Bacon first timer help!

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I did my first bellies using a nitrite free recipe and using Rulhman's recipe. While they weren't total disasters, they did require quite a bit of soaking to make them edible. I also hot smoked them because I wasn't set up for a cold smoke. Since then I've used Pop's Brine Cure and Martin's Digging Dog Farm cure calculator. I've had consistently good results from both of those methods. I did 12 bellies as Christmas presents and got rave reviews. With the wet cured bellies I did a maple flavor. Pops himself recommended to me that I use maple extract instead of maple syrup since it's more concentrated and more likely to penetrate the meat. While I thought the results were fine, I still have to play with the amount I used (about 1/2 a bottle per gallon of brine - I'll try a whole bottle next time). I definitely recommend using the brine or the cure calculator. I would also recommend trying to cold smoke. I think it's a better flavor and texture. I also have a MES 30" and have set up a mailbox mod - http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...0-new-pictures-for-attaching-elbow-to-mailbox.
 
Goodness, no!!!
Bad recipe!!
That'll end in disaster almost every time!
Use a calculated amount of salt, start with 2% salt and cure long enough so that the salt distributes and equalizes well throughout the meat.
7 days is too short a curing time for most bacon.
If you have to soak it to make it edible, either too much salt was added or it wasn't cured long enough,


~Martin
Hi Martin,

Not to hijack this thread, but I'm still trying to dial in my salt level too.  2 to 3 inch thick 5lb skin-on belly section, dry-brine cured for 22 days using 2.5% salt, 156 ppm sodium nitrite, 1.25% white sugar + 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, ground black pepper.  Rinsed and soaked for 1 hour in cool water, changed water at 30 minutes.  Overnight in refrigerator to form pellicle. Smoked for 12 hours using peach dust in AMNS with chamber temp < 80 degrees for entire time.  Air dried in refrigerator for 2 weeks to mellow before removing skin and slicing.  Texture fantastic, smoke taste fantastic, but still too salty. Dag-nabbit.

Should I:

(a) remove the skin and reweigh the belly before calculating the cure, as the skin supposedly doesn't absorb much salt

(b) drop down to 2.0% salt

(c) do both (a) and (b)

(d) go back to buying bacon, and leave the bacon curing to the professionals

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

Clarissa
 
Goodness, no!!!

Bad recipe!!

That'll end in disaster almost every time!

Use a calculated amount of salt, start with 2% salt and cure long enough so that the salt distributes and equalizes well throughout the meat.

7 days is too short a curing time for most bacon.

If you have to soak it to make it edible, either too much salt was added or it wasn't cured long enough,



~Martin

Hi Martin,

Not to hijack this thread, but I'm still trying to dial in my salt level too.  2 to 3 inch thick 5lb skin-on belly section, dry-brine cured for 22 days using 2.5% salt, 156 ppm sodium nitrite, 1.25% white sugar + 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, ground black pepper.  Rinsed and soaked for 1 hour in cool water, changed water at 30 minutes.  Overnight in refrigerator to form pellicle. Smoked for 12 hours using peach dust in AMNS with chamber temp
 
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