Bacon curing question.

[suziekuf]

Hi, my name is Suzie and I'm a virgin ;)
My smoker is still in the box but I'm very excited to use it!
I have some bacon (pork loin) curing in my refrigerator and I have some questions for you experts:

*Should I drain the liquid that collected after I rubbed the cure on?
*Is 7 days enough time to cure a 3lb slab?
*I'm planning on smoking at 200 degrees until the internal temp is 140 degrees.... am I on the right page?
Thanks in advance,
~Suzie

[whitetailfan]

Welcome Suzie,
Nice first project, no holding back for you[:D]

<font color="blue">*Should I drain the liquid that collected after I rubbed the cure on?</font id="blue">
No leave it there.  This acts as a brine.  It has been written elsewhere that this fluid is actually required for curing.

<font color="blue">*Is 7 days enough time to cure a 3lb slab?</font id="blue">
Here you will need to check your directions.  It's not so much to do with weight as it is thickness.  Most of the pre-made cures we talk about here (Hi-Mtn Buckboard Bacon, and Buther-Packer cure) have instructions of about 10 days for a 3-4 inch pork butt.  Another rule of thumb that has been thrown about is 3 days per inch.  Not RULE, but guideline.  Mallardwacker cures for about 21 days, so again, check your instructions and gauge this yourself based on my info above.

<font color="blue">*I'm planning on smoking at 200 degrees until the internal temp is 140 degrees.... am I on the right page?</font id="blue">
Sounds reasonable.  If you smoke to 140F you will need to cook your bacon before you eat it.  If you want to eat it cold without frying, you should be taking it up to the 160 range.

First place to start is to read Mallardwackers Bacon info thread that has been "stickied" to the top of the curing section here.  Great base knowledge and then you can experiment from there.

Let us know how you make out.


<font color="green">whitetailfan</font id="green">
"Nice Rack"
Lethbridge, AB

[Oyènkwara]

Hello Suzie,

Welcome to the forum. I am far from an expert but can give you some information on the bacon I recently made.

I also made Canadian style bacon using a 5-pound pork loin. I cut the loin in half for easier handling. The cure I used was Buck Board Bacon (BBB) cure. The "juice" that forms from the rub is normal and I would not drain it off. I cured the bacon for 10 days (minimum according to the BBB cure instructions) Turn the meat over after 5 days (or if it's in a bag, flip the bag over) to help with the curing process.

Before I smoked the bacon, I washed the loins thoroughly with cold water. I then soaked the loins in cold water for 3 hours (changing the water each hour). This is done to help remove some of the salt or the bacon will taste very salty!

I pre heat the smoker with no smoke for 45 minutes on high. Meanwhile I dried off the loins and allowed to come to room temp on the Bradley racks. I then placed the loins in the smoker again with no smoke for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes I added 7 hickory and 2 pecan pucks (along with the 3 "bubba" pucks)

In my case, I ran the smoker between 200 to 210 and smoked until I had an internal temp of 155F. It took about 5-1/2 hours total.

I hope this helps, good luck and have fun!

In the meantime ... unpack that smoker and season er' up.

Tom

[MallardWacker]

Suzie,

Can't add much here, White of Tail answered exactly as I would.  Tom's suggestions are great also, the same but different. Making Bacon[:p] IS my favorite thing to do with the O'l Bradley.  It's not hard and the result are usually above expectation plus the your family and friends will think you are the bomb.


SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know.  But...

[suziekuf]

Thank you all for the information. I have to admit I purchased the smoker primarily to make bacon because I am from England and the lack of good meaty bacon options on this side of the pond has caused me 20 years of frustration!

I was a little overwhelmed with the different methods and "details" every bacon recipe I read had, but I got the general idea.

Before I had my kids (now 3&5) I used to be a personal chef to the rich and not so famous here in Seattle so I'm no stranger to cooking.
My husband tried to talk me into getting a big green egg ;)

I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Thanks again,
~Suzie


Suzie

[manxman]

Hi suziekuf, welcome to the forum.

See page 53 of:

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=221

I did some traditional smoked British back bacon recently, I cold smoked it using:

http://www.johnwatkins.co.uk/personalpages/coldsmoking.htm

Also see:

www.sausagemaking.org/

which gives some useful information under "curing"..They also sell a range of traditional British bacon cures.

 However I basically followed a procedure given to me by a local family butcher who does all his own bacon. I would differ from some of the advice given in that I did pour away the liquid and did it as pure dry cure bacon.

Obviously if cold smoking, the bacon then needs grilling or frying to cook as you would shop bought bacon in the UK.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">It's not so much to do with weight as it is thickness. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
This is very true, when I poured off the liquid I added a little more cure at the same time, I cured for 7 days.

My experiment worked well, the only change I will make next time is rinsing it a bit more thoroughly after curing. I have an order with the butcher for a full side of pork this time whichI hope to get in the next few days.

Let us know how it turns out.[:)]

Manxman.