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

[destrouk]

I brine mine for 3 to 4 days then 2 hours cold water air dry for 24 hours then cold smoke for 10 to 12 hours ( temp under 20C) then air dry again for 24 hours , If I dry cure I do 4 to 5 days all I use is salt , sugar  , molassess , chilli flakes  and black pepper corns( pressed into the fat cap . ( my grandads family recipe and cure times they are from Wilshire UK , we have a bit of history with bacon LOL  ) I know people are going to say its dangerous to do it this way but we have had no problems as long as people use common sense and food handling . No one gets ill althought it is vacpacked after the last drying period and only left in a fridge for no more than 5 days then frozen just to be safe

[Habanero Smoker]

As long as you use an equivilant of 1 pound of salt for each gallon of brine, there should be nothing wrong with curing with salt. If you want to use a dry salt brine, you need to use salt in the amount of 2 - 3% of the green weight you are curing. For my taste it just makes the finished product too salty.

[destrouk]

I prefer the dry cure myself also ... I do 4 cups of salt and 2 cups of sugar and a ton of ground pepper

[Habanero Smoker]

I prefer the dry cure myself also ... I do 4 cups of salt and 2 cups of sugar and a ton of ground pepper

That a good cure mix.

[destrouk]

oh and somtimes ( as i like the pepper kick ) I will add red pepper flakes in there also !

[destrouk]

OK, so let's start with a 5 lbs pork belly.  This is the easy 3 day brine.  You can leave it longer but no more than 5. You will need:4 cups of sea salt2 cups of brown sugar1/2 cup of chilli flakes1/4 cup of crushed black pepper in say 4 to 5 liters of water150ml of molassesA dash of cayanne pepperFreshly ground black pepperA large zip-lock type plastic bag (you may want to also have an additional container to put everything in case of leaks).  Alternatively, you can use a plastic container as long as it has a lid and a soup bowl with water in it to weigh down the meat. The meat must be turned every day for 3 days. Let it air dry to get the Pellicule formed (this does two things: stops the site getting to the meat and makes the smoke hold better).  This takes a while and I like to leave it overnight with a fan going (see pics).  Cut a bit off and check the meat.  If you cook it up at this stage it is called green bacon.  If you find it is too salty (remember you do need salt though as no chemicals were used – a grey area with some) leech it in cold water. If you did 3 days do it for 2 hours dry and check.  Add an hour for each day.  Grind pepper into the fat cap and press down into that fat. For cold smoke: 10 to 12 hours. For hot smoking: it takes about 4 hours to hit the IT of 150.  Do not go over the IT of 150. Let air dry again and vacuum seal whether done hot or cold.  It is good in the fridge for 5 days (they say 2 weeks but never had any around that long). Private Message me for any questions.

[Boycey]

This is an amazing post fairplay.

Can someone be so kind to clarify for me, for curing purposes, That here in the uk our bacon is from the loin "Loin of pork" and if i wanted to make what we call "streaky bacon" that would be from the belly. When curing suggested meats for 14-21 days in fridge could you also confirm temp fridge temp
in degrees C. Thanks in advance.

[Habanero Smoker]

Here in the U.S. bacon from the loin is called Canadian bacon, in Canada it is called Back bacon. But on this side of the pond we trim almost if not all surface fat off. Bacon from the pork shoulder is call Hillbilly or Buckboard bacon, I believe you call the same bacon Cottage bacon. Beef bacon, comes from the same area of a cow, that belly bacon comes from a pig. The name of the cut is call a beef plate before it is cured.

Here is a popular cured pork belly recipe on this board; Maple Bacon

You question on curing is too general, and there may be slight differenced on how to cure a particular cut of meat. If you can get access to the Recipe Site, and look in the Bacon & Other Cured Meat sections you will find a few recipes. Also you can search this forum for the particular type of bacon you want to make. I do not use long curing times. I generally use 4 - 7 days; depending on what I'm curing and how thick it is. When curing with nitrites, it is much faster than the curing times when nitrates were used. As far as refrigerator temperatures, 3°C (38°F) - 4°C (40°F) would be ideal. Some sources state you can go as low as 2°C (36°F).

[Boycey]

That's Awsome, thank you very much for your help
Habanero, I've read lots of your posts/recipes/answers over the past 6 months on here, you've helped
Me out so much already without even knowing.

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks for the compliment. Glad I could help.

[Northern_Hunting_Mom]

I am thinking I may try brining the bacon for my next batch. It will be a much smaller batch so if it doesn't work, I won't be out $200. I will brine it in a large cooler and have a lot of frozen 2 liter pop bottles. I will put a couple pop bottles in the cooler to keep the meat cold and use a remote thermometer to monitor the brine temp.

[Northern_Hunting_Mom]

I have read this whole thread and the level of knowledge is amazing. I do have a tip. Change the cold water soak after the curing 2-3 times. I don't remember reading of anybody who changes the cold water to help reduce the saltiness.

[klarakos]

I ordered some more fresh  side pork and I got my Butcher-Packer cure today.I have a question on the amount of cure as there are no directions with the cure.I am thinking about 3oz. per 10 lb.
How much did you use?

[MallardWacker]

DANG I MISS YOU GUYS!!!!

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Mike;

Go to see you are still around!!!

Welcome back.