I have general question regarding curing times for making back bacon. In looking at the recipes website, I noticed that the curing time for Hab's back bacon is approx. 6 days, but yet for MallardWhackers maple back bacon recipe the curing time is approx. 21 days. Both of the recipes use a pork loin, which are , in general terms, is the same thickness and weight/piece. Is the difference in curing times attributable to the difference in the curing ingredient (Morton's vs maple cure) or is there some other reason (consistency, moisture retention, etc.)?
I'm sure I must be missing something here. Just trying to understand the differences a little better as I have never dry cured before.
Stephen
The recipe I have been using calls for 3 days in brine. I do, however, inject the loin with the brine prior to submerging. After the three days in brine, the loin is allowed to dry in the refrigerator for a day, then into the smoker for 3 hrs. Both my wife & myself prefer a product that is not too salty as both of us have hypertension. We have found that we still get the bacon flavour, still somewhat salty, and smoky like it was meant to be!!!
I generally will judge the curing time by it's thickness; 2 days per inch, when using TQ or the Basic Dry Cure. Once you have cured a few, around days 4 - 6 you can pretty much tell when they are cured by feel. The loin should feel uniformly firm. If you misjudge the time the first time, and it doesn't cure all the way through, the center will be brown when cooked. It is still good to eat but may look strange on the plate.
If you allow it to cure longer it will taste saltier, but soaking can help reduce the salt. After rinsing, and soaking, I always slice a piece off, and pan fry it. If it is too salty, I will give it another soak. Just remember that the piece you test will taste a little saltier then the finished product.
As Unclebuck pointed out a brine (pickle) cure takes less time and generally you can cure a pork loin in 2 to 3 days.
Thanks for the responses. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around how MW's maple back bacon can go for triple the time and still come out good. Would curing it for that much longer just make it saltier but not affect the consistency of the back bacon? Is it that simple of an answer, or am I just asking a really silly question (not that this would be the first time ::)? Both of the recipes are calling for a dry cure.
Stephen
CS
I think what Habs is pointing out is that once you have done it once you will find that when you overhaul it each day or every other day you will find it begins to firm up at a certain point. Your looking for it to be consistently firmer throughout the piece to tell you the cure has done it's job. For me, I tend to leave mine curing for 7 to 10 days when using a dry cure. I usually soak mine for 2 hours with a couple of water changes. The way I see it, the soak time is directly related to the length of time in the cure. For an example, I probably soak mine longer than Habs does because he usually only cures his for 6 or 7 days. It's also a question of taste and what you prefer your bacon to taste like.
I'm sure if you start with Habs method as a starting point you won't go wrong. From there you can adapt it to your own taste, even adding things like maple syrup or pepper for you own taste.
Mike
I have not used Mallard Wackers recipe, but I would agree that 21 days, seems like a long time to cure a loin.
Not too sure if I should jump in here, but for belly bacon I have never gone beyond 7 days with a dry cure . I know it can be done quicker with a brine-injection, but have never done that. I have used the basic
Morton TQ mixed with dark brown sugar, and the Honey Cure from Sausagemaker, and it is all good! Just gotta learn that pinch factor from Nepa. There is a certain level of firmness that tells you when it is fully
cured. I think it is from judging how the belly feels from the first day, to ready to go. I have just picked up differant things from this great forum and made some really outstanding bacon!
Or , it could be that I am just a closet belly squeezer!! ::) ;D
I have done Mallard's and have gone 14 to 21 days with no problem. Probably didn't need to go that long but the timing worked out better for me (weedend). Did soak the belly for lower salt content. I also slice, fry and taste before smoking.
Thanks everyone. I'm going to be adding the maple syrup to the loins today, and then I'll just monitor them based on the firmness and take it from there. Giz, like you, the timing overall will depend on the weekend as that is the only time I have enough hours to actually do the smoke.
Any idea what affect longer curing times has on the pork loin? Doe sit just firm it up more and get it even more salty, or does it actually start to break down the meat too much?
I'll let you know how it turns out. This is the first time I have tried doing back bacon, so I guess like everything I have done for the first time in the smoker, it'll be trial and hopefully not error.
Stephen
Have not done that many loins to be able to give you a good answer on that question. As I mentioned mine was with belly meat and I did not notice a difference in texture on the bacon as I tend to like mine on the crisp side.
The main reason for the 21 day reason was for flavor not necessarily the curring....I know you could probably do it very quickly. The main reason was only for flavor. What I have noticed was out there around 21 days the meat gets really tender and sometimes brakes apart when slicing.
CanukSmoker....you will be fine here. It will work ... I would at least hang around the 10 day mark for sure but after that...it's up to you. Man have fun with this thing. Se what works for you. This is just the way I do it and enjoy it.
Thus saith Mallard
Thanks Mallard. I'm having fun just trying out different things and trying to pry some of the fridge space away from my better half to experiment. I figure if I do this a few more times she'll buckle under and let me get that spare fridge for the garage so I can really go to town ::)
I am really interested in getting the maple flavour locked into the meat. When I opened the bags last night to apply the maple syrup I could already smell the maple from the just the maple cure. The loins are still pretty soft, but being patient will be worth it.
Giz, I like your idea of frying up a piece before smoking to make sure I'm happy with the salt content.
This forum is a wealth of information. Hopefully I can contribute from my experiences as well once I get the hang of this.
My thing that i always st rived for in the Maple Bacon was the flavor...it is good now but I still want it more pronounced. I would say it is more on the mild side. I steered away from "Maple Flavoring" or "maple Powder". I have smelled Maple flavored sausage that littlerly smelled up the whole house made you want to puke. That's why I took the direction I did.
The salt content will directly relate to how much you soak and wash it. I am not a salty guy...my method seemed to get it where I like it. There are those out there that like the stuff really salty...me no like.
Have fun friend.
I was massaging the loins this morning and I noticed 2 out of the 3 loins are starting to firm up compared to what the were like when I first started, but the third loin is still pretty soft yet :-\. It doesn't seem to have firmed up at all yet. They have been in the cure/maple syrup for 8 days now. I'm wondering if it is just the texture of that particular end of the loin or if something else is going on with it? That particular piece was softer to begin with than the other 2 pieces.
D NOT WORRY...IT WILL BE FINE!...Firmness has nothing to do with if it is or it is not curing.
If you put in the right amount of cure...believe me that is fine.
I have them come out in all sorts of ways...sometimes the thinner tail does not get as firm do to the type of muscle there.
Next time when you choose your loin...find out if it has been injected with solution. Sam's does not inject theirs OR go to your butcher and ask them...this will help.
Thanks for the information MW. I was pretty accruate with the cure. I weighed each piece and then weighed the right amount of cure for each piece. The pieces weren't injected with anything. I had purchased it from Costco and checked with the meat guys before I purchased it.
Do they firm up when you start the smoke, or does the texture pretty much stay as is? I imagine they should firm up a bit from the smoke. I can hardly wait to get these things in the smoker, but I have quite a few more days to go yet (either this weekend or the weekend after that).
As far as maple flavor goes, i was wondering if it would be worthwhile to inject them with maple syrup after the rinsing, or if that would do much to enhance the flavour. If it might increase the flavor I might trying doing that with one piece just to see how it turns out, just for the heck of it!
QuoteAs far as maple flavor goes, i was wondering if it would be worthwhile to inject them with maple syrup after the rinsing, or if that would do much to enhance the flavour. If it might increase the flavor I might trying doing that with one piece just to see how it turns out, just for the heck of it!
Personally I would not.
My suggestion here....when the curing time is up rinse those mothers like no tomorrow...make yourself some paste out of maple syrup and maple sugar....then smoke to my directions and see what happens....I think you will be happy...then you can adjust from there.
Whats the status here...would love to know.
MallardWhacker, 2 of the 3 pieces of loin turned out great. I was planning on posting an update once I get the pictures uploaded. The third piece of loin did not turn out as it appears that the cure did not take to part of the loin. Instead of it having a uniform colour and texture it looked like the cure did not affect part of the loin at all. That part basically looked like it had not been exposed to cure whatsoever. I'll be posting pictures of that as well to get the forums input as the next time I do this it will be in a much larger quantity and don't want to run the risk of ruining any more pieces. I'm not really sure what happened to that piece. Needless to say I didn't bother smoking that piece.
Overall they turned out extremely well. The flavour was quite good, not too salty, with a hint of maple flavour. I think maybe next time I'll take them out at a lower temp to try and retain more of the moisture in them. We always pan fry them before eating anyways.
Stephen