Dry cure vs Wet brine

[wfl]

Hello all! New to here but am learning lots! I have been smokin ribs,shoulders,briskets for a while but would love to try some bacon and or Canadian Bacon. I noticed more people do a dry cure what is the difference is it texture? I know when I smoke salmon I prefer a dry cure, its a texture thing.
It scares me a bit to brine or cure something for 10-21 days, I guess its a rookie fear eh!?

                                                                                     Regards,wfl

[SoCalBuilder]

Welcome to the site wfl - I've made canadian bacon using Habenero Smokers recipe on the recipe site.  http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?311-Canadian-Bacon
Once you have gathered up the the cure ingredients, the rest is a snap. Accuracy in weight and measures is key.
It's hard to believe that the final product was a plain old pork loin before you started.

Enjoy and we look forward to your progress; with pics of course ;D

[Habanero Smoker]

I like the texture of curing Canadian bacon with a dry cure, a wet cure is easy and it doesn't need to take 10 - 21 days. Wet curing is generally faster then dry curing, but it takes up more refrigerator space.

OU12 should be along, he uses a wet cure. I have a wet cure for Canadian bacon, but don't have time this evening to post it.

If you do decide to use the recipe SoCalBuilder posted a link to it is very versatile, just make sure you just don't change the  ratio of the first two ingredients; the rest is up to your imagination. I am always making changes here and there to the recipe, but I prefer the basic recipe. Change the seasoning to what you like.

[OU812]

I use the wet cure or brine as I call it for 3 reasons.

1) You can get flavors into the meat you cant with a dry cure; like black pepper, bay leafs, cloves and other solids like that.

2) By injecting the brine I know it will be cured all the way through.

3) Its faster.

I cant tell the difference in texture when its cooked but others can.

Use what you think will fit your needs, they boath work.

[Habanero Smoker]

Here is the wet cure that I occasionally will use with pork loins. I don't inject cuts of meat that are less than 4 inches thick, but as OU12 pointed out, you will probably get better distribution of flavors. You can adjust the seasonings to fit your taste:

4 quarts Water; divided
3/4 cup pickling salt (≈ 8 ounces)
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar; packed
1/2 Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
6 Garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp Juniper Berries; bruised (optional)

*2.5 ounces Pink Salt (aka InstaCure #1, Prague Powder #1; Modern Cure #1; T.C.M.)
      *Do not add the curing salt until after the brine has cooled. If you like less cure flavor reduce cure to 1.5 ounces

In a 2 quart sauce pan add one quart of water, and all ingredients except the pink salt. Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. Stirring frequently; making sure all the salt and sugar are fully dissolved.

Remove from heat; and allow to cool. Pour mixture into a  non-reactive container you will be brining the loin in. Add ice or ice water to bring the amount of brine to 4 quarts, add the pink salt, and stir until it is fully dissolved. Place mixture in refrigerator to cool,  it has to be between 38 degrees F - 40 degrees F, before you place you loins in.
TIP: The weight of water is approximately equal to it's volume. For example 1 pound of ice equals one pint of water. So to calculate the last 3 quarts; add 6 pounds of ice, that will bring your brine mixture to 4 quarts.

Place loin in the brine making sure the loin is full submerged. Cure in the refrigerator for 3 -4 days, at 38 degrees F - 40 degrees F, stirring the brine and repositioning the meat every day or every other day.

Remove loin from the brine, and rinse off the surface. Slice a small piece of and pan fry. If it tastes too salty, you can soak it in cold water for 30 minutes to an hour. From my experience, the test sample tastes more saltier than the finished product, so you may want to keep that in mind. With this brine I find there is no need to soak.

Pat dry with paper towels, and return loin to refrigerator, and allow to air dry for 8 - 12 hours. This time also allows the brine to more equally distribute itself throughout the loin.

[OU812]

Thats pretty much how I do it and have never had a loin turn out to salty.

Thats a good point Habs, " Dont add the cure till the brine cools. "

You will kill the cure if what your putting it in gets over 140 F.

[wfl]

Thanks for the recipe Habanero Smoker I will use it over the holiday breakfor sure. Is the pink salt optional and is it the same thing as Mortons tender quick?

[wfl]

Thanks for the recipe Habanero Smoker I will use it over the holiday breakfor sure. Is the pink salt optional and is it the same thing as Mortons tender quick?
I guess it's not optional but is the pink stuff the same as Mortons Tender Quick? Will the questions never end! :)

[Habanero Smoker]

Pink salt or Cure #1 is not the same as Morton's Tender Quick. Here are the descriptions of common curing salts used in the U.S.
Curing Salts

I don't like using Morton's Tender Quick for a wet brine. If forces you to use too much salt. If you are going to wet cure and use Morton's Tender Quick, you need to use 1 cup of Morton's for every 4 cups (1 quart) of liquid. If you substitute Morton's in the above recipe; remove both the salt and the pink salt (cure #1) from the recipe. Also to save on supplies only make enough wet cure to cover your meat. Place your meat in the container you are going to cure in, and add water, remove the meat and measure the water, that will be all the amount you will need, then scale the recipe accordingly.