First Time Bacon Cure Worries. HELP!

[scsep178]

Not exactly the way is was going to officially join this forum however here goes....
This weekend i figured I would try my hand and making bacon as pork belly was on sale at the store. I have the Weber Smoke book that I occasionally pull recipes from and found a Maple cured bacon recipe and gave it a shot. Problem is I'm worried that I did not cure long enough.

Recipe for the 1/2 wet brine was something like 2 quarts of water, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup kosher salt, and 3/4tsp Cure #1. (I cut the recipe in half since I had a smaller belly just to give it a shot. Maybe 3/4" thick at the thickest point after trimming skin.) Average half inch thick maybe 2-2.5lb belly. I didn't measure the green weight, which I know was a mistake. Anyways...recipe in smoke book says 48hour cure time. I missed this step and only cured for roughly 26hours.

After the 26hours I rinsed and patted dry and threw it in the smoker at 190-200° for probably 8hrs. Smoked to an IT of 150°. Now, it looked and tasted great, however I'm worried that it was not cured as well as it should have been. My other half and I ate a small piece to test and I froze the rest. I'm thinking I may just throw it out and start over with the correct curing time. Thoughts???

 

[SmokinAl]

I have never cured a belly that thin before, but I think 3 or 4 days would be a better time frame.
I don't think you would get the bacon flavor in just 26 or even 48 hours. It would be more like smoked pork belly.
It's certainly safe to eat, it just won't taste like bacon.
Al

 

[hoity toit]

My rule of thumb is 7-10 days on belly bacon. Yours will be safe to eat because you will be cooking it, I dunno about how it will taste. (You can always use it for doggie treats if you don't like how it came out)

 

[scsep178]

Thanks for the info! Surprisingly it does taste like bacon a bit. I was more concerned about the short curing time not making it safe to eat.