Dry Cure but with liquid added?

[bwinter714]

Hi all,

I posted a similar question in the smoking bacon forum, but it hasn't been approved by the moderators yet (It had a picture, and I'm a newbie), and it's been a couple of days now so I'll try this without the pictures, and this may be the more appropriate forum for it.

Anyway, I've been smoking meat for about 5 years now, but have never tried to cure anything. So, I was doing a lot of research, mostly on this site before I joined. Well, the other day I got a 10lb slab of pork belly!

I wanted to make different flavors of bacon, so I came up with a list that me and my GF thought would be a good flavor range to see what would work:

1. Reguar smoked bacon (as the control)

2. Lemon and Pepper (what I thought was going to be lemon zest or slices and pepper, more on that in a bit)

3. Jamaican Bacon (jerk rub)

4. Garlic and Horseraddish

5. Jalepeno and Chipotle

I cut it into 5, 2lb slabs, and using DigginDog's calculator (awesome btw), I measure the right amount of cure and salt for each slab and rubbed it in to the belly. I was doing this, and Laura was adding the flavors.

I then noticed that she juiced the lemons, and put it into the bag, not sliced lemons. My concern is that now this is more like a brine, and the proper amount of IC#1 wasnt added, or distributed properly. Because, there isn't enough juice to cover the belly, and a lot of the salt washed off the exposed part. So, I tried to rub it all over in the bag, but again, I'm not sure how good of a job I did.

So my questions are, is this a potentially dangerous cure? Should I just throw that one out? It smells like fresh, lemony pork still. It's on day 3 right now, but I have also seen other members who add various liquids and sauces during their "dry" cure, but I haven't seen any black-and-white rules of ensuring a safe "dry" cure, i.e. cure first, then add flavors, cure and add, etc. only opinions.

Secondly, the curing process is supposed to draw out moisture, making the product being cured more inhospitable to the botulism virus (or bacteria?). So, with that being said, is there even a point to try and impregnate the slab with other liquids, if the curing process just draws moisture, including any flavoring liquids?

Just for more information that leads me to believe that I am OK, and the process is going as it should (sorry for the length).

I weighed each slab after cure was added. Then I put it in a bag, and weighed the final contents with the flavorings.

Then yesterday, I poured out the liquids (strained it and put the solids back in), subtracted the weight of the bag, and found that the amount of liquid I poured off (I am assuming that was all pig juice, besides the lemon and pepper one) was all roughly the same percentage of initial weight, meaning I shed between 14-20% by weight of liquid. I'm sorry, I'm at work and don't have the actual numbers I measured. But going by this metric, if the control sample and the one I'm worried about both shed the same percentage by weight of liquid by day 3, is it safe to assume that the curing process is going accordingly?

Sorry for the length, but I wanted to make sure I described my feelings correctly! 

Thanks,

-Brian

 

[daveomak]

Brian, afternoon and welcome to the forum....    Lemon juice in the bacon .....    Lemon juice is an acid...  acid can "cook" food like in ceviche....  however, ECA (encapsulated citric acid) is used in making some dry fermented sausages...  It adds a "twang" to enhance a flavor profile..... Sooooooo, I do not think there is a problem with this bacon...  the amount of cure, by weight, even with the juice added is fine....  Brined and pumped bacon calls for less cure #1, in the curing process, than dry curing...  For the lemony flavor you were looking for, I would suggest lemon zest.... all the flavor, no acid...  

I saw your "home made smoker"..... Nice smoker..... don't look homemade to me.... great job in building it.....   Dave

 

[bwinter714]

Well thanks Dave, that means a lot coming from someone who is as respected as you are. I've learned a lot from reading your posts. She's my labor of love, it took over a year of actually building it, as I didn't work on it exclusively. I call her "The Perfect 10", because from 10 ft away, she looks damn near perfect! My welding could use some work, I'll post a picture of what I'm talking about in the next post, as I'm still a newbie and I'm sure it'll be held until approved! :)

Anyway, that makes a lot of sense, thanks for the input. I think it'll be ok, we'll see how it turns out. I'll do a Q'view along the way. Like I said, before I could say anything, the juice went in, but next time I'll do the zest only. She's as new to this as I am, so I can't say anything lol. And, I was hopeful, because when I posted, I didn't get 15 posts right away, so I know I didn't break some cardinal rule of curing. And, that I wasn't asking a question that been asked a million times, like "What do I use to make bacon?" haha. I have a pet peeve about people who don't do research then expect people to help them, and I always try to be super careful to not be a hypocrite!

I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't get anyone sick, but I also realize that you can't account for every detail, so the ultimate decision will come from how I feel about it after I do the taste test, and it's smoked. I'll be eating the first few slices though, and wait a day until I let anyone else try it. I believe in having a taste of your own medicine haha.

I'm an industrial controls engineer, so at work I do everything by the book, because someones well-being and/or life could be in the balance. When I'm home, I cook and smoke meat, because there's room for experimentation. But, I'm treating curing like my job, I want to do it by the book, and ensure I don't compromise any ones health or well-being.

Thanks again!

-Brian

 

[bwinter714]

IMG_20120821_210951.jpg

• bwinter714
• Aug 21, 2012

As you can see, I ran out of tig wire and this was the last thing I had to do before I brought it home :( (I made it at work). So, that's what I get. But, I have some more, and I'm going to borrow the welder and torch. I have to re-do this latch with tig wire, and I am going to torch a hole in the firebox, so I can add a cold-smoke box. I have the amazen cold smoker thing on the way, I can't wait to try it!

-Brian

 

[daveomak]

Brian, evening...  Let us know how the lemon bacon turned out.....  Your GF may have stumbled on a new "trick".....    I like the blind welds on the latch flange....  That is a cool way to weld them....  no warping.... great fit up.....  

 ... Looks good to me....

About asking questions....  When I first got here, all the information was so overwhelming it was ridiculous...   read and read and read.....    curing bacon, turkey, ground meat, injecting, brining...  It took me over a year reading the FSIS.... Wedliny Domowe (just learned how to spell that correctly), all the threads on this forum before it all really clicked....   Like the statement in my signature line says.... 

When I got here I was a dummy...I learned quite a bit...I am still a dummy...only smarter... 

I enjoy learning stuff and this forum is a blessing.... All the members are willing to be teachers/instructors no questions asked....  Now I hope to pay it forward.....    

Get some Q-views of your experiments so we can drool on the keyboard....  By the way, I almost had to clean the keyboard looking at your smoker.....  

Dave

 

[bwinter714]

Thanks, I haven't been welding that long, even a blind squirrel finds a nut or two once in a while! I was lucky to have some coaching from some welders at work, they liked it when they saw the finished product, told me I could work in the weld shop if I wanted haha. Of course, I got my chops busted from the guys about this weld or that weld, I warped the top a little bit, but I'm happy!

Yes, I will be doing some Q-View once the cure is finished on Tuesday. I should have my AMNS, and my cold-smoke box setup connected to the "Perfect 10" Saturday. I might have to do some cheese first, I don't think I can wait until tuesday to use it!

And BTW, I had to buy a waterproof keyboard when I first started looking at this site! Keeps the drool from getting into the keys! I did however have to put a clear bag over my entire laptop, and take a walk when I saw that brisket that Zahlgren made, what a smoke ring!

-Brian