Bacon newbie - not convinced my bacon is cured

[drbill_sw]

Hi all,

I’m a complete newbie at curing but after reading a fair few forums, websites and videos I thought that I would have a go at curing some bacon.

I used the following recipe to make up a dry rub:
400g salt
200g sugar
60g Prague powder #1

I then cut a 5 kg pork loin into 3 manageable pieces and removed the skin. Upon weighing I used the following amounts of the dry rub:
Piece #1(1387g= 35g
Piece#2(1520g) = 38g
Piece#3 (1216g) = 31g

Then I put them into a zip lock bag in the fridge and took them out daily to massage a little and turn over. After 7 days I have just took them out of the fridge, washed the cure off and patted them dry.

Now I smell them and they don’t smell funky or off in any manner. But equally, they don’t smell like bacon, or of anything really (just a mild pork smell). As you can imagine I’m wondering if my cure has worked.

Considering slicing a few pieces off and frying them up to see what it looks like? But just concerned as I was expecting something “Bacon-y”? Can anyone see anywhere I might have gone wrong?

 

[chef jimmyj]

It's not Bacon as in has that Bacon or Hammy smell until you smoke it. Simply curing the pork has very little impact on the meat smell. It will just smell like raw pork, maybe slightly metalic...JJ

 

[drbill_sw]

It's not Bacon as in has that Bacon or Hammy smell until you smoke it. Simply curing the pork has very little impact on the meat smell. It will just smell like raw pork...JJ

Oh right, maybe I haven’t messed it up then.

Unfortunately, that might mean the Mrs was right - she suggested that bacon doesn’t really smell until it was cooked/smoked...I just can’t remember haha!

I’ll give it a test when I get home from the shop

 

[Gecko10]

Yep. You gotta smoke it.

 

[bregent]

Can anyone see anywhere I might have gone wrong?

Nope, you're cure amounts look fine - about 142PPM. I usually go 10 days, but it depends on the thickness. As chef jimmyj said, the smell of bacon is mostly due to smoke. Smoke it up and you should be good to go.

 

[Brokenhandle]

It's a good idea to fry up a couple slices before you smoke it, if it's too salty you can soak it in cold water some more. If you don't do fry test and smoke it you're stuck with overly salty bacon. Make sure you post up some pics!

Ryan

 

[daveomak]

Your bacon will not be salty at all... It will be approx. 1.7% salt which is perfect... It's what I shoot for...
I would recommend keeping it under refrigeration for 12-14 days to get full flavor development...
Sugar is a HUGE molecule and takes much longer than salt to penetrate the meat.....
Anywho, that's something to consider....

 

[drbill_sw]

Thanks all for your guidance, it was a relatively thin/long loin so that is why I went for the 7 days.

I wanted to keep it simple for the first one too as I just wanted to get a bit of confidence and experience.

When you say keeping it under refrigeration 12-14 days, do you mean as a curing time (not post cure)?

I’ll definitely be looking around the forums for some interesting additions and variations when I cure again :)

 

[daveomak]

12-14 days refered curing time... The I cold smoke for about 6-12 hours... 12 being better I think, then back in the refer on a wire rack for ~5 days... The last five days mellows out the bacon... distributes the flavors and smoke... Also dries out the meat a little more to get to that 1950's style of bacon... It will need a little oil for it to fry up nicely... OR... bake it in the oven on a wire rack at 350 ish until it has the crispness you desire... Use a double sheet pan for the wire rack to reduce the bacon fat burning... then you can pour off the fat to save for later....

 

[chef jimmyj]

Thanks all for your guidance, it was a relatively thin/long loin so that is why I went for the 7 days.

Loin? Might we have a UK Brother here?
For Back Bacon we usually go with 7 days, in the Refer, per Centimeter of thickness. If your Loin is thin, <3cm, 14 days will get the job done. Any thicker and I would suggest going longer.
Smoking Back Bacon, I would suggest smoking at 82°C (180°F) until the Internal Temp (IT) reaches 60°C (140°F). You can then eat it As Is cold or Brown it off as desired...JJ

 

[drbill_sw]

Loin? Might we have a UK Brother here?
For Back Bacon we usually go with 7 days, in the Refer, per Centimeter of thickness. If your Loin is thin, <3cm, 14 days will get the job done. Any thicker and I would suggest going longer.

Indeed you have a Brit sneaking in (awaits cries of the “British are coming!”).

Mine was around 5-6cm thick on the narrow dimension (flat and wide). Just fried off a bit of it...definitely cured and better than a lot of the bacon you buy in the supermarket here. Unless you are going to the higher end or a deli. No wetness, just a good level of saltiness, bit of sweetness (but maybe the extra time would drive more in as you have said).

This one is for green bacon - just to feel my way. But now I have to fix my smoker to do the job properly next time (needs a bit of tlc after the winter).

Thank you all for your help, it is very appreciated!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Your are most welcome and we are glad to have you. I too am a fan of Green or Smoked Back, Streaky or Shoulder Bacon.
For my American members wondering, just about any Cured Pork Cut in the UK can be called Bacon. You then specify the location on the Pig or common name to get a specific cut of Bacon. EX... UK Streaky Bacon and Belly Bacon or just plain " Bacon ", in the States...JJ

 

[drbill_sw]

Indeed:

• back bacon is cured loin
• streaky is what you are all familiar with as bacon over there (cured pigs belly)
• middle bacon is both loin/belly still attached.

We call mildly cured hind leg gammon, not quite sure why the name is different haha. Of course we have hams similar to over there.

A fair bit of the bacon over here is raw, commercial, mass produced brine injected and liquid smoked. If you are willing to spend a bit more you can get dry cured or cold smoked bacon. I don’t think I have seen any hot smoked bacon on the shelves here. It is all pretty much raw.

 

[bernieross]

Your are most welcome and we are glad to have you. I too am a fan of Green or Smoked Back, Streaky or Shoulder Bacon.
For my American members wondering, just about any Cured Pork Cut in the UK can be called Bacon. You then specify the location on the Pig or common name to get a specific cut of Bacon. EX... UK Streaky Bacon and Belly Bacon or just plain " Bacon ", in the States...JJ

Yup - you're not the only Brit here! For the benefit of our US friends, it's common in the UK to have either smoked OR unsmoked, streaky (i.e. belly) or back (loin) bacon here. Smoked and unsmoked are about equally common.

 

[chef jimmyj]

I would LOVE to get my hands on Middle Bacon but, I would have to find a Hog processor and special order it or buy a Half or Whole Hog, from a Farmer and specify the cut.
Other than Eyes, I don't think there is a cut of Pork I won't eat!...JJ

 

[drbill_sw]

Forgot to add pictures on the previous post. The small bit of belly end came away, mainly because I wasn’t careful when I was trimming the skin away pre-cure but I’ll take that as a learning experience for the future.

I sliced the main loin into a load of thick cut slices and the belly end of this one (since it came away) I made into chunky lardons - going to be good in pasta sauce or beans.

I know it isn’t smoked and had minimal additives this time but good place to start.

Now to get some rust converter and BBQ paint on the smoker, give that tlc so it is ready for the season :)

Thinking about future possibilities now, I used to get a treacle and stout/porter bacon...so will be searching for recipes for that :)

 

[chef jimmyj]

My smoker is out of commission as well. Your Bacon looks great. Treacle is not easily obtained in my tiny mountain town. Local folks would not even know what it is. Treacle/Stout Bacon sounds tasty. I'll be watching...JJ