Why does bacon need to be cured?

[bacon_crazy510]

Ok thanks guys! I do plan on just pan frying so I may just bring it up to 120 the. I have no slicer so I may have to bribe a butcher to do it lol

You can definitely bribe your butcher. A little barter with him/her can't hurt! I put mine in the freezer for a spell to firm it up, then can cut it with a sharp knife.

 

[bill ace 350]

What's a cheap cure I could use that's in a small quantity?

Morton Tender Quick.
Found in grocery stores, Walmart etc.
Works great, directions on package for whole meats and ground meats, plus tons of recipes available for using it.
Don't listen to those who tell you its is too salty, not a "real cure", etc.
Give it a try, make up your own mind.
I use it about 50% of the time, the other half using cure #1 for bacon, Canadian bacon and summer sausage.
You don't require a fancy scale to use Tender Quick. You must know the weight of the meat to be cured, know how to measure using teaspoons and tablespoons. Easy stuff.
Good luck!

 

[Rings Я Us]

http://www.ferrariandsons.com/index.php/ferrari-d-q-curing-salt-lb.html

 

[motolife313]

I found some at one of the butchers I go too. Called yesterday. 5 bucks for 25# worth of meat. I went into Costco yesterday picked out a nice belly 11# and got to the register and she asked my the card didn't have a Costco card

 

[motolife313]

Ok I got a 10# belly today from Costco And it's about 1.5" thick. How long should I cure it, sell by is 2/26. Thanks.

 

[Bearcarver]

Ok I got a 10# belly today from Costco And it's about 1.5" thick. How long should I cure it, sell by is 2/26. Thanks.

Going by thickness, if I was Dry curing it with TQ, I'd go for 8 or 9 days in cure, whichever day fit my schedule best.
Bacon (Extra Smoky)


Bear

 

[motolife313]

Bear weekends are best for me to do long smokes. Is this weekend to early or is next weekend to late? I just put the cure on doesn't seem like much got put on put I'm going to roll with it. Did the cure I got from a butcher and it already had sugar and salt in it, I added some garlic powder and Pepper and real maple syrup. I think I may have put too much syrup in lol. And put it in a oven tray and Saran Wrap over it. I'm trying to get pics to load

 

[daveomak]

If you got it from a butcher, it is totally different from cure#1.. Did he tell you how much to add per pound ??? Did he say what the %nitrite, %sugar and %salt was in it ??? Did he say what else was in it ??? like sodium erythorbate ??? Commercial cures, like the one you got from the butcher, USUALLY have from 0.85% - 0.65% nitrite mixed in with salt, sugar, maple flavor etc. so it's a one stop to cure their bacon etc....

 

[motolife313]

Sodium Nitrate .75%. And sodium bicarbonate. Says 16 oz is good for 50 pounds. I used 3.4 on my 10 pound belly.

 

[daveomak]

1 oz. = 28.38 grams X 0.0075 = 0.213 grams nitrite per ounce
0.213 gms of nitrite per ounce of the cure mix... X 3.4 oz = 0.724 grams in the 10 lbs of meat.. = 4540 grams....

0.724 / 4540 = 159 Ppm nitrite... EXCELLENT ..

Thanks... I just had to check... Sometimes, often actually, meat guys don't give all the information you may need...
Now, because you know what's happening, you requested the info...

 

[motolife313]

Am I supposed to have more nitride then ?

 

[indaswamp]

Am I supposed to have more nitride then ?

200ppm is the upper limit recommended by the USDA. 150ppm is a good number to shoot for IMO so 159ppm is right in there.....

 

[motolife313]

Oh ok cool. It's the most popular butcher shop in portland. There was like 100 people or more couple days before Christmas this year.

 

[Bearcarver]

Bear weekends are best for me to do long smokes. Is this weekend to early or is next weekend to late? I just put the cure on doesn't seem like much got put on put I'm going to roll with it. Did the cure I got from a butcher and it already had sugar and salt in it, I added some garlic powder and Pepper and real maple syrup. I think I may have put too much syrup in lol. And put it in a oven tray and Saran Wrap over it. I'm trying to get pics to load

Once you're sure you used the right amount of whatever Cure you used, I would wait until the following weekend, because 4 or 5 days (This weekend) isn't long enough. 11 or 12 days (next weekend) should be fine.

BTW: I tried real Maple Syrup with my cure a couple times, and found it to be a waste of good Maple Syrup.

Bear

 

[motolife313]

Ok cool. I was thinking I'd let it dry in the fridge for a couple days then maybe outside in the wind for 1 day so should be perfect

 

[motolife313]

 

[bill ace 350]

Once you're sure you used the right amount of whatever Cure you used, I would wait until the following weekend, because 4 or 5 days (This weekend) isn't long enough. 11 or 12 days (next weekend) should be fine.

BTW: I tried real Maple Syrup with my cure a couple times, and found it to be a waste of good Maple Syrup.

Bear

I tried maple syrup once. I cut it with "Military Special" to thin it out and brushed it on the bellies. Helped the crushed black pepper stick too. Not bad, added flavor but the stickiness of the finished product was a pain.

 

[Bearcarver]

I tried maple syrup once. I cut it with "Military Special" to thin it out and brushed it on the bellies. Helped the crushed black pepper stick too. Not bad, added flavor but the stickiness of the finished product was a pain.

Yup, That's why I don't put it on after curing---Don't want it all Sticky.
Putting it in with the cure was a waste, Injecting might be better.

I even got a bunch of coarse Real Maple Sugar & tried that, but couldn't tell the difference from plain old Brown Sugar, so I said "The H with it".

Bear

 

[HalfSmoked]

Ha that Bear is afraid of competition from the furry bears for that maple syrup.

You have got some good info in my book from some of the best on this SMF Forum.

Warren

 

[motolife313]

I'm thinking about pulling the belly out tomorrow night and leaving it in the fridge after washing it off. How dry do I want to get it? Really dry? I can leave it out in the wind outside or use my blow gun lol. Planing on cooking Saturday. And why do I not wanna render the fat? I'm going to try and have super small fire down at 140 degress or so. Thanks