first time try at bacon

[darrm1]

I bought 12 lbs of pork belly.  I plan on doing half maple and half pepper.  My question is, the recipes all refer to a 5 pound hunk of meat.  I will have 6 pounds each if I am lucky with my cut.  Do I just add 1/5 to each ingriedient, including the cure?

Looking forward to trying this out

thanks mark

[darrm1]

I think I figured it out, I add 1/5 of all ingredients except the cure.  The cure uses a calculation.  According to the calculation on this website, i shouldn't need to add anymore cure to a 6 pound piece of meat than what is called for in all the recipes that use a 5 pounder (10.5)


http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/curing_meats.html

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi darrm1

Welcome to the forum.

First you need to determine how you are going to cure the bacon. Tempoint5 is using the dry cure method, the site you are referring to uses a wet cure method. The two methods use different amounts of cure #1 (Prague Powder #1).

You can get precise, but the recipe in Tenpoint5 instructions, will work just as well with six pounds, using the same amounts. One pound is not going to make that much difference in taste or is it going to affect food safety. If you want to dry cure and be precise you can use the cure calculator that I provided a link below. For bacon set the PPM (Parts Per Million) to anywhere between 120 - 135. The USDA recommends 120ppm. The USDA dosed not recommend a minimum, but reputable sites state that you only need 40ppm to make your meat safe. Just keep in mind, the less Cure #1 you use, the less "bacon-like" flavor you will have.. Once you calculate the cure mix, you can then add your other ingredients; such as other spices, more sweeteners etc.

Dry Cure Calculator

[darrm1]

I am using Tenpoint5 instructions.  My slab had the skin on, which I didn't want so I removed it.  After removing it, I ended up with 10 pounds.  So in the end, I have 2 5/pound slabs that i am doing maple and a pepper.  I wish the skin wasn't on as it was about $10 worth of weight that got thrown out.  I bought the slab for $4/lbs.  My next question is, to soak or not to soak.  So many different opinions.  I like a salty bacon, but don't want it to be a salt lick neither.  I was thinking I would only be brinning for 6 days as that is what works best for my schedule.  I am hoping that will be sufficient.

Ill keep ya posted
thanks
mark

[Habanero Smoker]

I've used that recipe a few times, and did not find a need to soak. You can always do a test slice, and slice a piece off, fry it and taste to see if it need soaking. Just remember if you take the slice off the end, that slice with be saltier than the end product, because the bacon is still curing even after the surface cure has been removed, the concentration of salt and cure near the surface will be a little higher; until everything eventually evens out.

[CoreyMac]

I did 10 pounds of wet cured a while back. Worked ok ,flavor was good. The only issue I found was when A person fried it up there seemed to be a lot of liquid in the pan. This is a personal preference but I didn't like the texture either. I have done the dry cure ever since and probably won't ever do a wet cure again.

In my opinion the dry cure was easier to deal with also, no containers full of liquid to possibly spill. As I said these are all person preferences. For a first time the dry cure is easier IMHO.

Once you get a few cures under your belt ,do the wet brine and go from there.

All my opinion.
Corey