Bacon that's way too salty

[Cheech]

I just got done making my first two batches of bacon.  I used the recipe's straight from the Charcuturie book.  One was for a maple flavored bacon and one was a savory flavor.

The maple bacon turned out great...tastes like a Christmas ham really.  The savory version turned out to taste like a salt block.  I mean...it's like the salties country ham you ever tasted.  I blanched a few pieces this morning and then fried them to see if it reduced the saltiness.  It did reduce it a bit, but i'm wondering if there is a way to make it so that I don't have to blanch it prior to cooking. 

Any thoughts?

[ragweed]

Don't know how to fix what you've got, but next time I suggest you try TenPoint 5's recipe.  Makes super bacon.  It's on the recipe site.

[Saber 4]

Don't know how to fix what you've got, but next time I suggest you try TenPoint 5's recipe.  Makes super bacon.  It's on the recipe site.

X2, did you soak the bacon before you smoked it? I'm not sure soaking does much good after the smoke.

[Habanero Smoker]

I have an early addition of that book, and my book only has the maple cured bacon. I know that later editions he added recipes, unless you are referring to his pancetta recipe, but both have the same amount of salt. Since I don't know the recipe, keep in mind that sugar (that includes maple syrup) will help mask the saltiness. That may be one of the reasons the savory one tasted saltier, due to it having less salt. If you cured them for the same length of time, another possibility, you may have made an error measuring the salt, or you used the wrong sugar. In his recipes he uses Morton's Kosher salt.

I don't like to soak belly bacon, but before you smoke/cook the bacon, slice a small piece off and pan fry it to taste for saltiness. If it is overly salty, you can soak it in cold water, prior to cooking.

[beefmann]

I just got done making my first two batches of bacon.  I used the recipe's straight from the Charcuturie book.  One was for a maple flavored bacon and one was a savory flavor.

The maple bacon turned out great...tastes like a Christmas ham really.  The savory version turned out to taste like a salt block.  I mean...it's like the salties country ham you ever tasted.  I blanched a few pieces this morning and then fried them to see if it reduced the saltiness.  It did reduce it a bit, but i'm wondering if there is a way to make it so that I don't have to blanch it prior to cooking. 

Any thoughts?

just for  what you are  posting, i no longer use  salt in any of my recipes for cured meats, with that i  mean most  recipes that i have  seen call for  i cup of  salt, sea salt, kosher salt... i dont  use it and it  is removed from the recipe.

i do use motron tender quick or insta cure # 1 in my  cure and i know there is salt in it.. it is all the  salt i  use... I  recommend using only the curing agent and go from there 

[RedJada]

Don't know how to fix what you've got, but next time I suggest you try TenPoint 5's recipe.  Makes super bacon.  It's on the recipe site.

X3 on 10.5's recipe. Plus what Habs said. Fry a small sample and taste. If too salty, soak a little longer and try again. Or, as beefman said, remove the salt completely. It's all a matter of your flavor preference. You just gota play with it and find what you like.

[Habanero Smoker]

It is not a good idea to remove all salt, you may reduce the salt some what. The salt is the agent that helps carries the sodium nitrite into the meat, the more salt the faster the curing time, lessen the salt will increase the curing time. If you are using TQ, that is a cure mix that has enough salt in it to work as a carrying agent for the cure. The small amount of cure 1 that is required to cure meat, the salt amount is so minute that I'm not sure if you will get even curing throughout the meat.

[RedJada]

It is not a good idea to remove all salt, you may reduce the salt some what. The salt is the agent that helps carries the sodium nitrite into the meat, the more salt the faster the curing time, lessen the salt will increase the curing time. If you are using TQ, that is a cure mix that has enough salt in it to work as a carrying agent for the cure. The small amount of cure 1 that is required to cure meat, the salt amount is so minute that I'm not sure if you will get even curing throughout the meat.

Interesting Hab, I do believe in using salt in all my cooks. But Doc told me to take that out of my diet and take that money and spend it on the HP meds. LOL... I saw beefmans post I thought it was a good idea. I was at the meat market right before I saw this. If I would have seen this before I went shopping I would have picked up a belly (actually thought about it) So I think I will experiment next weekend. Looking at 10.5's recipe, if I cut the kosher salt in half. What would be my additional cure time?

[Cheech]

I got a copy of TENPOINTs recipe...looks like it's a maple type recipe.  While I plan to try it...my maple bacon was fine. 

On page 39 of the Charcuterie version I have they provide the "Basic Dry Cure" recipe.  On page 42 they go on to state that you can alter that recipe by adding syrup or maple sugar if you want it sweeter, or by adding garlic, bay leaves, black peppercorns if you prefer a more savory version.

I did one version of each of those.  The maple was great, but the savory bacon was so salty that I need to blanch it in hot water prior to frying it. 

[Cheech]

The salt is the agent that helps carries the sodium nitrite into the meat, the more salt the faster the curing time, lessen the salt will increase the curing time.

Another day on the forum...and another lesson learned.  Thanks for passing that knowledge on.  I knew the salt was necessary but didn't know exactly what it did.

[Habanero Smoker]

Interesting Hab, I do believe in using salt in all my cooks. But Doc told me to take that out of my diet and take that money and spend it on the HP meds. LOL... I saw beefmans post I thought it was a good idea. I was at the meat market right before I saw this. If I would have seen this before I went shopping I would have picked up a belly (actually thought about it) So I think I will experiment next weekend. Looking at 10.5's recipe, if I cut the kosher salt in half. What would be my additional cure time?

I have experimented with reducing salt in my wet cures, but never tried reducing salt in my dry cures. Overall 1/4 cup of Morton's Kosher salt in that recipe is lower than you will see in many other recipes. If you want to have more control of the salt, use the Basic Dry Cure at a rate of 1 tablespoon per pound, and your modified the Maple Cure recipe you would look something like:

1 Tbl./lb. Basic Dry Cure
1.5 tsp./lb Brown Sugar
2.5 tsp./lb Maple Syrup
Of course you can adjust the sweeteners to your own taste, but the amounts in the recipe should be close to that in the Maple Cured Bacon recipe.

I got a copy of TENPOINTs recipe...looks like it's a maple type recipe.  While I plan to try it...my maple bacon was fine. 

On page 39 of the Charcuterie version I have they provide the "Basic Dry Cure" recipe.  On page 42 they go on to state that you can alter that recipe by adding syrup or maple sugar if you want it sweeter, or by adding garlic, bay leaves, black peppercorns if you prefer a more savory version.

I did one version of each of those.  The maple was great, but the savory bacon was so salty that I need to blanch it in hot water prior to frying it. 

I use the Basic Dry Cure when I am curing bacons and other meats; it makes everything much easier. Using it at a rate of 1 Tbl./lb., I have always obtained good results. I have modified Ruhlman's formula and posted it on the recipe site (See the link above). I prefer using a salt with a grain size of table salt, so I use pickling/canning salt (also called pure salt), and use it at a rate of 1 Tbl./lb.

What was the rate of application to the weight of the bacon did you apply the cure, or did you use their dredging method? The dredging method will produce inconsistent results. Also how long did you cure?

[beefmann]

Interesting Hab, I do believe in using salt in all my cooks. But Doc told me to take that out of my diet and take that money and spend it on the HP meds. LOL... I saw beefmans post I thought it was a good idea. I was at the meat market right before I saw this. If I would have seen this before I went shopping I would have picked up a belly (actually thought about it) So I think I will experiment next weekend. Looking at 10.5's recipe, if I cut the kosher salt in half. What would be my additional cure time?

I have experimented with reducing salt in my wet cures, but never tried reducing salt in my dry cures. Overall 1/4 cup of Morton's Kosher salt in that recipe is lower than you will see in many other recipes. If you want to have more control of the salt, use the Basic Dry Cure at a rate of 1 tablespoon per pound, and your modified the Maple Cure recipe you would look something like:

1 Tbl./lb. Basic Dry Cure
1.5 tsp./lb Brown Sugar
2.5 tsp./lb Maple Syrup
Of course you can adjust the sweeteners to your own taste, but the amounts in the recipe should be close to that in the Maple Cured Bacon recipe.

I got a copy of TENPOINTs recipe...looks like it's a maple type recipe.  While I plan to try it...my maple bacon was fine. 

On page 39 of the Charcuterie version I have they provide the "Basic Dry Cure" recipe.  On page 42 they go on to state that you can alter that recipe by adding syrup or maple sugar if you want it sweeter, or by adding garlic, bay leaves, black peppercorns if you prefer a more savory version.

I did one version of each of those.  The maple was great, but the savory bacon was so salty that I need to blanch it in hot water prior to frying it. 

I use the Basic Dry Cure when I am curing bacons and other meats; it makes everything much easier. Using it at a rate of 1 Tbl./lb., I have always obtained good results. I have modified Ruhlman's formula and posted it on the recipe site (See the link above). I prefer using a salt with a grain size of table salt, so I use pickling/canning salt (also called pure salt), and use it at a rate of 1 Tbl./lb.

What was the rate of application to the weight of the bacon did you apply the cure, or did you use their dredging method? The dredging method will produce inconsistent results. Also how long did you cure?

pretty much the same recipe i use

[Cheech]

What was the rate of application to the weight of the bacon did you apply the cure, or did you use their dredging method? The dredging method will produce inconsistent results. Also how long did you cure?

pretty much the same recipe i use
[/quote]

Per the instructions on page 42 I added a 1/4 cup of the dry cure to the ziplock bag.  I'm guessing it was a 5 lb slab of belly...it's a guess but I think it's probably close.  The belly pretty much filled a 1 gallon zip lock bag.

It was in the fridge for 7 days and I flipped it every other day. 

[Habanero Smoker]

Per the instructions on page 42 I added a 1/4 cup of the dry cure to the ziplock bag.  I'm guessing it was a 5 lb slab of belly...it's a guess but I think it's probably close.  The belly pretty much filled a 1 gallon zip lock bag.

It was in the fridge for 7 days and I flipped it every other day.

The recipe is pretty much the same, but different. The type of salt is different which will effect the volume measurement, and the amount of cure #1 is higher.

There may have been a revision in the edition you have, but in my book he is using a 1/4 cup of the Dry Cure or as much as necessary to dredge the bacon into. Dredging will leave a certain amount of the cure mixture in the pan you are dredging in, so generally you will not use the full amount. If you use more precise measurements, you will get a consistent end product. On the other hand, if you were able to get a 5lb. slab of bacon into a one gallon bag, the 1/4 cup of the Dry Cure Mix, would be less than if you used the 1 Tbls./lb.

You may be more sensitive to the taste of salt, then me. You can try adding more sugar to the cure mix to help mask the salt taste, but be careful of making it too sweet; or you can do a taste test and soak as necessary prior to smoking/cooking.