Pops6927's Wet Curing Brine

[TexasMuskrat]

Hey Pops was wondering if the ten day cure for buckboard bacon would work for a whole brisket I am wanting to turn into beef bacon or if I need to cure it longer?

 

[remsr]

Holly molly all I will retain of all this technical information is pops simple instructions and the fact that he used this recipe in a business that was inspected and approved regularly. Everything else is confusing and difficult to understand for me. When I read all that technical stuff it scares the heck out of me, Just saying.

Randy,

 

[remsr]

My only question that requires a yes or no is, can I use Himalayan salt in place of Kosher or sea salt?

 

[daveomak]

Holly molly all I will retain of all this technical information is pops simple instructions and the fact that he used this recipe in a business that was inspected and approved regularly. Everything else is confusing and difficult to understand for me. When I read all that technical stuff it scares the heck out of me, Just saying.

Randy,

Randy, morning.....  One thing about Pop's method....  this is an extrapolation from a method that cured probably 2-300 #'s of meat in a barrel or tote...      The meat amount that was placed in the container was fairly constant and the cure/brine added to the container was fairly constant..    They didn't add 100#'s one week then add 300#'s the next week using the same amount of cure/brine mix...

Not understanding the theory behind curing should scare the heck out of you....   1 level tsp. of cure #1 per 5#'s of stuff is simple enough...  and very safe....  and will cure most everything properly and within safe limits...   including bacon...   may not be exactly to USDA specification but neither is using Morton's TQ when it comes to curing bacon...  but it's safe...  

Pop's method is good and it's safe...  it's a great starting point for folks starting out in curing meats...

 

[r2 builders]

Having not brined before I had one question. How do you keep the meat cold enough for safety. Do you add ice, keep it in the fridge or none of the above?

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Having not brined before I had one question. How do you keep the meat cold enough for safety. Do you add ice, keep it in the fridge or none of the above?

You need to keep it in the fridge during the curing process.

 

[daveomak]

38-40 deg. F is a very good temp...     shoot for that range......

 

[r2 builders]

Thanks for the response.
I will keep it cool.

 

[remsr]

Yah I do understand this I respect cure and it's ability to kill me like I respect electricity and it's ability to kill me so I adhere to simple cautions, like keep it cold I keep it at around 34 degrees, inject anything over 2' thick so that it cures inside out as well as outside in and inject in and around bones, be mindful of open air exposure. I also go with the heaping table spoon of cure rather than a level one. seems to work just fine. don't know if I will ever experiment beyond that, just like I wouldn't experiment with electricity by standing in water messing with live wires. If I ever do decide to experiment with cures You would be one of the people I would come to for advice.
thank you for your concerns they are always appreciated.

Randy,

 

[Bearcarver]

Having not brined before I had one question. How do you keep the meat cold enough for safety. Do you add ice, keep it in the fridge or none of the above?

Yah I do understand this I respect cure and it's ability to kill me like I respect electricity and it's ability to kill me so I adhere to simple cautions, like keep it cold I keep it at around 34 degrees, inject anything over 2' thick so that it cures inside out as well as outside in and inject in and around bones, be mindful of open air exposure. I also go with the heaping table spoon of cure rather than a level one. seems to work just fine. don't know if I will ever experiment beyond that, just like I wouldn't experiment with electricity by standing in water messing with live wires. If I ever do decide to experiment with cures You would be one of the people I would come to for advice.
thank you for your concerns they are always appreciated.

Randy,

r2 and Randy,

I don't Brine cure--I Dry cure,

However below is a link that shows how I keep my Fridge at the right Temp.

I keep mine at 37°, because that is dead center between the Temps " 34° and 40° " that most places I've read are the high & low limits.

Below 34° is said to slow the curing, and over 40° is not recommended.

My Fridge method:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/238797/curing-fridge-set-up-bear-s-method

Hope that Helps,

Bear

 

[remsr]

That's a really good method. Two of my thee refrigerators have didgetal thermometers on the out side that measure the temperature of the air in the refrigerator. The one I use for brining and holding before and after smoking is about 35 years old and works great but has no such fancy thermometers on the outside so I will be using your method of detemening actual temp and regulating it to 37 degrees the next time I brine which will be as soon as I can get all the leaves cleaned up from my yard.

 

[Bearcarver]

That's a really good method. Two of my thee refrigerators have didgetal thermometers on the out side that measure the temperature of the air in the refrigerator. The one I use for brining and holding before and after smoking is about 35 years old and works great but has no such fancy thermometers on the outside so I will be using your method of detemening actual temp and regulating it to 37 degrees the next time I brine which will be as soon as I can get all the leaves cleaned up from my yard.

Those fancy Digital Therms on the doors are not to be trusted.

When we got this huge new French door Fridge-Freezer, the one we kept was the third one we had delivered due to wrong readings.

I put a couple accurate therms in the first one, and it was 3° off of the Digital reading.

I did the same thing on the second one, and it was only 2° off, but it also had a minimum setting of 34°, and with the 2° off, that meant the minimum temp I could get was 36°.

They sent a Tech out, and he shot the interior back wall of the Fridge & it was only 1° off.

I told him "if you can figure out how we can get all my food inside the back wall, I'll keep it, but if not, then you can take it back."

The third one I got was Dead on & the Minimum setting was 33°.  Finally a keeper!!  We love it !!!

That Fridge is not the one I usually use to cure meat, but if I want my food to be in a 34° Fridge, I don't want it to be in a 37° Fridge.

So I don't trust Digital Read-outs in doors.

Bear

 

[mdgirlinfl]

I have a belly cut into thirds and want to try this awesomely popular wet cure. I want to get some good maple flavor in my bacon. I have tried reading though the posts. But I'll be honest there are so many. I even tried searching the post for "Maple" and didn't see the answer to my question. I have maple sugar and maple syrup. If is use maple sugar, do I substitute equal amount for the regular or brown sugar? Will that provide enough maple flavor or do I need to add grade B syrup?
Thanks. I can't wait to try this method!

 

[foamheart]

I don't know this for a fact, but............... The only time I have experienced ropying was when I used maple syrup. I think its a glucose/sucose thingie but I don't know that.

If you want the maple taste, depending upon the brine or wet cure size, try some maple extract. You can also use maple oil but its a bit more expensive and used more in baking where alcohol extracts seems to evaporate and lose their punch.

'Couple a TBS should do fine. Then next time you can adjust from your experience. 

Yes, extract has no maple taste, but is all aroma. If your nose tells your mouth its smells maple, your mouth believes what the nose says.

 

[mdgirlinfl]

@foamheart "ropying"?

 

[remsr]

Guess I'm not that concerned about the the digital read outs accuracy on the refrigerators holding our left overs, condiments veggies and such, 0ne of them has nothing but beer and soft drinks in the refrigerator side. The one I am concerned with is the one Ai use for bringing. That's the 35 year old work horse I use.
Randy,

 

[Bearcarver]

Guess I'm not that concerned about the the digital read outs accuracy on the refrigerators holding our left overs, condiments veggies and such, 0ne of them has nothing but beer and soft drinks in the refrigerator side. The one I am concerned with is the one Ai use for bringing. That's the 35 year old work horse I use.
Randy,

Exactly---That's why I keep the Maverick in my Curing Fridge, and keep it between 36° and 38° (Target 37°). (A Cheapo from Home Depot)

I'm not usually Picky on my Kitchen Fridge, but I want a brand new French Door Fridge to be accurate enough to get exactly what I want, when I want it to, especially when I'm paying $2,000 for it !!!

Since then, I've kept it at;

Fridge-------36°

Freezer------0°

Holds that very nicely, without any Hassle.

Bear

 

[dr k]

Guess I'm not that concerned about the the digital read outs accuracy on the refrigerators holding our left overs, condiments veggies and such, 0ne of them has nothing but beer and soft drinks in the refrigerator side. The one I am concerned with is the one Ai use for bringing. That's the 35 year old work horse I use.
Randy,

My parents finally got rid of their 54 year old GE fridge. They got it in 1962 when they got married. It worked perfectly for their spare beer fridge. The under carriage was disintegrating and leaking water. There's a recycling program for old inefficient fridge/freezers with the utility company. If the fridge/freezer still cools, they'll pick it up and mail you a $50.00 check.
-Kurt

 

[Bearcarver]

My parents finally got rid of their 54 year old GE fridge. They got it in 1962 when they got married. It worked perfectly for their spare beer fridge. The under carriage was disintegrating and leaking water. There's a recycling program for old inefficient fridge/freezers with the utility company. If the fridge/freezer still cools, they'll pick it up and mail you a $50.00 check.
-Kurt

We have something like that here too, but I think it's only $25.

I learned many years ago (1980s) not to keep an old Fridge too long.

Had one that was noisy, wasn't leaking, but seemed to be running too long.

Put up with that for about 2 years.

Finally got rid of it & got a new one, and my monthly Electric Bill went down about $20 per month.

That $20 per month would have nearly paid for that new one.

Bear

 

[crankybuzzard]

@foamheart "ropying"?

He was referring to ropy or stringy curing brine.  Sometimes when you are wet curing meats, your curing bath itself can become ropy or stringy.  It has been attributed to the sucrose, etc. that some add to the bath as another flavoring agent.

If that happens, and it doesn't real often, you can usually dump the brine, rinse your meat, and start with a new batch.  Unless it smells bad, then that's a different story...