Frying bacon

[southtexassmokernovice]

I used a cure recipe that has brown sugar in it. When I fry my smoked bacon it doesn’t get crisp like commercial bacon. If I fry it a bit too long it starts to burn. I figured it is the sugar causing the burn. Should I use a different cure recipe that will allow it to brown and get crisp without it burning?

 

[thirdeye]

With all other things being equal.... bacon that burns easier than other bacon might have a higher amount of sugar. Are you using a brine cure or a dry cure? How about posting the full recipe so we can check it out.

 

[chef jimmyj]

I dont have an answer for that. If you look at Commercial Bacon Ingredients, they have Sugar listed in the top 2-3. So unless the slightly acidic Sodium Erythorbate has an effect, I have no clue why Commercial Bacon does not Burn and Home Cured does...JJ

 

[southtexassmokernovice]

Recipe I used:
5 lb pork belly
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 tsp curing salt
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp smoked paprika
rubbed mixture on meat. Sealed in large zip lock bag. Refrigerated and turned daily for 10 days. Rinsed and returned to fridge on wire rack for 24 hrs then smoked.

any new recipe suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[daveomak]

Recipe I used:
5 lb pork belly
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 tsp curing salt
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp smoked paprika
rubbed mixture on meat. Sealed in large zip lock bag. Refrigerated and turned daily for 10 days. Rinsed and returned to fridge on wire rack for 24 hrs then smoked.

any new recipe suggestions will be appreciated.

Cut the curing salt in 1/2 ... 1 tsp. (5.5 grams) is the recommended rate for every 5#'s of stuff... 1.1 grams per pound...
White sugar use 1% weight of the meat.. 4.5 grams per pound...
Kosher salt, 1.5% weight of the meat... 6.8 g rams per pound...

 

[JckDanls 07]

First of all... Please do not use this recipe again without modifying the amount of cure... The proper amount of CURE #1 is ONE TEASPOON per five lbs of meat...

As for burning.. I'm with JJ ... I can't get my homemade to crisp up like store bought ... Baking it does do a little better than frying ...

 

[chef jimmyj]

Thinking about it a little more...Not as Sharp as I used to be.
I've tasted Raw Commercial Injected Bacon and it has a slightly Salty flavor but no noticeable Sweetness. It is very possible the Sugar is added in a Small amount to Buffer the Salt and not to add sweetness.
Dave suggested 4.5g or a slight heaping teaspoon White Sugar per pound. Or 5tsp, 22.5 g in this case. You added 1/4C Brown Sugar 12tsp or approx 55g. Over 2X more, and may be why the Bacon is burning...JJ

 

[southtexassmokernovice]

Thank you all for your input. The recipe I used, I got from the Food Channel website. Should I dispose of the bacon I made with the 2tsp of curing salt? Is it dangerous to eat it? I will follow the advice you all have provided for any future batch.

 

[bregent]

Yup, too much cure, too much sugar and probably too much salt. Get a gram scale and stick with cure recipes that provide measurement in weight, not volume. A quarter cup of Diamond crystal is 45 grams, while Mortons is 62 grams. Stick with weight for more consistent results.

 

[thirdeye]

With all other things being equal.... bacon that burns easier than other bacon might have a higher amount of sugar. Are you using a brine cure or a dry cure? How about posting the full recipe so we can check it out.

Recipe I used:
5 lb pork belly
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 tsp curing salt
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp smoked paprika
rubbed mixture on meat. Sealed in large zip lock bag. Refrigerated and turned daily for 10 days. Rinsed and returned to fridge on wire rack for 24 hrs then smoked.

any new recipe suggestions will be appreciated.

Well, the others have covered the Cure #1 issue.

Brown sugar has molasses, maybe that is the culprit? I use white sugar on my dry cured bacon, but use a low percentage like 1%. There are a lot of opinions about the rate sugar diffuses into meat, but it's generally accepted that the majority of sugar is near (or just below) the surface. So maybe it's something as simple as using a rinse plus a 30 minute or 1 hour soak.

 

[chef jimmyj]

DONT TOSS THAT BACON!!!!
That amount of Cure #1 is PERFECTLY SAFE, although more than needed to do the job. That Bacon will be fine as an ingredient for Beans, Greens, Soups, Stews and Braises, anything that calls for cooking with Bacon, where it being Crisp is not important...JJ

 

[Fueling Around]

The biggest difference between home cured bacon and commercial bacon is the injection.
Commercial bacon is heavily injected with salt, sugar, and sodium nitrite (cure #1) solution. Injection is used to speed the cure and also means the internal is fully infused with salt and sugar. As thirdeye noted, sugar doesn't penetrate much in a dry cure and similar to a wet cure such as Pop's.
USDA requires sodium erythorbate for injected meat to speed the degradation of sodium nitrite into nitric oxide which actually cures the meat.

I have to scrape more char off the pan after cooking commercial bacon as the sugars render out with the the fat..
When I get the luxury of dry cured slab bacon, I lower the heat and slowly render out the fat. Same as I do for side pork (uncured pork belly)

daveomak posted a great formula for cure, salt and sugar.
The cure is fixed based on the previous warnings! Adjust the salt and sugar based on your personal taste. Try to stay in the 2 parts salt to 1 part sugar