Curing bacon (belly), how to safely make less salty by reducing time

[dobson156]

I've just finished curing a pork belly. I loosely followed the system covered in this video.



Which I think is basically the excess salt method. Change the salt-sugar cure daily for 5 days. Then hang.

I cut the belly into four and cured it with:

1. 1:1 sea salt (fine), sugar (+pepper)
2. 2:1 sea salt (fine), sugar (+pepper)
3. 2:1 sea salt (coarse), sugar (+pepper)
4. 2:1 sea salt (pink himalayan), sugar (+pepper)

No curing/prague salt.

I will hot smoke it, but thought I'd tried the intermediate result after hanging. They're all edible but a bit too salty (not a huge amount of difference between the different salts in case you were wondering).

I'd like to know how I could make it less salty, logic dictates that I should cure it for less time - but I am not sure at what point the bacon is actually "cured" and safe to keep without spoiling. If I did it for 4 days, is that still going to be safe to keep for a long time. What about 3 or 2?

I did weigh the pork belly before, during and after curing. Is there a certain moisture loss after which it is considered "cured"?

Thanks in advance

 

[SmokinEdge]

Lol.

He isn’t making bacon, he is making salt pork. Two different things.

 

[dobson156]

He isn’t making bacon, he is making salt pork. Two different things.

Salt pork is not a common used term in the UK. Where I am, where he is. I am not really sure what the difference. He's curing it, he's smoking it. What's not bacon about that? It's even belly pork as the American's prefer.

Regardless, the question remains, at what point can curing time be reduced and it still be safe to consume?

 

[SmokinEdge]

Salt pork is not a common used term in the UK. Where I am, where he is. I am not really sure what the difference. He's curing it, he's smoking it. What's not bacon about that? It's even belly pork as the American's prefer.

Regardless, the question remains, at what point can curing time be reduced and it still be safe to consume?

You are conflating two different processes. In your country, UK, your traditional bacon was wet cured using Wiltshire cure method that used salt Peter as the nitrate source. To make true bacon you must use nitrites. Otherwise it’s just salted pork belly.

To control salt content with a dry rub, we use a equilibrium cure dry mix. For this we apply exactly the salt and cure (once only) to the belly that we want in the end. This produces predictable results with no rinsing or water soaking required. A perfect cure every time.

To the belly:
1.5% salt
.25% cure #1
.75 to 1% sugar.

It’s very simple, rub all sides with the Taylor made rub, then place in a plastic zip bag, or on a stainless steel cooling rack and fridge for 10 day’s minimum but 14 days is better. No rinse required just pat dry with towels and smoke.

 

[bmudd14474]

Salt on its own doesn't cure bacon you need the Nitrate like stated before. Sodium nitrate (NaNO₃) (often from saltpeter) is converted by bacteria into sodium nitrite (NaNO₂), which is the crucial agent that gives cured meats their color, flavor, and safety by preventing bacterial growth like botulism, with nitrite further transforming into nitric oxide (NO) to bind with myoglobin for that pink hue. The process is Nitrate -> Nitrite -> Nitrous Acid -> Nitric Oxide, with some NO regenerating nitrite for sustained action

That being said the process you highlighted is just Salted Pork which is a way of preserving the meat but its curing in the sense we are talking about with bacon.

 

[bmudd14474]

I think we are really talking about perceived meaning of the word cured.

You can cure bacon with just salt, but the resulting product will be different from conventional bacon so I wouldn't call it curing but more preserving as stated in my last comment. It will not have the pink color or the characteristic cured flavor from nitrates and nitrites, and it must be stored and handled carefully. A salt-only cure is a traditional method for making a salt pork-like product that needs to be eaten or frozen within about a week or two, as it lacks the preservatives that extend shelf life.

What to expect with salt-only curing

• No pink color:
  Without curing salts, the bacon will turn a grayish-brown color when cooked instead of pink.
  
  
• • Different flavor:
    The flavor will be more like pork seasoned with salt rather than the distinct "bacony" flavor of cured bacon.
    
    
  • Shorter shelf life:
    Salt-cured bacon will last for about 10 days in the refrigerator if tightly wrapped. For longer storage, it is best to freeze it.

But back to your question about salt levels. With the method you showed it will be hard to reduce the salt level. I have heard of people doing water baths where they change the water every 20 minutes to dry to draw out the salt in the meat. Some have had some success with this method but its time consuming.

Make sure you use ice water when doing this part

 

[dobson156]

Salt on its own doesn't cure bacon you need the Nitrate like stated before. Sodium nitrate (NaNO₃) (often from saltpeter) is converted by bacteria into sodium nitrite (NaNO₂), which is the crucial agent that gives cured meats their color, flavor, and safety by preventing bacterial growth like botulism, with nitrite further transforming into nitric oxide (NO) to bind with myoglobin for that pink hue. The process is Nitrate -> Nitrite -> Nitrous Acid -> Nitric Oxide, with some NO regenerating nitrite for sustained action

That being said the process you highlighted is just Salted Pork which is a way of preserving the meat but its curing in the sense we are talking about with bacon.

Correct me if wrong, but hot smoking to pasteurisation temperature is what then kills any (most) botulism? As wood cooking in general, no?

There are lots of pork curing processes that don't use nitrates, like iberico ham?

Happy to accept its "salt pork" rather than "Bacon", that's semantic. Let's say I want slightly less salty salt pork, can I just salt it for 4 days rather than 5? At the end of the day, if it hadn't been salted - it'd of gone bad in the hanging time - and it hasn't.

 

[dobson156]

You can cure bacon with just salt, but the resulting product will be different from conventional bacon

Yes, exactly. Sorry it seems like the discussion has been derailed a bit by semantics. Happy to not use the term "bacon" if it aids the discussion.

I have no problem with it tasting different, in fact, that's ideal. I could just buy bacon that tastes like "normal" British bacon from my butcher :)

With the method you showed it will be hard to reduce the salt level

For clarity. I don't mean reducing the saltiness of this batch. I accept it is the way it is. I mean if I did this process again. What parameters can I change and what are the safe limits to those parameters. I do apprechiate what the other user has said about the equilibrium method - but I'd rather get handle on whats going on here before I change the method altogether.

I like what I've made, I'd just like it about 10% less salty. I can't help think that 4 days rather than 5 might achieve that. But what I want to know is at what point is there enough salt to count a salted - but I think you may have answer the question inadvertently...

Shorter shelf life:
Salt-cured bacon will last for about 10 days in the refrigerator if tightly wrapped

...the saltier it is, the longer it'll last? So if I did 4 days it will last longer than not salting it, but short than salting it longer? I guess there is no clear cut way of knowing.

It's definitely longer than 10 days though as I've done this before and its last a really good while after hot smoking.

As for this batch, I will do as you suggest, and give it ice bath for a few hours before smoking.

I guess I am still a bit confused though re. the food safety, the salting and how long it should keep for. Some Iberico is not cured with Nitrites. But is just salted and hung. It's probably my ignorance but I don't really see where the difference lies.

I do hope this is not coming across as argumentative.