Buckboard: Rinse or no Rinse?

[DougE]

One of my slabs I put some seasonings on. I’m not sure how a soak will effect that. I may just leave two alone and see what happens. I’m not a guy who likes salty bacon so this should be a fun experiment.

Some of mine, I season with granulated garlic and coarse black pepper, but I give them a quick rinse after they come out of the cure, pat dry with paper towels, and place on a rack in the fridge, uncovered, for a day or so to let it dry out before smoking. If you really want to, you can always apply rubs or spices to the meat prior to smoking.

 

[DougE]

I’m not a guy who likes salty bacon so this should be a fun experiment.

I'm not, either. mine comes out less salty than store bacon.

 

[SmokinEdge]

My main additional seasoning I use during the curing process is cracked pepper. A lot of it will remain after a rinse or soak-out, but I always hit it again before the refrigerated rest. The pellicle really anchors it.

White pepper is now my secret ingredient. Nothing wrong with the black pepper and still use it, but the white fine ground plays well all by itself.

 

[thirdeye]

I went straight to using cure#1, salt, and sugar, with some guidance from @SmokinEdge , and the results are some really good bacon, confirmed by independent testers (tasters), and with the formula I use, it always comes out about the same.

I guess for me, the main reason I endorsed Hi Mountain cures, and Tender Quick Cures for so long online.... was all about food safety. Twenty or thirty years ago it was rare for home meat processors to be as well informed and as cautious with nitrates and nitrites as many are today. Morton Salt designed Tender Quick with home use in mind. Not only was everything you need in the bag, but measuring was simple. And if you happened to be a little generous, you were not in the danger zone. Heck, they even sold their curing/recipe guide for $1 or so. I've taken a lot of cured loins to Sunday pot lucks, they resemble Canadian bacon more than ham. Very mild. Great for sandwiches.

 

[DougE]

I guess for me, the main reason I endorsed Hi Mountain cures, and Tender Quick Cures for so long online.... was all about food safety. Twenty or thirty years ago it was rare for home meat processors to be as well informed and as cautious with nitrates and nitrites as many are today. Morton Salt designed Tender Quick with home use in mind. Not only was everything you need in the bag, but measuring was simple. And if you happened to be a little generous, you were not in the danger zone. Heck, they even sold their curing/recipe guide for $1 or so. I've taken a lot of cured loins to Sunday pot lucks, they resemble Canadian bacon more than ham. Very mild. Great for sandwiches.

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They look delicious. One certainly doesn't want to be cavalier when it comes to safety with using nitrates, but as long as you have proper guidance, as can be easily had here on SMF, curing is a fairly straightforward process. I can tell you that I was once intimidated enough by the whole process as not to attempt it, but once it was all spelled out for me, along with reading Marianski, I know what I'm doing is both safe and effective.

 

[G8trwood]

We soak our’s for a couple of hours in ice water after removing from the cure. Then a 4 day dry in the fridge on a cooling rack, then 10-12 hours of cold smoke, then another 4 day dry in the fridge. Finally 2-3 hours in the freezer, then slice on the meat slicer. Good luck with yours. We like the flavor of BBB, over belly bacon. It’s just leaner with more flavor.
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Al

Wow!
Going to try BBB soon, now I have a goal to shoot for. Simply stellar.