BACON: List of curing , smoking times & temps...

[jenbayjazz]

Hi Mallard: I just bought some buckboard bacon cure and I'm going to give it  a shot.

here's where I bought it. I don't believe I can get this around here so I got it from

https://gf.state.wy.us/ae/p-100-hi-mountains-western-legends-buckboard-bacon-cure.aspx

I also found this that may be helpful to others here. Maybe this was already posted here but here it is again.

http://www.himtnjerky.com/product/buckboard.php



By the way I cured my first bacon a few days ago . I got some fresh pork bellies from a chinese grocery they have in the next town. It was about 3 1/2 lb piece. wanted to start small to make sure I had my act together for the first time. I Used a small amount of tender quick following their instructions on the package and rubbed in some brown sugar and on the 3 day I added some Maple extract about 1/4 teaspoon and cured it for a total of 7 days . soaked for several hours and then sliced some and fried it to see if I got enough of the  salt out. Boy was it good , I mean real good. The maple extract works real well. I will try mapel syrup next time just to see if it is as good or maybe better. I haven't smoked it yet as I'm waiting for the BS hickory chips to arrive. I let it sit in the fridge for a day uncovered and it's ready to smoke .

[asa]

So I figured it's about 1 oz of tender quick per lb of meat . I used 7 oz of tender quick and it seemed like a lot. After rubbing the last of the tender quick in I rubbed some brown sugar too. Anyone have any feed back on this? If anyone can give me feedback on this formula or cure times I'd sure love to know what some of you more experieced folks know !

100# of loin is a wee bit more than I've tried at one time, but I believe Morton recommends 1/2 oz or 1 Tablespoon of TQ per pound of meat. I'd cure a loin for at least 1-2 weeks. There are several great recipes on this forum and on the recipe site you should peruse, and check the posts above regarding this. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out. Most recently I've brined my loins (steady fellas) rather than using a dry rub, reasoning that the extra liquid might keep them from being dry. Jury is still out, but I'll be back with more results when I do some more.

Roll on,

[West Coast Sausage Maker]

Hello newbie member here

I have THE BACON METHOD here and I've had great success with it





As you can see I built a grown-up sized Bradley Digital but the times and temps and recipe is universal

Start with lean pork belly skin on

Brine as follows

INGREDIENTS FOR 25 LBS OF BELLIES
5 quarts water
1-1/3 cup powdered dextrose (or 2 cups table sugar)
1/3 cup Instacure NO.1 (AKA Prauge powder)
1 lb. salt


Dissolve all the ingredients in the water. Use this brine in a plastic container (5gal pail or rubermaid bin), place the bellies into the brine skin side down, one at a time one on top of the other. Cover the container and place in fridge for 5 - 7 days restacking the bellies top to bottom daily.

Bellies are placed on smoke racks skin side down in the smoker. Pre heat smoker to 135° F. Have dampers wide open and start smoking. (I use 6 hickory pucks on 50 lbs of bellies) After the surface of the bacon has become partially dry, close the dampers to 1/4 open and hold at 150° F until 130-135° F is obtained internally. Reduce smokehouse temperature and hold bacon until desired color is obtained. Remove to fridge and hold overnight before slicing.

Enjoy

[Habanero Smoker]

Gladly Bradley;

Welcome to the forum.  Nice setup.

[MallardWacker]

YOU ARE DA MAN...

Very, very nice looking.   AND welcome dude.

[iceman]

Nice job on the bacon and smoker GB. Welcome to the forum.

[Habanero Smoker]

MW;

Nice to see you posting again.

[MallardWacker]

Thanks...I'm still around but way too busy...dang I have never spent so many nights in hotels in my life..

[iceman]

Still beats staying in the camps in Prudhoe MW but I know the feeling. Always good to be back home. Good to hear from you buddy.

[chrispy]

I think I may have made a boo-boo.  I am getting ready to make my first attempt at habs bacon today.  The recipe says if you are using "Butcher-Packer" cures how much to use.....  I thought that is what I had....  Now as I look at the packaging, I purchased it from "the Sausage Maker" in Buffalo.  Does anyone know if I am looking at the same results.. I did follow the directions as if I had Butcher-Packer maple cure, but I used Sausage Maker Maple ham cure instead.  I guess at this point, I have nothing to lose anyway.  I will let you all know what happens.....  By the way,  Thank you to all the good folks that spend so much time helping, this place is great!!!!!

Chrispy  :-[

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Chrispy;

I believe you are following MallardWacker's recipe, which is a good bacon recipe.

[chrispy]

I apologize, That is correct, but I am concerned if there is an appreciable difference between sausage makers maple cure and butcher-packers.  Any advice would be great........

Chrispy

[deb415611]

Chrispy,

I'm still a newbie too but I think what you should do is look at the instructions that came with your cure.  It should tell you how much you should use per pound of meat.  Compare that to what you used on yours and then if it is different post what the instructions said vs. what you used.  It will give everyone a little more info to work with to answer your question.

ETA - hopefully the two are very close and you will be good to go!

Deb

[chrispy]

Deb,

The problem is the cure I have only has directions on it for a pickle cure.  It is a 2 lb container that says to add it to 2.5 gallons of water and that it is good for 25 lbs. of ham.  It seems similar to the butcher packer cure, but I am not sure as I don't have the butcher-oacker cure in my possession......... Thanks for your assistance

Chrispy :-\

[deb415611]

Chrispy,

I just googled butcher-packer cure -- got to the butcher & packer website - right to the maple cure page -  this is what it said:

Complete-nothing to add. This cure is perfect for those that want a light maple sugar flavor and aroma in their product. This cure can be used for dry curing and for cover pickles that do not require over 7 days to cure. Use 1 pound of cure per 1 gallon of brine at 20% pump. For dry rub, use 1/2 pound per 25 pounds of meat. If used for cover pickling, use 2 pounds of cure per gallon.


From Sausage Makers website:

Nobody can touch the taste of our maple cure. Easy to follow directions on package. 2 Lbs. will cure 25 lbs. of meat. Thoroughly rub the dry cure into the bacon. Wrap the bacon in a good plastic-lined butcher paper (freezer paper) and place in a 38° F cooler for about 6 days. The bacon is then removed from the cooler and rinsed well with lukewarm water. Let the bacon dry at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

If I'm reading this correctly & I'm assuming you are doing dry rub:
Butcher Packer is 1/2 pound cure per 25lbs
Sausage Maker is 2 lbs cure per 25 lbs

To me it looks like you may have used about a quarter of the cure that you should have  - I'm sure someone will come along and let you know if what I'm looking at is correct &  what that means for your bacon


Fingers still crossed for you that you are good to go

Deb