I've been dry-curing pork bellies and shoulders for a little over a year now, and I've decided this is a thing for me. I've done zip-locks, brine bags, ceramic baking pans, and a stainless steel food lug. They've all worked, but they've also all been slightly inconvenient for a number of reasons.
Zip-locks: prone to leaking, but easy to redistribute the cure without contamination risks.
Brine bags: prone to leaking, bonus for redistributing cure and extra thick, but just too dang big.
Ceramic baking pans: Usually of a good length and width, but at 2.5" deep they are too shallow. I'd like 4" deep to cover as needed.
Stainless steal food lug: 11"x12"x6", works really well, but too deep unless I'm doing a lot of meat at once (2-3 bellies). I'm also worried about the potential for corrosion.
Personally, I'm not a fan of the plastic food tubs, and its because of this issue that I migrated towards the ceramic and stainless containers. I've found references to wooden containers, but wooden seems as if it could be prone to leaks and difficult to clean properly.
What are other people using for their containers?
Can anyone comment on the longevity of stainless when used for 5-7 day cures every week?
Any chance you have a good source for ceramic containers, 12"x"12"x4"?
Hi b_dc and welcome to the forum.
I can't really help you regarding the ceramic and stainless steel containers. I currently use food grade plastic containers. Most of the ones I have are food supply containers from restaurants. Here is a link to a decent article on brining containers.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/plastics.html
Mike
I generally lean towards plastic that are food safe, because of the variety of sizes and they usually come with a cover. This includes sealable bags, and hard plastic containers. Whether it is a dry cure or pickle I use the smallest container that will accommodate the meat.
If you use a 10/18 grade stainless steel (which most kitchen supplies use) you should be alright for what you are doing. It is best for brining and curing because it has one of the highest resistance from pitting caused by chlorides contained in salts. As far as durability under continuous use I wouldn't know.
I rarely have problems with sealable bags licking. I always get the type with the double seal. Even when I do use a sealable bag, I always place them in some type of other container to catch any liquid that may leak out. This prevents cross contamination in the refrigerator, and makes for easier clean up.
I always use plastic containers for wet cures and brinning, but for dry curing i vacuum seal, this method definately seems to speed up the curing process. Also seals in any odours from spices etc, so doesn't make the whole fridge smell ;)
LilSmoker (http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Gitster59/Tip-Hat.gif)
i agree with habs an lil on there points...
i personally use restaurant grade plastic containers in various sizes just big enough to handle the meat... if im concerned about orders .. i use a good plastic wrap to cover the top then the container top