Buckboard Bacon Cure

[Tiny Tim]

Okay, here's the deal, I have a loin that I'm cutting into thirds.  One will be sliced for chops, one will be smoked and sliced for lunch meat, and I'm still debating what to do with the third.  I have remembered that I have some Buckboard Bacon Cure just sitting around waiting for me to use it, and I thought maybe I'd give that a try on the loin.  My questions are:

1.  Would this work well on a loin?

2.  If I were to rub the BB Cure on the loin tonight (Friday, Apr. 6th), is there a chance that I'd be safe smoking it on Sunday the 15th (8.5 days from rub)?

[Gizmo]

I am not an expert on the curing and have only done the loin once for canadian bacon (almost, no peameal), and did the cure for 6 days.  I would doubt 2 more days would make a difference.  Posts here have shown some cure belly bacon for 20 days.
Biggest suggestion I could give is make sure you rinse well.

[Habanero Smoker]

I've never used buckboard cure, so I really can't answer your question. MW is more familiar with that cure. Premixed cures are different, because some are just mixed with salt, some with sugars and salts, and others may add buffers. This means that the amount of nitrate or nitrite per measurement will vary. It is best to follow the instructions that came with the cure. Dry curing is more forgiving then brining (pickle), so if you applied enough rub it should come out alright.

As Gizmo points out, rinse well, and also soak twice in a large amount of water for 30 minutes; turning the meat every 15 minutes. It appears you may have about a 3 pound piece of cure meat, so for that amount a 1 gallon of water would be fine to soak in. I now make it a practice of slicing a small piece off the cured meat, after the soaking period. I then pan fry it, to test for saltiness. If it is still too salty, I will soak longer.

[manxman]

I now make it a practice of slicing a small piece off the cured meat, after the soaking period. I then pan fry it, to test for saltiness. If it is still too salty, I will soak longer.

VERY good advice HS, I learnt this the hard way when I first did a piece of loin for bacon. Fortunately it was a small cheap piece that I got to do a test run with before I moved on to the bigger better quality pieces!  ;)

[Tiny Tim]

Thanks for the info, guys.  Didn't get around to rubbing (or even cutting) that loin last night anyway.  Might make it into a mid-week smoke......no law that says I gotta do my smoking on the weekend. :D

[Habanero Smoker]

I now make it a practice of slicing a small piece off the cured meat, after the soaking period. I then pan fry it, to test for saltiness. If it is still too salty, I will soak longer.

VERY good advice HS, I learnt this the hard way when I first did a piece of loin for bacon. Fortunately it was a small cheap piece that I got to do a test run with before I moved on to the bigger better quality pieces!  ;)

I forgot to mention that for me, the test piece always seems less salty then the finished product. So you may want to keep that in mind.

[MRH]

Go for it Tiny you will won't be dissapointed.  I did it and it turned out great!!  Here is a post from when I did it: 
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=3836.0
I just followed the directions in the package.

Mark

[whitetailfan]

Tiny,
Should be no problem.  Check on the instructions for the recommended thickness vs time.

I can tell you off memory that BBB calls for 10 days; however, that is based on a specific thickness of butt, I'm thinking 3.5 to 4 inches.  If the loin is thinner, it should work.  The basis is penetration time.

Your loin ought to be thinner than a butt.

[Tiny Tim]

Thanks guys.  Didn't get around to doing anything this weekend.  Think I'll shoot for at least an 8 day cure on the loin, but wait to try to time it for a weekend smoke.  Hopefully thursday or friday I'll remember to do that and brine the second one so I can finally get that done.  Wasn't real busy this weekend, just majorly lazy.