using bottled seasoning on bacon?

[dixon4420]

I am wondering if there is an easy way to use/calculate how much of a store bought seasoning is needed and add the correct amount of cure ? I would like to use one of the random seasoning i use on my smoked ribs cause i like the flavor, but not sure if its ok to do the same with bacon. Any help would be appreciated. If it makes a difference the seasoning is Meat church honey bacon bbq

 

[tx smoker]

You absolutely can use bottled seasoning, and it can make some very good bacon. One of the three flavors of bacon I keep on hand at all times is seasoned with a seasoning mix that Jeff (the founder of the forum) has available and it's a fan favorite. It is a blend that lends itself very well with pork so works great for bacon.

This link is one that many, many people here use to calculate the cure for bacon as well as a lot of other cured delicacies. I've used it from Day 1 and it's never failed me:

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diggingdogfarm.com

Just enter the weight in grams of each piece of meat you want to cure and hit "calculate cure' and it'll tell you exactly how much Cure #1, salt, and sugar to use. A word to the wise though, if the seasoning mix you want to use has salt in it, which most do, you'll want to back off the amount in the cure by a little bit otherwise your meat will be overly salty.

Robert

 

[JLeonard]

Follow tx smoker advice. He sent me bacon as part of our Christmas x-change. Darn good stuff. Makes great sammichs and is far better than anything you can buy in the store.

Jim

 

[dixon4420]

Ok thanks. If its a bottled seasoning about how much do you think per lb of pork belly would be average assuming i could adjust some for the salt that would have in it ?

You absolutely can use bottled seasoning, and it can make some very good bacon. One of the three flavors of bacon I keep on hand at all times is seasoned with a seasoning mix that Jeff (the founder of the forum) has available and it's a fan favorite. It is a blend that lends itself very well with pork so works great for bacon.

This link is one that many, many people here use to calculate the cure for bacon as well as a lot of other cured delicacies. I've used it from Day 1 and it's never failed me:

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diggingdogfarm.com

Just enter the weight in grams of each piece of meat you want to cure and hit "calculate cure' and it'll tell you exactly how much Cure #1, salt, and sugar to use. A word to the wise though, if the seasoning mix you want to use has salt in it, which most do, you'll want to back off the amount in the cure by a little bit otherwise your meat will be overly salty.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Ok thanks. If its a bottled seasoning about how much do you think per lb of pork belly would be average assuming i could adjust some for the salt that would have in it ?

I have absolutely no idea. I don't measure the seasonings when making bacon, just apply a very liberal coating to both sides of the belly before putting it in the vac seal bag to cure. It takes a lot to get a good flavor into the meat.

Robert

 

[clifish]

You absolutely can use bottled seasoning, and it can make some very good bacon. One of the three flavors of bacon I keep on hand at all times is seasoned with a seasoning mix that Jeff (the founder of the forum) has available and it's a fan favorite. It is a blend that lends itself very well with pork so works great for bacon.

This link is one that many, many people here use to calculate the cure for bacon as well as a lot of other cured delicacies. I've used it from Day 1 and it's never failed me:

Netfirms | This site is temporarily unavailable

Small business web hosting offering additional business services such as: domain name registrations, email accounts, web services, FrontPage help, online community resources and various small business solutions.

diggingdogfarm.com

Just enter the weight in grams of each piece of meat you want to cure and hit "calculate cure' and it'll tell you exactly how much Cure #1, salt, and sugar to use. A word to the wise though, if the seasoning mix you want to use has salt in it, which most do, you'll want to back off the amount in the cure by a little bit otherwise your meat will be overly salty.

Robert

Quick question on that calcultor, the important part of that is the amount of cure #1? salt and sugar are not part of safely curing the belly correct? In other words as long as the cure is calculated correctly any salt or sugar and spices are strictly to taste?

 

[TNJAKE]

Quick question on that calcultor, the important part of that is the amount of cure #1? salt and sugar are not part of safely curing the belly correct? In other words as long as the cure is calculated correctly any salt or sugar and spices are strictly to taste?

The cure and salt are important to the cure. Not the sugar. Sugar is only there to cut some of the salt but not an actual part of the cure

 

[tx smoker]

The cure and salt are important to the cure. Not the sugar. Sugar is only there to cut some of the salt but not an actual part of the cure

Jake is 100% correct here and has you going in the right direction. If using a seasoning with salt on a 5# piece of belly (half a belly), I'll typically drop 3 grams or so of salt from what the calculator says because it will be made up for with the seasonings.

Robert

 

[dixon4420]

Cool thanks guys.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I am wondering if there is an easy way to use/calculate how much of a store bought seasoning is needed and add the correct amount of cure ? I would like to use one of the random seasoning i use on my smoked ribs cause i like the flavor, but not sure if its ok to do the same with bacon. Any help would be appreciated. If it makes a difference the seasoning is Meat church honey bacon bbq

According to the Meat Church website, the Honey bacon bbq rub contains per serving of 1/4tsp or 1.5 grams by weight:
0.13g salt
1g sugar

In curing meats salt is the driver of it all, it is the horsepower that makes things happen. We can use salt in a range that is both safe and effective but will agree with our palate. With whole muscle like bacon use from 1.5% to 3% salt. I like to use 1.5% salt but you may prefer 2% that’s for you to discover. When we cover the outside of meat with a cure mixture the salt wants to drive into the center of the meat because that is a low sodium area, meat contains about 75% water, this water moves to the surface of the meat to balance the high sodium, this is diffusion. In this process the sodium nitrite in cure #1 follows the rest of the sodium into the meat, the higher the salt concentration the faster the curing process happens. The nitrite interaction with meat protein causes it to transform into nitric oxide which attaches itself to myoglobin and fixes the red color giving us that “pink” cured color.

On with answering your question,
I would recommend 1.5% salt and 1% sugar
for 5# belly that is
34g salt
22.7g sugar
so from what meat church gave us, if we use 34g of their rub we would net 22.7g sugar and 2.9g salt.

So for this I would use 34g rub
and 31g salt.
this will net 1.5% salt and 1% sugar to 5# belly.
cure#1 should be at 0.25% so for 5# use 5.6g (1.1g per pound of meat)

Hope this information helps.

 

[Fueling Around]

According to the Meat Church website, the Honey bacon bbq rub contains per serving of 1/4tsp or 1.5 grams by weight:
0.13g salt
1g sugar
...
Hope this information helps.

Excellent post and great explanation.
One needs to reverse calculate the salts and sugars contained in the rub.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Excellent post and great explanation.
One needs to reverse calculate the salts and sugars contained in the rub.

Any honest rub company will post nutritional % so you know what’s in it sodium and sugar.
https://www.meatchurch.com/collections/bbq-rub/products/honey-bacon-bbq-rub

 

[indaswamp]

Great advice given guys....
Only point I will add is that sugar should be no higher than 2/3rds of the salt concentration...so if using 1.5% salt, then max. sugar would be 1%. If sugar is higher than salt, yeast and some bacteria become problematic.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Great advice given guys....
Only point I will add is that sugar should be no higher than 2/3rds of the salt concentration...so if using 1.5% salt, then max. sugar would be 1%. If sugar is higher than salt, yeast and some bacteria become problematic.

I agree and is good advice, however this also throws most brine solutions out the window with a 2:1 sugar to salt concentration.

 

[indaswamp]

I agree and is good advice, however this also throws most brine solutions out the window with a 2:1 sugar to salt concentration.

That is why there is a time limit on wet brine, and also why wet brines get 'ropey'...

 

[SmokinEdge]

That is why there is a time limit on wet brine, and also why wet brines get 'ropey'...

Absolutely correct.
and is why I dry rub and don’t use brines, among other reasons.