Pork Belly Safety

[Cody_Mack]

Just checking with you guys about food safety. I bought a half pork belly a few weeks ago; can’t really remember when, but I took note of the sell or freeze-by date, which was at least two weeks if I recall correctly, and into the fridge it went.

Well life and medical issues, starting my new job, etc, got in the way, so I waited until the last minute to do anything with the belly. It had one day left on the sell-by date when I took it out and prepared for curing. It looked fine and there was no odor. There was hardly any excess juice in the bag either. So I did a dry cure and back into the fridge. Today is the eighth day in the cure.

Question: as it was so close to sell-by date, before I opened it and added the curing agents, then another week or more in the fridge, you think it’s gonna be perfectly safe? There is still no odor, but one thing I’m curious about is, the curing didn’t pull out any moisture…none!

What say y’all?

 

[chopsaw]

You're fine . Let it go the rest of the way and get it smoked up .

 

[Cody_Mack]

You're fine . Let it go the rest of the way and get it smoked up .

You mean longer in the cure?

 

[chopsaw]

I always cure 14 days . You said you were at 8 . If you normally go 8 days and that works for you that's fine with me too .

 

[Cody_Mack]

14 sounds good to me....it is rather thick, and you don't really get much penetration through the fat, huh?

 

[chopsaw]

I just went by what was taught when I first joined . I used to get in a hurry , but now I usually have more than one thing going . That makes the wait easier .
Even the ham injection from Dave can be ready in 6 or 7 days , but going 14 gives better texture and flavor in my opinion .

 

[DougE]

I just went by what was taught when I first joined . I used to get in a hurry , but now I usually have more than one thing going . That makes the wait easier .
Even the ham injection from Dave can be ready in 6 or 7 days , but going 14 gives better texture and flavor in my opinion .

First time curing bacon, the 14 days is a hard wait. After that, no big deal.

 

[jcam222]

First time curing bacon, the 14 days is a hard wait. After that, no big deal.

Why do it differently after the first time?

 

[DougE]

Why do it differently after the first time?

I don't do it differently. I said the wait on the first one is rough, as in you don't yet know the outcome and are anxious to see how it's going to turn out. After the first one, the 14 day wait is no big deal.

 

[jcam222]

I don't do it differently. I said the wait on the first one is rough, as in you don't yet know the outcome and are anxious to see how it's going to turn out. After the first one, the 14 day wait is no big deal.

Makes complete sense, I just misread and didn’t understand it originally. You are 100% right on that.

 

[Fueling Around]

Living always gets in the way of well made plans.
Hope all is well with you.
Longer in cure is always better.
I use much lower salt than many here so I always have to go much longer.

...
I bought a half pork belly ...
...
It had one day left on the sell-by date when I took it out and prepared for curing. It looked fine and there was no odor.
...
Question: as it was so close to sell-by date, before I opened it and added the curing agents, then another week or more in the fridge, you think it’s gonna be perfectly safe? There is still no odor, but one thing I’m curious about is, the curing didn’t pull out any moisture…none!

What say y’all?

Was it sealed in a factory package? I guess it had to be as I've never had open packages of pork go more than a week (let alone 2 + weeks) in the fridge before turning into fly bait.
I miss Chef Jimmy. He was one of the food safety champions on SMF. I remember him saying that sealed meat from the processor is always good up to the sell by date provided it was kept in proper refrigeration.

 

[Cody_Mack]

Living always gets in the way of well made plans.
Hope all is well with you.
Longer in cure is always better.
I use much lower salt than many here so I always have to go much longer.


Was it sealed in a factory package? I guess it had to be as I've never had open packages of pork go more than a week (let alone 2 + weeks) in the fridge before turning into fly bait.
I miss Chef Jimmy. He was one of the food safety champions on SMF. I remember him saying that sealed meat from the processor is always good up to the sell by date provided it was kept in proper refrigeration.

Can't tell about factory packed or not. It's HEB and they probably sell a bunch, so it makes total sense to procure factory packed. Good color and no smell are good signs to me.

Thank you for your comments. I am struggling healing from back surgery, and starting a new job after a 30-month layoff! It's just bad timing to start a new job, but I couldn't let it get away either.

On the salt, not sure where I'm at comparatively; I used 1.5% salt and .75% sugar. Turned out well for me last time.

 

[pc farmer]

Yup. Keep going. The cure stopped the sell by date. And I am with chopsaw I cure everything 2 weeks. Just did pork loins for cb for 2 weeks dry cure

 

[Fueling Around]

Best wishes on your recovery. I've only had 1 minor surgery (knee) and recovery was great even though it wasn't a complete repair. I got lucky.
Your salt is the running average of 1.5% salt and .25% cure for a total salt of 1.75%.
I go for total salt (including the cure) to under 1%. Since Covid a year ago, I am really sensitive to salt levels and sugar levels in food. I don't use sugars and I always triple the recommended cure times.

 

[dr k]

chopsaw has you covered. 1.5% min salt. Many leave out sugar so no burning when frying. 156ppm cure1 in the digging dog farms calculator for dry brine. Drop to 120ppm cure1 wet cure brining where water weight that covers the meat is added to meat weight and entered in the calculator. It should be fine @156ppm but the USDA contradicts the FDA and they contradict themselves. Fat will take on cure1. It inhibits rancidity with pork fat. Skin doesn't so back out 10% cure1 with skin on curing. Back out 40% with ribs for bacon on a stick for bone and back out 20% for bone in loin chops for the bone.

 

[mneeley490]

If it was bad, you would have known it from the smell as soon as you opened the bag. Believe me. Been there, done that.

 

[Cody_Mack]

chopsaw has you covered. 1.5% min salt. Many leave out sugar so no burning when frying. 156ppm cure1 in the digging dog farms calculator for dry brine. Drop to 120ppm cure1 wet cure brining where water weight that covers the meat is added to meat weight and entered in the calculator. It should be fine @156ppm but the USDA contradicts the FDA and they contradict themselves. Fat will take on cure1. It inhibits rancidity with pork fat. Skin doesn't so back out 10% cure1 with skin on curing. Back out 40% with ribs for bacon on a stick for bone and back out 20% for bone in loin chops for the bone.

Very good points, thank you! Now I remember, it's the skin that won't let the cure through, not the fat.

 

[Cody_Mack]

I'm still curious, why no liquid is pulled out.

 

[TNJAKE]

I'm still curious, why no liquid is pulled out.

I get very little liquid with most things I dry cure

 

[Hijack73]

I'm still curious, why no liquid is pulled out.

I've been doing bacon about 6 months now, mostly buckboard but did 3, maybe 4 bellies also. I don't get a ton of moisture out on every piece of meat either. One of the bellies was dang near dry throughout the whole process but it came out fine. Maybe it's due to the high fat content - just a guess.

I did piddle around with less time in the cure, but 2 weeks will always be my go-to if time allows. There is just something different - and the difference is better.