Vacuum curing

[MRH]

I was wondering.... Does anybody know if you cure in a vacuum sealed bag how much time  it speeds up the process?  I have some pork belly in Tenderquick, and other spices in the fridge since Saturday morning.  Each piece is 3 lbs and around 2 inches thick.  I have 3 different pieces each with a little different spices just to see how they turn out.  All of them have Tenderquick.  One with some garlic, pepper, and brown sugar. One with maple syrup. the last one with brown sugar, and Cookies flavor enhancer.

Mark ;D

[LilSmoker]

Hi MRH, i have cured briskets for Habs pastrami in vacuum sealed bags/rolls.

I'm still experimenting atm, but the last time i did the pastrami i think it was actually cured a day early?
Habs recipe calls for the brisket to be cured for 4 days, which i've stuck to, until the last one i did,  which i vacuum sealed and after 3 days it felt and looked cured to me?, so i went for it, and the pastrami tasted just as good as the others i've done, texture etc seemed fine.

So personaly i believe the  vacuuming speeds up the curing by quite a big margin, but as i say, i'm still experimenting.
Another thing i like about vacuum curing, is there is less need to keep turning the meat, everything is locked in, and there is no smell when you open the fridge ;D

LilSmoker

[Habanero Smoker]

If the pastrami was red all the way through, then that is a good indication that it was properly cured. If you see any gray meat (usually in the center of the meat), it was not cured long enough. So vacuum sealing may decrease the time needed to cure.

[MRH]

I have heard that sealing meat to cure in a vacuum seal bag speeds up the process. I just wondered if anybody actually knew just how much.  I didn't have any regular ziplock bags so used the food saver.  There is more juice around the meat now, so things are working.  I am thinking rinsing tomorrow night which make 4-1/2 days curing, let dry in the fridge and smoke Thursday night after work. Sound about right?  I will take some pictures.

Mark

[iceman]

Just from playing with pastrami and BBB all about 3 to 3 1/2 " thick I found vacum curing to speed things up by right around 15 percent. All was cured at 36 degrees F. in the vac pouches and rotated every 12 hours. I did not try anything sooner so all I can say is, at that thickness and temp it does help speed things up by that amount. :)
I don't think I'll push it any futher. I'm not in that big of a hurry anymore :D ;D ;)

[LilSmoker]

Habs: yes the meat was consistently red throughout, only problem i had was that i had to cut the meat in half to take a good look to find out, so i had 2 small pastramis, but np  ;)

I also totally agree with iceman about the waiting, another day isn't going to hurt. My main worry when i vacuum cured was not how much it would speeds things up, but maybe i would over cure?

When i first tried it, i also didn't have any big enough ziplock bags, so i used some large foodsaver roll, and i was impressed at how clean this method is, and seems to cure in a more thorough way?

I'm about to do some pastrami any day now, so i'll do a more thorough test this time round, although i suppose the thickness of the brisket will play a big part as mentioned by iceman.

3, 4 or 5 days i don't care, that Habs pastrami is always worth the wait!, i could start selling the stuff over here it's that good  ;)

[iceman]

LS I don't think I'd worry about over curing as long as you use the amount called for in the recipe. I've gone over on pastrami a day or two (not on purpose) and had no ill effect on taste or texture in the final product. :)

[LilSmoker]

Thanks iceman, that's put my mind at rest  ;)

[MRH]

I am not really concerned with the time it takes either. More worried about over or under curing. If you go by the label on the Tender Quick, I think I am over cured already.  It said for smoked chops if I remember right.

Mark