Curing question

[Yianni1066]

Hi,

I have 2 pieces of fresh pork. One is the loin, which in the UK, as bacon, we call back bacon, I believe in the US you call it canadian bacon... and I also have a slab of pork belly.

My question is this...

As the loin is far thicker, it needs 8 days to cure, however the belly only needs 4. I want to smoke them at the same time, so they both need to be ready at the same time. Do I, cure the loin first, and leave the belly in the fridge for 4 days, then begin the belly's curing process? Or, cure them both on the same day? Yes, the belly only needs 4 days, but 8 days curing maybe won't hurt it? Or best of both worlds leave it for 2 days, and cure it for 6 days.

I ask because I'm not sure I want to leave fresh pork in the fridge for 4 days.

Any help is greatly appreciated!
Yianni

 

[Bigtank]

First off 4 & 8 are very short cure times in my opinion. I cure 2 days for every 1/2 inch of meat measured at the thickest part + 2 days at a minimum. That said 1.5" thick be 8 days. Loin I usually cure 3 weeks. You can't over cure meat with in reason. You can start them both at the same time, a 3 week cure on a belly will be fine.

 

[smokerjim]

How are you curing them, dry, wet

 

[Fueling Around]

Yes longer is better. It takes time for full flavor development.
What cure formula are you planning for this pork?

 

[SmokinEdge]

The time in cure really depends on salt concentration. The higher the salt percentage the faster the cure, the lower the salt the slower the cure.

This begs the question, what is your cure recipe and method/process?

If salt concentration is high then 8 days may leave you with a over salty finished product.

 

[Yianni1066]

Thanks all for the replies!!

So im using the following dry cure formula...
2.5% salt
0.25% Instacure 1
1.25% brown sugar

The loin weighs 2.67kg (5lb 14oz)
Im using 66.7g salt 6.67g Instacure 1 and 33g sugar.

It's 3.5 inches at the thickest part and the formula I read claims 1 day per ½inch plus 1 day... this means 8 days, No?? Remember this is for a UK style bacon which will be cold smoked and sliced raw. Which we then fry for breakfast.

Also...
I did all this, this morning, and now have found the bag is leaking... is it ok to simply re-bag it, or have I lost some of the formula and I should top up somehow???

Thanks again for all the help!!!

 

[LoydB]

You're doing an equilibrium cure, so you don't have to worry about leaving it too long. As far as the leak, if it was a tiny amount, ignore it. If significant, open it, rinse, pat dry, and put back in a fresh batch of cure.

 

[Yianni1066]

Thank you all so much for your help, it looks like a significant amount so I'll do as you say.

Reading the replies, I think I'll leave both of them in the cure a little longer too, seems like it might be better.

Thanks again!

 

[Fueling Around]

Good call. The calculator I use as a reference is 9 -1/4 days which I usually double.

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[SmokinEdge]

Thank you all so much for your help, it looks like a significant amount so I'll do as you say.

Reading the replies, I think I'll leave both of them in the cure a little longer too, seems like it might be better.

Thanks again!

A little longer in cure is better. As mentioned you won’t get over the 2.5% salt, which is a bit strong for my taste but if that’s what you like it’s fine. The rate at which salt and nitrite penetrate meat is a bit relative, they move slower through fat and hardly at all through skin or rind. That is one reason to go longer on belly bacon fat and or rind.