in.

 

[breeves]

I have not cut into a piece, but the redish sections were in the center of the ziplock bag, so maybe just not as much oxygen exposure.

 

[daveomak]

It is fine.... Like c farmer said, the brown is oxidation... no problem...... When you cook it, the meat will turn pink, like ham does.... If you have meat that wasn't cured long enough, it will look like this..... Thank you Snorkeling Girl, for the valuable lesson for our members to learn from......

Partially Cured Meat.jpg

• daveomak
• May 2, 2014

 

[breeves]

Thanks a lot guys, I'm going to do my fry test and fire up the smoker.