Curing My First Pork Loin

[sdcaller]

Haven't posted much lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been smoking. I've had my Original Bradley for 3 years now and have been just doing my usual recipes with ribs, fish and some pork BBQ.

In Ontario we are able to buy already cured pork loins and I have been doing them into Cdn. Bacon/Back bacon and they turn out really good.

I now have an uncured 7lb boneless pork loin that I want to cure, smoke and then cut into chops which will be vacuum sealed and frozen.

I've never done my own curing before and I have bought the Bradley maple cure to use. I want to do a liquid cure and I see the recipe on the container, but my question is, how long do I let it cure? In the Bradley recipe book that came with the smoker there is a recipe there that says overnight, but it isn't for the Bradley cure?

I'm thinking an overnight cure would be OK?  Your thoughts?  Also, when I look at some of the recipes for liquid cures on the forum, they say boil your water and dissolve the cure and let it cool. The Bradley cure container makes no mention of boiling the water?

I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions.

Thanks

SDC 

[beefmann]

now that you are interested in curing, Time for some instructions, Most curing times are in the 5 to 7  day time frame. some up to 6  months, I do a  lot of curing of  pork loins into Canadian bacon, pork shoulders and ham shanks into hams, briskets and beef shoulders into pastrami..  all have been closer to 7 days to cure in a  non injected liquid cure.

so here area  few cures that i use

1    GAL. APPLE CIDER
3 .6   OZ INSTA CURE # 1 ( by weight not by volume )
2    CUP BROWN SUGAR
4    TBSP ONION POWDER
4    TBSP GARLIC POWDER
4    TBSP GROUND PEPPER
¼    CUP GROUND MUSTARD


APPLE CIDER PINEAPPLE CURE:
1    GAL APPLE CIDER
3    OZ INSTA CURE # 1 ( BY  WEIGHT NOT  BY VOLUME )
1    CUP BROWN SUGAR
½    CUP HONEY MOLASSES SWEETNER ( 50 / 50 MIXTURE )
½    TBSP GROUND ALL SPICE
2    TBSP BLACK PEPPER
1    TBSP GROUND CLOVES
1    TBSP ONION POWDER
1    TBSP GARLIC POWDER
¼    CUP GROUND MUSTARD
8    OUNCE CRUSHED PINEAPPLE WITH JUICE ( RUN THROUGH A BLENDER OR FOOD PROCESSOR FOR 30 SECONDS )

On both cures mix in a  non reactive food grade  container, once mixed  place aside and prepare your loin... place in a seal able type container and pour cure over the  loin, cover and place in fridge . for  6 to 7  days, turning  once a  day. Smoke at  225 F till an internal temp of 145 - 150F.

one day of curing will give you  what is  refereed to a  smoking ring,,, a pinkish ring at the  edge of the  meat under the  bark / seasoning / rub that you  may have applied,

if you are  looking   more for  chops  then a  cure is not what  you  want,,, may  want to  think along the  lines  of a  marinade for the  chops, .. then  cut  back on the  insta cure or Prague  powder  and add in a few other  spices to enhance flavor.

i never  have boiled my  cures , just made sure the curing agent has been  dissolved which takes a  good throughly  mixing.


my  opinion is you  are  looking more for a  marinade then a cure...

here is a marinade to try as well

1    CUP SWEET HOT MUSTARD
¼    CUP HONEY MOLASSES MIX
¼    CUP EXTRA V. OLIVE OIL
2    TSP LEMON ZEST
1    TSP GRANULATED GARLIC
1    TSP ONION POWDER
1    TBSP KOSHER SALT
½    TBSP CAYENNE PEPPER
½    TBSP BLACK PEPPER
1    CUP WHITE WINE

Hope this  help's... im sure others  will  chime in as well

beef

[Habanero Smoker]

For wet curing your curing times depend on the thickness of the cut and the amount of salt in your brine. Also it depends on what you are using to cure your meat. Are you making your own wet brine from scratch using cure #1, or a commercial cure such as Bradley's cures? If using a commercial cure follow the directions they provide. In general using a wet brine (wet cure), is faster than curing using the dry cure method. You didn't mention if your cut is boneless or bone-in. If bone-in the curing time will be longer. For your size of cut, if it is boneless although overnight may be too short of a time, 48 - 72 hours should be long enough. Heating the brine helps dissolve the salts and sugars, if you are adding herbs and other seasoning the heat helps infuse those flavors in the liquid. If you heat your brine, always wait until the brine cools to room temperature before adding your cure, and do not add the meat until you chill the brine to at least 40°F.

Below is my preferred method of using a wet brine for curing. When using cure #1 in a wet brine it is always safer to use additional salt, and the brining times are much faster. Below is a Canadian Bacon recipe from Ruhlman's book:

1 gal./4 liters water
1.5 cups Morton Kosher salt (350 gram)
1 cup sugar (225 grams)
1.5 oz cure #1/pink salt (you can use up to 3.2 oz. of cure. More cure give it that more characteristic "ham like" flavor. If you add extra cure, reduce the amount of salt, by weight of any extra cure you have added.)
1 large bunch sage; optional
1 bunch fresh thyme; optional
2 garlic cloves; peeled and crushed

1. Combine the brine ingredients in a pot and bring it to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Remove it from the heat, allow it to cool, then chill it in the refrigerator. (It is best to add the cure #1/pink salt after the brine has cooled)

2. Submerge the pork loin in the brine (or put it all in a large zip top bag) and refrigerate for 72 hours (give or take a few hours depending on your schedule).

3. Remove the loin from the brine, rinse it, pat it dry, and refrigerate it uncovered for 4 hours or up to a day.

4. For Canadian Bacon: hot smoke the loin to an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees F. or 60 to 65 degrees C.

5. For peameal bacon, roll the loin in cornmeal to coat.  Cut into slices and sauté or grill.

6. In both cases, refrigerate the bacon until ready to cut and serve, either cold or reheated.

[sdcaller]

So here is what I've done so far.

Checked various recipes and websites and looked at the info here.

Went to the Bradley website and disappointed there are no comments that I could find about using their own brand of cure?

I did find a recipe there for smoked pork chops but it was using another cure and suggested 2 days for a wet cure. Take out of the cure, rinse and soak in cold water for 2 hours and then smoke. That is what I plan to do.

So I mixed the Bradley Maple cure for 7 lbs of pork (1 3/4 cups of cure and 14 cups of water) and dissolved it using very hot tap water. The salts dissolved but there was a yellowish powder that didn't? So after it cooled I then boiled it and it still didn't dissolve?  The instructions on the Bradley container made no mention of the method to dissolve the cure?

I let it cool and put the pork in in 2, 3.5lb pieces and they will come out of the cure at 8AM tomorrow, soak in cold water for 2 hours and then go in the smoker. I've kept the pork weighted down in the cure and have been changing it's position every 12 hours.

I'll let you know how it turns out after I smoke it tomorrow.

SDC

[Habanero Smoker]

Your measurement of the cure is correct. The two days would be a good starting point; that is about the common curing times for this cut. The salt content of the Bradley cures seem about the same as they are in Morton Tender Quick.

For a brine that has no added fresh herb etc. I always mix it in room temperature water. You may have to stir a little longer, but you don't have to wait for it to heat up and then wait even longer for it to cool. Also, if sodium nitrite (which is already premixed in this cure) is expose to temperatures too high; you take the chance that it will chemically change and not work as it should. I'm not sure what the yellowish substance was that was in your brine, but I'm positive it was not sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrite is a salt which dissolves very easily, even in cold water.

[sdcaller]

Took the pork out of the cure this morning, rinsed it and then soaked it in cold water for 2 hours. Changed the water after
1 hour. Patted it dry and then into the smoker at 200 degrees for 4 hours. First 3 hours had hickory smoke.
Brought it up to an internal temp of 153 degrees.

Turned out pretty good for 1st attempt. My wife and I had 2 chops for supper tonight and very similar to what we have bought in the past. Didn't finish them on the BBQ as it was raining. Cooked for 5 minutes in the frying pan on the stove. Maybe a touch salty, might only cure  for 36 hours next time. All in all, very satisfied with my 1st attempt at curing pork. For sure, will do some more in the future.

SDC