Bacon Help.

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thatcho

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Sep 11, 2013
243
15
Pueblo, Co
Hello all i am in need of some information. I have a Dry brine/curing pork belly in the fridge (34 deg). It has been in the fridge six days and is a inch and a half thick. When i flipped last night the belly felt soft and has not toughened up. Can i save this? I planned on pulling Sunday to enjoy. This will not be smoked unless there is a chance to save it by hot smoking. Thank you all in advance.
 
It needs more time. Rub what ever liquid/Cure is still there and let it go 4-5 more days. You should then be fine to proceed with the cold smoking...JJ
 
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JJ is correct, 10-11 days for 1.5 inch thickness.  Would recommend turning daily throughout the curing process.  Don't forget to let it equalize on a rack or hang in the refrigerator for two days after a quick rinse.  This will allow the cure to distribute more evenly and form a pellicle prior to smoking.

Tom
 
What JJ said, plus before you smoke it you can cut it in half & look at the inside cut. If it's the same color all the way across (pink), then you'll know the cure got to the center. Your fridge being at only 34* could be slowing the curing process a bit. I like 37*-38*. If the center is not pink all the way across, the center didn't get cured.

While your at it, you could take a couple slices & fry them up in a pan to see if they're too salty. If they are, you can soak them in cold water for awhile. Once you smoke them, it's too late to do anything about being too salty. Nice little pre-smoke snack too.

I only let mine equalize for about 16 to 20 hours in the fridge, after curing & rinsing, and everything comes out Great

Bear
 
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Thanks Bearcarver. Hmm, bacon snack y not. I have had better luck with the 3 previous slabs but some reason this one is got me wondering. Maybe just a lil thicker than the others. I will adjust the temp. Thanks again all.
 
 
While your at it, you could take a couple slices & fry them up in a pan to see if they're too salty. If they are, you can soak them in cold water for awhile. Once you smoke them, it's too late to do anything about being too salty.

Bear
I would be interested in knowing from a reputable source what effect smoking has on desalinizing meat as I haven't seemed to have experienced a problem desalinizing slices of smoked loin and can't seem to find anything to the contrary.

Tom
 
Hello all i am in need of some information. I have a Dry brine/curing pork belly in the fridge (34 deg). It has been in the fridge six days and is a inch and a half thick. When i flipped last night the belly felt soft and has not toughened up. Can i save this? I planned on pulling Sunday to enjoy. This will not be smoked unless there is a chance to save it by hot smoking. Thank you all in advance.

It's impossible to form an honest opinion and malpractice to attempt good advice without more specifics.
How much salt did you use?
What cure did you use?
How much cure?
Regardless, you can't judge the effectiveness of the cure by feel, it's not always reliable.


~Martin
 
 
I would be interested in knowing from a reputable source what effect smoking has on desalinizing meat as I haven't seemed to have experienced a problem desalinizing slices of smoked loin and can't seem to find anything to the contrary.

Tom
Not saying you can't soak smoked meat to eliminate salt, although the outer surface would make it more difficult. If you want to soak finished smoked meat, go for it. I'd rather leave it alone once it's smoked.

Bear
 
It's impossible to form an honest opinion and malpractice to attempt good advice without more specifics.
How much salt did you use?
What cure did you use?
How much cure?
Regardless, you can't judge the effectiveness of the cure by feel, it's not always reliable.


~Martin
Martin is correct.  We sometimes when assisting someone take for granted that proper procedures have been followed.

Tom
 
Ur all correct. I did leave out important information as to weight sal to cure ratio. Here is the short. When i called for my first pork belly from our local reputable meat market the butcher told me they no longer did bacon. So he gave me a half pound bag of mix his store prepared. He gave me written instructions and a couple of his favorite recipes.1\8 cup cure to two pounds belly. All other instructions match everything i got from the SMF forum. All prior bellys tightened up as the DRY BRINE/CURE process went on and had great results. Martin and Tom your absolutely correct. You have to assume i followed All correct procedures but not knowing if i did you are just hoping i did. I assure u i have done my share in preparation of belly. I think maybe i am just hesitant as the belly did not tighten up as previous ones have. Mr. Bearcarver smoke is my final step i do my taste test just after rinsing... Thank u all
 
K so to all who gave me advice here is the Q VIEW.


Rinsed, no smoke ( hope not a crime) test fried... perfect. Thnks again
Great---Now you know the finished Bacon won't be too salty.

Now Smoke that baby!!!

Bear
 
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