Bacon curing question

[KyNola]

My two belly pieces have been curing for almost 6 days and appear to be fully cured.  Meat has turned darker and is overall much more firm.  Was thinking about taking them out tomorrow, rinsing off the cure and liquid and placing them back in the frig on a rack to dry to form a pellicle until Saturday.  Anybody see anything wrong with allowing them to dry in the frig for a day?  I know a lot of us do that when curing Canadian Bacon so I can't see anything wrong with doing that for belly bacon too.

Your thoughts will be appreciated.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

That's exactly what you want to do,  12 -24 hrs to get a good pellicle.  Since you're expecting a wet day on Saturday I would let it sit and warm up enough that it doesn't condense moisture from the outside air -- surface temp of the meat greater than dewpoint outside.  Or start at ~ 120-130 for an hour to make sure it's dry, then let the smoke roll.

[FLBentRider]

Does the recipe call for a soak after removing from the cure?

[KyNola]

Randy,
I'm using Stickbowcrafter's method.  Doesn't call for a soak.  I've used his method before and the bacon doesn't seem to get too salty.  I will rinse them well under running water making sure I get all of the cure mix and liquid off of them.

I don't soak Canadian Bacon or corned beef when making pastrami either but then again, I like salt.

Thanks BLSH, was confirming what I thought was OK but it has been a while since I made belly bacon.

[Tenpoint5]

You should be fine Larry. I always rinse mine off and if I am not pressed for time I allow them to air dry overnight in the fridge. Or you can dry them in the Bradley, but since your MAKing them. I would just do the fridge thing. You'll be fine let them set on the counter while your aiting for everything to come up to temp and throw them in.

[KyNola]

A bit of concern this morning when I took the belly out to rinse, pat dry and place on rack and back in the frig to dry.  As I was trimming a bit of excess "stuff" on the rib side of the belly, there was a flap of meat that I had left attached to the belly. I fold the flap back to dry underneath and notice that the meat under the flap is not the same brownish color as the surface meat.  Instead it is a deep red color.  First thought through my mind is *#@$^&!, this isn't fully cured.  I immediately mentally go back through the process regarding the whole curing process, cure mix, number of days in the frig etc and know I have followed everything correctly.  I continued trimming the belly and had to remove some silver skin that had been left on the belly during processing.  In doing so, I trimmed into the belly meat and immediately noticed that the meat just underneath the surface was indeed the same color as the meat underneath the flap.  Then I stood there and thought "you dumb@ss, what color is the meat on the store bought bacon?"

If it hadn't been 6:00AM in the morning I would have cracked open a beer!  Instead I poured a cup of coffee and sat down and wrote you guys.  Curing meats always makes me a little nervous even though I have done it numerous times.

Thanks for listening. 

[deb415611]

Larry, I totally get that :D   I feel the same way every time I cure something.   I think my very first post here was a picture of Hab's canadian bacon coming out of the cure in it's brownish state asking if it was supposed to be that color...  I was so nervous back then, less so now but still worry (probably too much)

[deb415611]

Larry, I totally get that :D   I feel the same way every time I cure something.   I think my very first post here was a picture of Hab's canadian bacon coming out of the cure in it's brownish state asking if it was supposed to be that color...  I was so nervous back then, less so now but still worry (probably too much)

I never admit any of these fears to the people that are eating what I'm making though ;D

[hal4uk]

Larry, I can call my consultant and see what she thinks about this if you want me too...
(Later this afternoon, of course...  it's a school day!)

[KyNola]

Larry, I totally get that :D   I feel the same way every time I cure something.   I think my very first post here was a picture of Hab's canadian bacon coming out of the cure in it's brownish state asking if it was supposed to be that color...  I was so nervous back then, less so now but still worry (probably too much)

I never admit any of these fears to the people that are eating what I'm making though ;D

Oh HECK no Deb.  Me neither. ;)

[KyNola]

Larry, I can call my consultant and see what she thinks about this if you want me too...
(Later this afternoon, of course...  it's a school day!)

You mean she's taking your phone calls again? :D

[hal4uk]

Larry, I can call my consultant and see what she thinks about this if you want me too...
(Later this afternoon, of course...  it's a school day!)

You mean she's taking your phone calls again? :D

Of course she is!
(chances to GLOAT)

How did your CANADIAN bacon taste?  You eat all that yet?

[KyNola]

How did your CANADIAN bacon taste?  You eat all that yet?

It turned out really well.  You just can't go wrong with Habs's CB recipe.  One package lasted about 5 minutes.  Did vac seal and freeze other pkgs and one of them came out of the freezer this week.  Good thing I have 2 more 3-4 pound pork loin sections all trimmed up, vac sealed and tucked away in the freezer.  I'm thinking this current batch of CB isn't going to be around long.

[FLBentRider]

Larry, I totally get that :D   I feel the same way every time I cure something.   I think my very first post here was a picture of Hab's canadian bacon coming out of the cure in it's brownish state asking if it was supposed to be that color...  I was so nervous back then, less so now but still worry (probably too much)

I never admit any of these fears to the people that are eating what I'm making though ;D

I have these too, and I remind myself that we are curing for flavor, not preservation, so even if it is not cured all the way through (like a couple of pastrami's I've done) it's still safe to eat.

[Tenpoint5]

Since we are spilling our guts here I have the same thoughts and fears.

I think it is a good thing to have these fears and thoughts. That just tells me we are paying attention and being safe. It is when we stop having these fears and thoughts that we get complacent and that is when things can go wrong.