First time loading pics, so hopefully it will work.
I am planning on smoking some Pork Loin Bacon. I used the Bradley Maple cure and followed their instructions to the letter. I did add some Pure Maple Syrup and black pepper to the cure.
I put four 1/2 loins each in their own separate zip-lock bag 9 days ago and have been turning them every day.
Fridge temp is 37 degrees F.
When I went to turn them tonight I noticed that one of the loins has a very red meaty area as if the cure is not doing it's job. It is the only one to have this, and strangely this is the first time I have noticed it. This being the first time I have done bacon I have looked at the meat quite carefully these last 9 days.
It does not have any particular strong or strange odor.
I'm confused. Any thoughts? Here are two pics...
(http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/slamdunk_bucket/Pork%20Loin%20Bacon/IMG_0355.jpg)
(http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/slamdunk_bucket/Pork%20Loin%20Bacon/IMG_0354.jpg)
Is it possible that this spot was not in the brine? Like maybe it floated up.
Quarlow it was a dry cure. And I made sure to turn it every night. One additional thing your question made me think of- there is not a lot of liquid in the bags. Now, this is lean pork loin, not pork belly, so I wasn't expecting a lot of liquid but I'm wondering about the whole thing now....
I can't think of anything I did wrong ......but ....
If that area is not curing (it is hard to tell since that area of the loin has different muscle groups) then by the looks of it, it not due to you improperly applying the cure to that area. The straight line indicates to me that it was either laying in one position for a long time without turning, or that this particular loin was in area that was pressed up against a cold spot of the refrigerator, or if you stacked the loins that one could have been on the bottom and the pressure from the meat above slowed the curing action; but that can be eliminates since you used separate Ziploc bags.
Even when you thermometer will read 37°F, there are areas in your refrigerator that can be colder or warmer. I wouldn't be concerned about the meat, it should be safe - it has been refrigerated this whole time. After cooking and you slice into it, if there are areas that come out brown or grayish brown, then you know the cure did not work in that area. Although it may look unpleasant it is still alright to eat; just treat it as you would fresh cooked meat.
I thought exactly the same as Habs as soon as I saw the pic. Looks like that particular piece has been against something for a prolonged period of time that resulted in the cure not getting to it like the other pieces. Could be as innocent as the bag it was in sticking to it in that particular area.
Habs is a master at these sort of things. Go with his thoughts and ideas.
KyNola
Thanks for the replies guys.
After posting my question and with the magical help of the "search" function, I found another thread addressing the same problem and Habs you gave good advice then too!!!
Habs, I did stack the packs of meat, but only two high so there could have been some pressure, but because I rotated it every day I don't think it would be the cause. I'm wondering if the plastic bag could have gotten "stuck" to the meat and not allowed the liquid to seep into the meat as much as the other parts.
I'm feeling better about things ...and looking forward to some good smoking this w/e. Just another example of how valuable this forum is - if it weren't for this forum and all the shared experiences, I'd have chucked all the meat. Thanks again!!
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=10160.msg110773#msg110773
KY, I guess I was writing my reply as you posted about the plastic sticking to the meat. Great minds think alike , or something....
Just an update, as a result of your comments, I've moved the meat up a level in the fridge. I did have it on the bottom (coldest) part of the fridge, and can't remember at what level I placed the thermometer when it read 37. We'll see what happens.
I think you're going to be fine. Follow Habs advice. He knows his stuff.
Stacking and rotating the way you did if fine. Plastic sticking is a good possibility, its a good practice when you flip them over you should rock the bag back and forth to distribute the liquid, also massaging the the meat will loosen the plastic also.
After thinking about the plastic sticking could be a problem, I didn't stop to think that when I cure my meat I expel all the air that I can and the plastic is snug against the meat in all areas, and I have never have a problem of some areas not curing properly; unless the meat was touching the back of the refrigerator.
If that area is not curing (and I'm not sure if it isn't), I would believe it is the temperature. As I said earlier that is in the area were different muscle groups come together, and they are different in color, so the cured color will be different.
I have a loin curing since Monday and should be ready on Sunday evening, if the same area turns out like yours (as it will from time to time) I will post a photo.
Sometimes when I buy pork loins, there is an area at one side that's similar to the "chain" on a beef tenderloin.
I try to remove this area as it is separated from the loin proper by a layer of fat.
This area is always a different color and it kind of looks like your photo.
This might be the answer.
But I too think that your discolored area will not be a problem.
So the loins are soaking in water as we speak and I'm planning on smoking them today. I'll be using my new meat slicer on one of them but I have a question.... if I slice them all up, keep out one to be eaten in the very near future (most likely tomorrow's breakfast) and freeze the remainder, will they dry out? Or should I just freeze them whole and slice em when I use em?
Why I ask is because it would be less time consuming to slice them all at the same time.
So that others may learn from my experience, I have taken more pictures of the strange colour on that one loin and will post after all is finished.
Thanks for your replies.
Slamdunk
When I do Canadian Bacon I usually do around 30 lbs at a time. I take it out of the smoker at an IT of 140, allow it to cool at room temp, then wrap in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for a day. The next day I slice the whole batch, vacuum package it in usable sized packages, and finally freeze it. To thaw it on relatively short notice I just throw a package in a sink of cold water. It works great!
Mike
Thanks Mr Walleye, exactly what I wanted to know.
I do the same as Mike, except I use the 8" wide bags and freeze it smaller batches.
It's done and it is terrific !!
Somehow I deleted the original pics, so here is what we were talking about,
(http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/slamdunk_bucket/Pork%20Loin%20Bacon/Bacon%20Completion/IMG_0360_1.jpg)
After two hours soaking in water
(http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/slamdunk_bucket/Pork%20Loin%20Bacon/Bacon%20Completion/IMG_0364_1.jpg)
Cut and fried up a couple slices of the ends to test the saltiness which my wife declared perfect !!
(http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/slamdunk_bucket/Pork%20Loin%20Bacon/Bacon%20Completion/IMG_0366_1.jpg)
Nice colour to the meat before it goes in the smoker. Let it come up to room temperature (about an hour)
(http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/slamdunk_bucket/Pork%20Loin%20Bacon/Bacon%20Completion/IMG_0369_1.jpg)
Preheated the smoker to 140 and let em sit for an hour or so with no smoke. And then 4 hours of Maple pucks until IT of 145.
(http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/slamdunk_bucket/Pork%20Loin%20Bacon/Bacon%20Completion/IMG_0376_1.jpg)
Put them all in the fridge for an overnight cooling off and firming up, and then I got to use my new slicer the next morning- which worked very well . I sliced some thicker and some deli thickness to be used in sandwiches etc. On the better half's instructions, I only sliced two of the loins up and froze the other two.
(http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/slamdunk_bucket/Pork%20Loin%20Bacon/Bacon%20Completion/IMG_0379_1.jpg)
Looked great and we had some with eggs and toast and everybody loved the bacon. Took a bit to the office and everybody wanted more - a lot more, yeah, as if that's going to happen,,,
(http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/slamdunk_bucket/Pork%20Loin%20Bacon/Bacon%20Completion/IMG_0381_1.jpg)
Thanks for all your helpful advice -
When I first saw the picture I was pretty sure that it was cured, and the difference in color was due to the different muscle groups. The color comes from sodium nitrite reducing to nitric oxide which bonds with th myoglobin in the meat. The more myoglobin (the darker the meat) the darker the cure color. I took a picture of my cured loin is the same area your photo shows, thought the difference in colors were noticeable they were not as pronounced as yours.
Thanks Habs, now if I only knew what myoglobin was....so off to Wikipedia....ahh here it is,,,
Myoglobin forms pigments responsible for making meat red. The color that meat takes is partly determined by the charge of the iron atom in myoglobin and the oxygen attached to it. When meat is in its raw state, the iron atom is in the +2 oxidation state, and is bound to a dioxygen molecule (O2).
Meat cooked well done is brown because the iron atom is now in the +3 oxidation state, having lost an electron, and is now coordinated by a water molecule. Under some conditions, meat can also remain pink all through cooking, despite being heated to high temperatures. If meat has been exposed to nitrites, it will remain pink because the iron atom is bound to NO, nitric oxide (true of, e.g., corned beef or cured hams).
Grilled meats can also take on a pink "smoke ring" that comes from the iron binding a molecule of carbon monoxide to give metmyoglobin.[9] Raw meat packed in a carbon monoxide atmosphere also shows this same pink "smoke ring" due to the same coordination chemistry. Notably, the surface of the raw meat also displays the pink color, which is usually associated in consumers' minds with fresh meat. This artificially-induced pink color can persist in the meat for a very long time, reportedly up to one year. [10] Hormel and Cargill are both reported to use this meat-packing process, and meat treated this way has been in the consumer market since 2003.[11]
I have had the same problem you did with the discoloration when doing back bacon. It only seemed to be one particular piece that had the problem. A second time it started to happen I actually noticed it after the second day and added a small amount of cure to the problem spot and it seemed to be okay. The next time I did back bacon I was actually rotating (turning) the bags over twice a day for the first 3 days, and never had any more problems. I also had an independent thermometer in the fridge to verify that the temps were okay.
I'm still not 100% sure what the problem was, but I'm leaning towards how/where the loins were resting in the fridge. The problem area was always at the part of the loin that resting down (and typically the bottom piece if they were stacked). I never had the loins resting directly on the wire rack of the fridge, they were typically placed on plates, and they weren't placed on the bottom of the fridge. It could possibly have been the the plate was colder than elsewhere in the fridge, but that doesn't seem to make any sense since the temperature of the plate would be the same as the rest of the fridge (particularly since there was air movement below the plates).
I'm starting to lean towards too much pressure on certain spots that is preventing the cure from working in. This is only a theory and still doesn't explain why most other people don't have this problem, even when they stack their loins while curing.
Quote from: canadiansmoker on March 17, 2010, 07:36:52 AM
I have had the same problem you did with the discoloration when doing back bacon. It only seemed to be one particular piece that had the problem. A second time it started to happen I actually noticed it after the second day and added a small amount of cure to the problem spot and it seemed to be okay. The next time I did back bacon I was actually rotating (turning) the bags over twice a day for the first 3 days, and never had any more problems. I also had an independent thermometer in the fridge to verify that the temps were okay.
I'm still not 100% sure what the problem was, but I'm leaning towards how/where the loins were resting in the fridge. The problem area was always at the part of the loin that resting down (and typically the bottom piece if they were stacked). I never had the loins resting directly on the wire rack of the fridge, they were typically placed on plates, and they weren't placed on the bottom of the fridge. It could possibly have been the the plate was colder than elsewhere in the fridge, but that doesn't seem to make any sense since the temperature of the plate would be the same as the rest of the fridge (particularly since there was air movement below the plates).
I'm starting to lean towards too much pressure on certain spots that is preventing the cure from working in. This is only a theory and still doesn't explain why most other people don't have this problem, even when they stack their loins while curing.
From your post it is unclear if you were overhauling (turning the meat over, or changing their positions if stacked - rotating bottom to top and turning over) when you were having the initial problems, or if you increase the frequency you overhaul that resolved the problem. If you were not overhauling at all that can create the problem you first encountered. As long as I overhaul every other day, I never have a problem with the rate of curing, sometimes I will overhaul daily.
I feel you can't go by one theory, because there are multiple reasons that can be factored in. I not saying that cold temperatures was an issue for you, but as for the plate it will not necessarily be the same temperature as the air temperature. If it is in a cold spot, or touching a colder area or where the coils run through, it can be colder. For example, I have a beverage refrigerator, with no freezer. The air temperature in the refrigerator will average 39°F, but often there will be ice at the back of the refrigerator were the cooling coils run through.
Sorry Habs, I should have been more clear. I was overhauling daily (turing over, and changing positions when stacked) when the problems did occur. The problem seemed to disappear when I overhauled more than once a day for the first few days.
I agree that you can't go one theory, I'm just having a hard time coming up with many other ones at the moment.
As far as temperatures in the fridge goes, I had placed a thermometer in different parts of the fridge (even different spots on the same rack) to see if there was much deviation in the temperature, and the rack I had the loin on (middle rack) only showed about a 2 degree difference from front to back and side to side. I avoided putting the loin on the lowest part of the fridge to avoid the colder spots.