First time bacon, curing time question, double check me.....

[arn24]

Morning all!

Decided to try my hand at making bacon.  The cure time is supposed to be over today, so I thought I'd better run everything by you guys before I get too far.

Here's the process so far:

Bought a 9lb belly at Costco.  I didn't pay much attention to picking out the 'best looking' one, I grabbed the cheapest since it's my first attempt.  After cutting it in half, it looks a little light on meat, but should still be better than the store bought stuff.

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I used this to calculate my cure.  Comparing what I had to spread on my belly to the photos I see on here, it seemed like I didn't have enough.  I've seen photos on here where it looks like there's a 1/4" of rub covering the entire belly; I had to apply mine very carefully to make sure I could cover everything.  I did use brown sugar instead of regular sugar, and everything was weighed out on a scale to within half a gram.

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The instructions I am following state to use 2/3 of my rub initially, then do the fridge flip/flop thing for 3-4 days, then drain the bags and apply the balance of the rub.  Then back to the fridge, flipping every day, for another 10 days for a total of 14 days (7 days per inch of belly thickness, right?).  When I pulled them out after 4 days, there wasn't enough liquid to pour out.  I'm not necessarily worried about this as I know every belly has a different moister content, but I expected more.

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It's now day 14.  Still not much moisture.  No smell though.

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So now the instructions state to let them sit on a rack for 3 days to form the pellicle.  My question here is can I let them sit longer?  3 days means I'd have to smoke them on Wednesday.  Being a work day, I'd only be able to smoke them for a couple of hours.  Can I let them sit for 5 days so I can smoke them on Saturday?  Also, should I do the taste test for saltiness today, or after they've rested?

I'll be smoking them with Cherry wood in my Bradley, probably for 12 hours or so.  I'm excited!  Thanks for looking!

Aaron

 

[SmokinAl]

Where did you get the instructions at?

I've never heard of using part of the cure then draining the bag & using the rest of the cure.

It would seem to me that when you drain the bag you are losing some of the cure too.

I think I would cut one of the bellies in half & see if the cure penetrated all the way to the middle.

We always just use all the cure mix at the start & flip & massage daily for 14 days. 

Some bellies don't have a lot of moisture, but there should be some in there.

As far as the rest in the fridge, Some of the guys let them rest for 7 days.

So yes 5 days will be fine.

Al

 

[rexster314]

An extra day or two won't make much difference. Never heard of the split timing of applying a cure. I do about 150 pounds of Costco bellies each month. On the 8th day I put out the meat the night before smoking under a fan and the pellicle forms over night. I use the same calculator btw.

 

[arn24]

Thanks for the reply. There was no liquid in the bag to drain anyway, so I just applied the rest of the rub. Honestly I can't find the web page with the instructions I was following. I'll keep looking.

 

[arn24]

I took your advice and cut both my slabs in half. I see more pink on the lean side, does this look OK to you guys? Also, should I be testing the saltiness now or after the pellicle has formed?

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• arn24
• Apr 30, 2017

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• arn24
• Apr 30, 2017

 

[arn24]

What do you do with 150lbs/month of bacon? Sell it? Or do have a restaurant or catering business?

 

[sundown farms]

I understand your apprehension and desire to get it right. I am only responding for support and the see what they say. From what I know tossing the liquid half way through would lower your cure amount/time. Given that safety is the prime issue Chef JJ will chime in soon. Don't worry too much. Worst case you will have to freeze some and eat fast. Now is a good time to start a journal--that is maybe only a sheet of paper with the plan and source then, notes on what you did and when.

 

[arn24]

Now is a good time to start a journal--that is maybe only a sheet of paper what the plan and source then notes on what you did when.

Good advice!