Curing Times for belly Pork

[Ed Birch]

Hi All,
my very first attempt at curing Bacon is sitting in the brine even as I type this.
The trouble is that all the information that we have regarding the time that it should be in the cure is inconsistent .Is there a general rule of thumb for curing ?
Does curing take longer according to the strength of the brine or the temperature?
Can you use less salt to get a less salty final product?
If anyone can answer all or any of these questions  - or even tell me where I can find the answers I would be vey grateful.
Many Thanks
Ed Birch
[email protected]

[JJC]

Hi Ed,

Welcome to the Forum!  It's great to see the international contingent growing.  Please don't be a stranger and share your experiences with us regularly . . .

As for your question, you can refer to the following thread:

http://bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=451

You may also want to look at the Sticky at the top of each Forum called "For your added pleasure" as it links you to a new board that Olds is putting together and that a number of us are contributing to.  It's designed for newbies and has tons of useful info.  There's a Curing and Brining piece there that might be helpful for you.

John
Newton MA