Buckboard Pancetta

[Saline_Smoker]

As of late, it'd seemed like more was going into the larder than coming out. Well, finally today this buckboard pancetta was ready for the block at 19.2% weight loss (close enough for me, we always fry it up anyway).

This one came off a store-bought pork shoulder and had a really nice, fully intact fat cap on it so of course it got made into a bacon of some sort!

Cure Mix
------
Salt (3%)
Cure #1 (0.25%)

Spice Mix
------
Brown Sugar (0.6%)
Black Pepper (0.5%)
Fennel (0.2%)
Garlic Powder (0.2%)
Red Pepper Flakes (0.1%)

Process
------
Rubbed in ⅔ the cure mix, vacuum bagged and let sit in the fridge for 4 days flipping each morning, then added the remaining ⅓ cure mix and the freshly mortared spice mix, and allowed to cure for 6 more days. Then it was trussed up and into the drying chamber to lose some weight... it took just over 6 weeks at 54ºF and 77-80%RH to reach the 19.2% weight loss. Below is a pic of it fresh into the chamber after curing (the one on the left)...

Somewhere in the drying process - I don't recall exactly when - it did get a cold smoke after I had to deal with a fridge wide mold bloom initiated by some neighboring salamis; so not really a true pancetta. I mean, it was made from pork shoulder to start, so keeping to tradition was already out the window I suppose. Wiped it down with vinegar, then cold smoked it for 6 hours. This ended up keeping it 99% mold free for its remaining time in the drying chamber.

Sadly this one didn't end up perfectly pink/red throughout, c'est la vie. Cured up and dried up wonderfully otherwise.

I fried up two pieces, and to be honest, this one came out tasting saltier than previous pancettas I've made. Who knows?! I didn't wash it off all that well, as witnessed by the amount of seasoning still stuck to it going into the drying chamber - so I'll chalk it up to that I guess.

Anyway, there it all is, ready for the frying pan! Mmmmmm... The flavor this stuff develops over the drying process is just amazing and it's dead simple to make if you have a drying setup. If you've never tried it before, I highly suggest it. Thanks for reading!

 

[atomicsmoke]

Looks awesome.

 

[Bearcarver]

Those certainly look Mighty Tasty!!
Like.

Bear

 

[Saline_Smoker]

Thank you Atomic, thanks Bear!

 

[Saline_Smoker]

Please take no offence as your product looks really good but a couple of things that might help improve your end product even further:

1. For longer duration cure/drying processes you may want to consider using cure #2. It acts like time released cure #1 and protects the meat longer during the drying/aging process.

2. Add all the cure/spice mixture at the beginning. Since the cure amount is a percentage of the total the weight of the meat splitting the cure means that for the 1st segment there was 1/3rd too little cure for the meat.

3. After curing and rinsing surface spices like black pepper or crushed red pepper can be added before and/or after rolling and trussing. Step 2 is to get the flavor into the meat.

4. Let the meat dry out to a minimum of 35% loss and more ideally somewhere around 40 and upwards of 50%. The more weight loss will mean a more condensed and flavorful the product will be as the enzymes will have longer to do their thing.

5. Chamber temp may benefit from bumping up a couple of degrees to 56 to 58 degrees. Humidity is good at 77 to 80% RH.

No offense taken at all. I actually really appreciate you chiming in… gives me a chance to ask you some annoying questions! ;)

1. Yeah, these drying times are pushing to the point where I do question if simply using cure #1 is wise, but have simply been going by the Marianski’s and Hector Kent’s take on pancetta, and as we always cook it, I’ve just kept with cure #1. That said, if we were to dry it for even longer to start eating it raw on the charcuterie board, I’d indeed step it up to cure #2.

That said I’d love your (or anyone else’s) take on the following conundrum I have. Some people simply say, if it’s to be cooked go with #1, if it remains raw go #2 - unfortunately that’s usually in tandem with people saying if it’s to sit out and dry for a short time #1, for a long time #2 - so what happens when you cure something for a long time that’s all going to get cooked? Where would you personally draw the line time-wise between #1 & #2? I'm curious.

2. The Marianaski’s suggest splitting the cure additions, Kent does it all at once like you. Neither of them, however, give a reason for their method - so thanks for that. I indeed see your point, and next time I think I’ll indeed just do all the cure and salt in the first go, then once I feel it’s well soaked in doing the spices second a day or two later.

The reason I split it this way was because a lot of times when I’ve tried to add all the spices and cure at the beginning, a decent enough portion of it seems to end up getting left on the prep-surface and not the meat - which started getting me worried about not actually getting the proper amount of cure into the meat. Splitting up, I feel helps me assure getting all of it adhered to the meat rather than the countertop. Have you ever run into this concern?

3. Good point. Never thought to just re-pepper anything post-rinse off to ensure a nice dusting on bacons etc.. Love extra pepper! I swear, sometimes I really just overlook the super obvious.

4. I know what you’re saying here, but like I said, we fry this up and going that dry seems overkill for a cut we treat as bacon. However, anything we’re leaving ‘raw’ for the charcuterie board; coppa, speck, lonzino, etc., I’m totally with you!

5. Good to know. Thanks!

 

[Saline_Smoker]

To break down "cure" (the chemical either nitrite and/or nitrate) a bit. No matter using #1 or #2 cure the "cure" duration will be the same. This goes by the thickness of the meat. This is generally accepted as the cure will penetrate whole muscle meat at a rate of about 1/4" per day, then add in a few days a s a safety factor. So a 2" thick piece of meat will take approximately 10 days to properly cure.

Now where #1 and #2 differ is how long is the meat going to be in the "danger zone"

I use #1 cure if the meat will be in the "danger zone" for short durations (12 hours or so) like making jerky, dried beef or hot smoked bacon.

I use #2 cure for meats that will be in the "danger zone" for long durations (weeks)

Heating/cooking the finished product should not be the driving factor as to what cure is to be used.

Yes, apologies I was referring to the length of drying time, or "danger zone" time as you put it - not the length of cure time. My bad. Edited my previous post to be clearer. Thanks, greatly appreciate the knowledge!

 

[Bearcarver]

2. The Marianaski’s suggest splitting the cure additions, Kent does it all at once like you. Neither of them, however, give a reason for their method - so thanks for that. I indeed see your point, and next time I think I’ll indeed just do all the cure and salt in the first go, then once I feel it’s well soaked in doing the spices second a day or two later.

The reason I split it this way was because a lot of times when I’ve tried to add all the spices and cure at the beginning, a decent enough portion of it seems to end up getting left on the prep-surface and not the meat - which started getting me worried about not actually getting the proper amount of cure into the meat. Splitting up, I feel helps me assure getting all of it adhered to the meat rather than the countertop. Have you ever run into this concern?

I can handle this one:
When I Dry cure, whatever falls off before bagging, I just scrape off the counter & throw it in with the meat.

Most of my Curing is smaller pieces, like a third of a Belly in each bag, so I put my Pre-measured Rub & Brown Sugar on both sides while it's laying on a clean plate. Then after I put each piece in it's own Zip-Lock, I scrape the cure & sugar off the plate & into the Bag, before I move on to the next piece. This way each piece gets the proper Pre-measured amount of cure in it's own Bag.

Hope that helps,

Bear

 

[atomicsmoke]

No offense taken at all. I actually really appreciate you chiming in… gives me a chance to ask you some annoying questions! ;)

1. Yeah, these drying times are pushing to the point where I do question if simply using cure #1 is wise, but have simply been going by the Marianski’s and Hector Kent’s take on pancetta, and as we always cook it, I’ve just kept with cure #1. That said, if we were to dry it for even longer to start eating it raw on the charcuterie board, I’d indeed step it up to cure #2.

That said I’d love your (or anyone else’s) take on the following conundrum I have. Some people simply say, if it’s to be cooked go with #1, if it remains raw go #2 - unfortunately that’s usually in tandem with people saying if it’s to sit out and dry for a short time #1, for a long time #2 - so what happens when you cure something for a long time that’s all going to get cooked? Where would you personally draw the line time-wise between #1 & #2? I'm curious.

2. The Marianaski’s suggest splitting the cure additions, Kent does it all at once like you. Neither of them, however, give a reason for their method - so thanks for that. I indeed see your point, and next time I think I’ll indeed just do all the cure and salt in the first go, then once I feel it’s well soaked in doing the spices second a day or two later.

The reason I split it this way was because a lot of times when I’ve tried to add all the spices and cure at the beginning, a decent enough portion of it seems to end up getting left on the prep-surface and not the meat - which started getting me worried about not actually getting the proper amount of cure into the meat. Splitting up, I feel helps me assure getting all of it adhered to the meat rather than the countertop. Have you ever run into this concern?

3. Good point. Never thought to just re-pepper anything post-rinse off to ensure a nice dusting on bacons etc.. Love extra pepper! I swear, sometimes I really just overlook the super obvious.

4. I know what you’re saying here, but like I said, we fry this up and going that dry seems overkill for a cut we treat as bacon. However, anything we’re leaving ‘raw’ for the charcuterie board; coppa, speck, lonzino, etc., I’m totally with you!

5. Good to know. Thanks!

Many folks here cure pancetta (coppa,loins) with cure#2 then cook it.

Aa far as i know there isnt a rule against cooking meats cured with #2 , just the fact that cure#2 is meant for long term drying for meats which are generally enjoyed uncooked.

I found no reliable studies on the nitrate-nitrite conversion. I am inclined to believe there is more residual nitrate left when the meat is done drying than what one would expect. Certain bacteria, temps and humidity are required to facilitate the conversion. These conditions are not met for instance in an umai bag fridge dried meat.

 

[Bearcarver]

I do the same as Bear. Each piece of meat to be cured is an individual. Whatever cure/spice that doesn't stick gets scraped up and put in the bag with the meat.

This is also why I prefer not to totally vacuum out all the air from the bag prior to sealing. If you leave some "air space" in the bag you can then swish around the accumulated cure containing liquid. When you turn the meat over the liquid will wash over the meat redistributing cure and spices.

Here is a picture of getting ready to cure 4 Bresaola's.


View attachment 375936

Yup---Holly uses Cups---I use Paper plates:

Each plate has the proper amount of TQ on it, and the numbers on the plate are the weight of the piece that goes with that plate.
Then the rest of the seasonings go on after rinsing, before smoking, so as the Pellicle forms, it helps hold the seasonings on:

 

[Saline_Smoker]

Thanks, everyone! With that in mind, I think I'll just rub on a flat of butcher paper next time, then slide it all into the vacuum bag; slip the paper out, wiping any excess back into the bag as to go.

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks, everyone! With that in mind, I think I'll just rub on a flat of butcher paper next time, then slide it all into the vacuum bag; slip the paper out, wiping any excess back into the bag as to go.

That'll work!!
If your pieces of meat are too big to do on a plate, a bigger piece of some sort of Paper would be fine.
The shiny side of a piece of Freezer Paper Wrap might be better, but butcher paper should work.

Later,
Bear