Well damn I made bacon !!!

[Waltz]

I used to make bacon without cure. The process was to put the pork in enough salt to cover it and leave it for a few weeks until it got firm and dry. It worked and the bacon kept ok but I guess it was really just salt pork and was very salty, very often to the extent you had to soak it before using it, it was also a bit grey coloured when cooked. I find that with cure it keeps a nice pink colour and is much more palatable. Using cure isn't rocket science you just need to be a bit careful

[NePaSmoKer]

Ahhh hell just throw a cr@p load of this on it and call it bacon   :o

[destrouk]

I used to make bacon without cure. The process was to put the pork in enough salt to cover it and leave it for a few weeks until it got firm and dry. It worked and the bacon kept ok but I guess it was really just salt pork and was very salty, very often to the extent you had to soak it before using it, it was also a bit grey coloured when cooked. I find that with cure it keeps a nice pink colour and is much more palatable. Using cure isn't rocket science you just need to be a bit careful

100% agree ..bar the salty bit a good rinse and some leeching in water cure that issue

[destrouk]

Ahhh hell just throw a cr@p load of this on it and call it bacon   :o

LMAO .......I rolled it in that before smoking !!! was awesome although i have noticed an odd twitch in my eye now LMAO

[NePaSmoKer]

Ahhh hell just throw a cr@p load of this on it and call it bacon   :o

LMAO .......I rolled it in that before smoking !!! was awesome although i have noticed an odd twitch in my eye now LMAO

Now go smoke a good MonteCristo and your set  ;D

[KyNola]

I'm sorry I started this dust up about the lack of curing agent in your bacon.  Certainly bacon can be cured with salt and sugar only.  My grandparents had a saltbox in their smokehouse where they cured pork belly for periods of time prior to smoking.

My concern came from your continued use of the word nitrate.  Nitrite and nitrate are not an interchangeable term nor item.  Cure #1 or "pink salt" contains only nitrites, no nitrates.  It made me question your knowledge of curing.  Don't take offense to that as I mean no disrespect to you with that comment.  For all I know you have a PhD in curing from Oxford.

I know you are originally from the UK and now reside in BC.  Perhaps the bacon you are accustomed to in the UK is different from what we in the US are accustomed.  The important thing is this. If your family, your friends and you like your bacon, that's all that matters.

[destrouk]

I'm sorry I started this dust up about the lack of curing agent in your bacon.  Certainly bacon can be cured with salt and sugar only.  My grandparents had a saltbox in their smokehouse where they cured pork belly for periods of time prior to smoking.

My concern came from your continued use of the word nitrate.  Nitrite and nitrate are not an interchangeable term nor item.  Cure #1 or "pink salt" contains only nitrites, no nitrates.  It made me question your knowledge of curing.  Don't take offense to that as I mean no disrespect to you with that comment.  For all I know you have a PhD in curing from Oxford.

I know you are originally from the UK and now reside in BC.  Perhaps the bacon you are accustomed to in the UK is different from what we in the US are accustomed.  The important thing is this. If your family, your friends and you like your bacon, that's all that matters.

Oh mate im new here so Ill let you know right now my skin is super thick and I didnt take any of your comments the wrong way at all ...No disrespect taken at all ...in fact I value the comments and there is a Uk / US difference but thats the cool bit we can learn from each other ....I never ever take offence ..if I did so everyone knows you will get a PM .. Now I gots to sprinkle some pink salt on me eggs LMAO

[KyNola]

Sprinkle Jan's Rub on your eggs rather than pink salt. ;)

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?467-Jan-s-Dry-Rub

[Smoker John]

That bacon looks good, mmmm bacon

[Habanero Smoker]

Well the bacon taste like good old smoked bacon the smoke and the fact that the temp is at 150 IT kills what you are worried about ...Then the fact that it is vacum packed also ..try it before you say its not going to taste like this and that .. Because to be honest unless you make it and eat it how can you tell me it doesn't taste like bacon ?????

As I mentioned in my other post, I have made salt cured bacon with a very similar recipe. I don't care for it. I tried to calculate your brine, but when I looked at the recipe I couldn't tell how much salt in weight you used. To be 100% sure that botulism will not occur, you need a 10% brine, which is about 14 ounces of salt in a gallon of water, but I have seen recipes with less. I believe the Alton Brown recipe uses close to 11%.

[destrouk]

2 large cups of Kosher salt were used if that helps you ?

[Habanero Smoker]

2 large cups of Kosher salt were used if that helps you ?

No, because there are so many brands of kosher salt, they could each weigh a different amount per volume. For example, Morton's Kosher weighs 8 ounces/cup; while Diamond Crystal Kosher weight 5.5 ounce/cup. It not that important at this point. If you bacon is coming out the way you like it, continue with the recipe.