leak while curing bacon

[hybridcx]

so I put about 14 pounds of bacon on cure in 4 different pieces, 3 of them i did the maple bacon recipe on here, the 4th I did a basic cure per pound and added some spices and peppers too.

after the first night I noticed my zip locks either semi failed or there was sugar stuck in the teeth of the zip, either way out of the 3 bags I lost a bit of "juice" there was still a fair amount in each bag and it has now been 4 days since then and they are firming up all the same(even the 4th one that had no leak). my question is is it still safe to smoke and consume? and is it curing ok if it is firming up?as it was hard to tell what bag lost the most.

and second if I want to add more maple flavor is it OK to add more maple syrup the last two days to the cure or will it really even do anything? thanks again. hopefully its still good to go.

thanks
next time i will just vac seal but the wally world here was out of bags and so was I this round

[KyNola]

Going to assume you are referring to pork belly bacon rather than pork loin Canadian Bacon.  If the meat is firming up nicely and there is still a fair amount of liquid in the bags I don't think I would sweat it much.  Don't add additional cure.  I would try to make sure the bags were well sealed to prevent further leakage.  "Burp" all the air out of the bags that you can.  You should be OK I think.  Not sure about adding additional maple flavor since having lost a portion of the original liquid.  I'm not sure I would want to dilute what is remaining.

Of course I will yield to Habanero Smoker. He will come along and give you more learned advice.  He's our resident expert on all things cured.

[hybridcx]

thanks for the reply and yeah it is belly bacon. That's what i was concerned about with adding more maple syrup was diluting things further. i wont add any more cure to them either.


I guess I will ask this question also rather than start a new thread. i am doing Canadian bacon (starting cure ) this weekend. I want to do some maple with this as well can i add maple syrup to the basic cure and make a past for the right amount and then cover loin? seems i should but this is my first go of this as well. or will it dilute also?

[Habanero Smoker]

You are alright for the curing.

When you say the last two days, how many days are you curing the bacon?

I have made a thick paste using the Basic Dry Cure, which is not adding much syrup. It cured but it didn't make much of a difference in taste. If you can find Maple Sugar, that will work much better. Use that in place of the brown sugar, and increase the amounts. The powdered sugar is best, if you can only find the type with large granules, use a coffee grinder and grind it finer.

I live in New York and the next two weekends many of the Maple Syrup Farms are having an open house. I'm hoping the price is right, and I plan to restock my Maple Sugar.

[hybridcx]

Thanks for the advice, I was unable to buy maple sugar here, but did get 100% pure maple syrup from Costco, I am curing for 7 days on that bacon the Canadian i planning doing 10 or so days.. I will keep looking for the maple sugar there's one place left to check.. 

[Habanero Smoker]

I was just looking online, and the price of Maple sugar is really high this year. Maybe when production gets into high gear, the price will come down, but it doesn't seem like good temperatures for the sap run. I know you have already bought your syrup, but for flavor you should look for a Grade A dark amber. The darker the color, the more flavor.

Depending on the recipe, you usually don't have to go 10 days to cure Canadian bacon.

[SiFumar]

Right or wrong...I have been known to brush maple syrup(pure) on the bacon as it smokes.  Does make it sticky and you need to fry at a low temp to prevent burning.  Also use maple pucks to reinforce the maple.

[hybridcx]

thanks for the advice i did notice it was a little on the light side, I will keep an eye out for either the maple amber or sugar from now on, i can still use what I bought from Costco for the little ones waffles so no waste there. I ended up doing 3 brained for Canadian bacon I did one basic one maple and one Cayenne and jalapeno they will cure until next sat when i can smoke them. what is the usual curing time for back bacon i figured 7 days for belly, back is a lot thicker so a few more days would not hurt...

[Habanero Smoker]

I can't answer your question about the wet brining time for Canadian bacon. If I use a wet brine for the amount of salt I use, and for pieces less then 4" thick, I go 3 - 4 days; some suggest 2 days. If you inject you can reduce the curing time even further. Not knowing the amount of salt in your brine, I cannot guess on the time. It doesn't hurt to go longer (in your case 10 days), but the longer you extend the brining times the saltier the final product will be.

Right or wrong...I have been known to brush maple syrup(pure) on the bacon as it smokes.  Does make it sticky and you need to fry at a low temp to prevent burning.  Also use maple pucks to reinforce the maple.

That sounds good. At times I will prepare bacon by dredging in superfine sugar, with added seasonings and herbs. I them place it on a rack with a foil lined sheet pan and roast at 375°F for about 25 minnutes, until I reach my desired crispness. It can still burn, so you need to watch the bacon closely the last few minutes. This works even better if you a toaster oven.

[hybridcx]

The salt I used was the basic cure 1 tbs. Per pound of meat. All I did different for wet brine was add 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/2 cup brown sugar.. So these should benrewsy to go ( at least the non wet brine by Sunday? I don't want a salt lick... So the sooner the better as long as it is cured.... Thanks for the replies...


Btw will belly bacon be ready in a few days as well as I wen 7 days this time..

[Habanero Smoker]

I misunderstood. I don't consider making a paste a wet cure. Six days is generally enough, but going 10 days is alright.

I generally go 7 days for bellies, and they have always been fully cured by that time.