First Attempt at Bacon

[Johnny Ray]

I purchased a pork belly from Indiana BBQ Supply in Ferdinand, IN. I really like this shop as it has a great selection of BBQ rubs and spices, sausage making and home brewing.
I also purchased some of his Golden Brown Sugar Cure.

I was given the following instructions for curing the belly.
1/2 ounce of cure mixture per pound of meat
Place in vac seal bag and cure for 4 days

I cut the belly into thirds. I weighed each piece and then weighed out the cure on my digital scales. Each piece weighed close to 4 pounds so I weighed out 2 ounces of cure + or - depending on the weight of each piece of belly. I placed the meat into the bags, rubbed in the cure mixture and sealed the bags without vac sealing too tight.

The picture below is the belly after 5 days in the cure (1 extra day) and drying on racks in the fridge overnight.

As stated this is my first attempt and I have no idea as to what I’m doing but the belly does not appear to be “cured” to me based on the pictures I have seen.
Any feedback as to how I should proceed would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

I did a fry test just now and the belly taste great except for being a bit salty for my taste. It’s not over the top salty but I don’t add salt to any cooked foods so I find it a little salty.
My question now is it to late to soak it for a bit to draw some of the salt out since I have aired dried it overnight?
Thanks again.

 

[JLeonard]

I've got almost 10pds of belly curing in the fridge right now. Should be ready in a couple of weeks for the smoker.
Jim

 

[DRKsmoking]

Hi Johnny , why do you think it did not take. Just for the look. Color looks ok on the screen
Did you take a slice and fry or see the inside.

I am sure someone that knows the product you used will jump in here and help you out

David

 

[TNJAKE]

Johnny just bring it by my house and start over.......

 

[Johnny Ray]

Hi Johnny , why do you think it did not take. Just for the look. Color looks ok on the screen
Did you take a slice and fry or see the inside.

I am sure someone that knows the product you used will jump in here and help you out

David

Yes my concern comes mainly from the color of the belly. The picture makes it look a little darker.
I haven’t cut or fried a piece yet but I’ll give that a try today.
Thanks.

 

[Johnny Ray]

Johnny just bring it by my house and start over.......

Too funny Jake!

 

[Johnny Ray]

Update my post with fry test results.

Johnny Ray

 

[JckDanls 07]

Johnny.. you can still do a water soak to leech some salt back out.. try for an hour.. changing the water after 30 minutes.. keep doing this until it's to your liking ..

 

[Johnny Ray]

Johnny.. you can still do a water soak to leech some salt back out.. try for an hour.. changing the water after 30 minutes.. keep doing this until it's to your liking ..

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll do this tomorrow.
Thanks again.

 

[SmokinAl]

I agree with the above.
Soaking in fresh water will leach out some of the salt.
Next time just use the http://diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html for your cure numbers.
I use it all the time & it never seems too salty, but i always check it with a fry test & if it needs soaking I soak it for a couple of hours & fry test it again.
Good luck,
Al

 

[Johnny Ray]

I agree with the above.
Soaking in fresh water will leach out some of the salt.
Next time just use the http://diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html for your cure numbers.
I use it all the time & it never seems too salty, but i always check it with a fry test & if it needs soaking I soak it for a couple of hours & fry test it again.
Good luck,
Al

Thanks for the reply Al. I soaked the belly for 1 hour. I changed the water after 30 minutes. I then did a fry test and it’s perfect.

Thanks for your help.