First time curing meat.

[whiskey85]

Hello all:)
This is my first time curing pork. I cannot tell if this is a bad mold in the picture or if its even mold at all. There have been no bad odors in the fridge over the last two months. There was some white mold about halfway through at which time I wiped it down with white wine. Sorry for the stupid question, I just don't know how it should look. It doesn't look like some of the picture-perfect photos I've seen and there are a couple of black spots on the casing under the skin - so I'm not sure exactly what that means.

 

[indaswamp]

How thick is the bacon? Just curious because 2 months seems like a long time to cure bacon. You did not say, but I am assuming you did a dry cure since you wiped white mold off.

 

[whiskey85]

About 2 1/2 inches. Yes. Dry cure in the fridge. put it in a semi covered container on a rack above a bunch of silica packs.

 

[smokerjim]

what was your curing recipe, process, might be more helpful. as mentioned 2 month's is a long time.

 

[whiskey85]

Cured for 7 days with various spices and tenderquick. Once the cure was over and the meat washed, I used italian spicing, the general kind you can buy at the store. From there I stuffed it into the beef bung for the drying period. Part of leaving it to dry for so long was being lazy and not wanting to just throw it away. Also kept on forgetting to join a forum like this to check if it could be black mold.

 

[pc farmer]

Severe case hardening. I assume in was in a regular fridge?

 

[whiskey85]

yup, quite a tough casing. started the process before I got an actual wine fridge to be used for curing. I cant tell if thats black mold though. the meat doesnt smell bad. quite fragrant as it should be. Ive looked at pictures of other meat but one can never be sure. just trying to see if those black spots are normal

 

[indaswamp]

Cured for 7 days with various spices and tenderquick. Once the cure was over and the meat washed, I used italian spicing, the general kind you can buy at the store. From there I stuffed it into the beef bung for the drying period. Part of leaving it to dry for so long was being lazy and not wanting to just throw it away. Also kept on forgetting to join a forum like this to check if it could be black mold.

Bacon is not usually stuffed in beef bung, were you making pancetta? If so, I agree with what pc farmer said....severe case hardening.

 

[whiskey85]

Attempted to make a coppa

 

[indaswamp]

Attempted to make a coppa

If you are using a regular refrigerator to make the coppa, you will need to use the umai dry bags which are made to dry cure meats @ refrigerator temps. and low humidity.
https://umaidry.com/collections/charcuterie/products/umai-dry-tenderloin-lg-charcuterie-packet

And for curing meats longer than 1 month, it is recommended to use cure #2...

 

[indaswamp]

Ive looked at pictures of other meat but one can never be sure. just trying to see if those black spots are normal

Please take up close pictures of the black spots and post them. hard to tell from your pics. exactly what I am looking at...

 

[whiskey85]

If you are using a regular refrigerator to make the coppa, you will need to use the umai dry bags which are made to dry cure meats @ refrigerator temps. and low humidity.
https://umaidry.com/collections/charcuterie/products/umai-dry-tenderloin-lg-charcuterie-packet

And for curing meats longer than 1 month, it is recommended to use cure #2...

thanks for the tips:)

 

[whiskey85]

thanks for the tips:)

 

[whiskey85]

Please take up close pictures of the black spots and post them. hard to tell from your pics. exactly what I am looking at...

 

[pc farmer]

Thats on the out side of the casing and can be cause by spices, like course black pepper. I would let that bother me. But thats me.

 

[chef jimmyj]

If it was me, I would Wash with Vinegar and Slice the Coppa Super Thin! It doesn't look like Fuzzy Black Mold to me. I think you will be fine you can always cut the Dark Spots off...JJ

 

[daveomak.fs]

Morning....
Tenderquick is the same thing as cure#2.... You did good.....
Also, stuffing the meat in a beef bung is the original way to dry cure meat, before Umai bags were invented... You did good...
The black spots, wipe down the meat with vinegar on cheese cloth... The acid will do in any mold.. I have no idea if that is black mold... You can gently cut out the black spots, wiping down the knife after every cut, with the cheese cloth soaked with vinegar..... If it is mold, you don't want to spread it around...
Did you smoke the meat ???? those spots look like creosote drippings from a smoker...

 

[whiskey85]

Morning....
Tenderquick is the same thing as cure#2.... You did good.....
Also, stuffing the meat in a beef bung is the original way to dry cure meat, before Umai bags were invented... You did good...
The black spots, wipe down the meat with vinegar on cheese cloth... The acid will do in any mold.. I have no idea if that is black mold... You can gently cut out the black spots, wiping down the knife after every cut, with the cheese cloth soaked with vinegar..... If it is mold, you don't want to spread it around...
Did you smoke the meat ???? those spots look like creosote drippings from a smoker...

Thanks for the feedback:) I did not smoke the meat, but that is an idea for next time:) There may have been a few spices on the outside of the casing, so, from what other people are saying, Im assuming it is that. How would I smoke the cured meat without cooking it during the cooking process?

 

[daveomak.fs]

There is a difference between cure#2 and TQ... Cure#2 is 6.25% Nitrite and ~1-4% nitrate, depending on manufacturer...
TQ is 0.5% for both nitrite and nitrate...
Using TQ, you have to add a lot to get to 6.25% nitrite.. 12.5X for TQ and it will make it too salty to eat... DDF's calculator does not work properly if you are using TQ...
I recommend using cure#1 and cure#2... Salt adjustment to make an edible product, without soaking the salt out, and not having to add nitrate to my meat products are the reasons..

You can cold smoke meats.. I recommend below 70F to keep bacterial growth to a minimum...
I use wood pellet "dust"... It burns cooler than pellets and need no exterior heat....

This is an AMNPS modified with legs... inside a mail box mod for cold smoking...




The MB mod cools the smoke and collects creosote,
....dramatically improving the flavor of your meats
... ...

I make dust from Todd's pellets....

Wood Pellets and Pellet Dust | A-MAZE-N

A-MAZE-N wood pellets and sawdust are made from 100% all natural hardwood with no added fillers, binders, or oils. Single and blended flavors are available.

amazenproducts.com

Making dust from pellets...

Mr T told me he makes dust all the time for some of his smoking needs.. He ground the pellets in a food processor or something.. I tried it and it seemed a little tough on the machine.. Pellets are HARD !!!.. So I threw them in warm HOT water.. in about 4 minutes they were falling apart... I...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

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