Bacon Curing Question

[chrisburke]

So I'm curing 3 different pieces of pork belly right now. I've made bacon several times,but I'm trying a new recipe on one. I used the same basic cure on this piece, but I added sriracha sauce after rubbing the cure in and slathered that on. This piece does not seem to be firming up like the other two. I used the same cure on them, but with only dry spices. Does anyone think the sriracha sauce would prevent the curing from happening? That's the only variable I can think of.

I'm planning on cold smoking the bacon on Saturday, but I'm worried about that one piece not firming up. I guess I could bake it in the oven to 150 degrees just to be safe. Any ideas?

 

[diggingdogfarm]

@ChrisBurke,

What "basic cure" are you using?
Was the sriracha applied right after applying the cure or some time afterward?

In the context of a proper cure the short answer is no, it shouldn't make a difference.
Firmness isn't really all that good of an indication of the effectiveness of the cure anyway because it can vary quite a bit.


~Martin

 

[chrisburke]

I used the Basic Dry Cure from Ruhlman's Charcuterie. Just kosher salt, cure #1 and sugar. 

I applied the dry cure, coating the whole piece. Then I applied the sriracha immediately after. All 3 pieces of belly have been curing for the same time in the same fridge. 

Is there any danger in cold smoking this piece? Is there a way to determine if the cure took? I'm going to fry test a piece of each tonight so maybe that will help. 

 

[diggingdogfarm]

If you applied enough cure, the cure stayed in contact with the meat and you cured it long enough... it'll be cured.
A fry test won't hurt.





~Martin