Buckboard Bacon curing / food safety question

Don Marco · Jan 26, 2008

Howdy folks...

I´ve just prepared two butts ( ~5 pounds each) for buckboard bacon.
Used a mix of Hi Mountain buckboard bacon seasoning, curing salt and texasbbqrub.

The butts had a "use by-date" of today, were in a clean vacuum bag and didnt have any smell on them.

Will it be okay to cure them for 10 days or should i rather dump them and get "fresher" meat ? Will the curing salt prevent the meat from spoiling ?

Never really thought about that until today, just asking
to be 101 % sure.

Thanks for your input,

DM

ModelMaker · Jan 26, 2008

Use by dates are "safest" guidelines. I think there is a built in saftey time. If the meat isn't slimy and has no bad odor I feel you will be ok starting the curing process. After all, the brine cure you are going to use's purpose is to make the meat safe for long term storage. Right?
ModelMaker

Jack2u2 · Jan 26, 2008

If they were good, once you put them in the cure, they'll stay good. Just make sure you keep them within the temp range, and you'll be fine!

thirdeye · Jan 26, 2008

Don Marco said:
Howdy folks...

I´ve just prepared two butts ( ~5 pounds each) for buckboard bacon.
Used a mix of Hi Mountain buckboard bacon seasoning, curing salt and texasbbqrub.

The butts had a "use by-date" of today, were in a clean vacuum bag and didnt have any smell on them.

Will it be okay to cure them for 10 days or should i rather dump them and get "fresher" meat ? Will the curing salt prevent the meat from spoiling ?

Never really thought about that until today, just asking
to be 101 % sure.

Thanks for your input,

DM

Did you add additional curing salts to the Buckboard cure?? What type and how much?

yelonutz · Jan 26, 2008

Dr. BBQ talks about taking a cyro-packed brisket and placing it in a fridge that is not opened often. Leave it in there for 50 days and then cook it. I haven't tried it but I trust him. If it smells bad when you take it out, throw it away. NUTZ

chinesebob · Jan 27, 2008

What they said. No smell? Most likely no issues.

Don Marco · Jan 27, 2008

Thirdeye, i used 50% Hi mountain cure and 25% each curing salt and texasbbqrub.

yelonutz said:
Dr. BBQ talks about taking a cyro-packed brisket and placing it in a fridge that is not opened often. Leave it in there for 50 days and then cook it. I haven't tried it but I trust him. If it smells bad when you take it out, throw it away. NUTZ

I always thought beef ages better than pork ?

DM

Jeremiah · Jan 27, 2008

Don Marco said:
Thirdeye, i used 50% Hi mountain cure and 25% each curing salt and texasbbqrub.

I'm by no means a curing expert but that seems like a bit much on the curing salts. The curing salts that I have require far less than 25% of their share in the rub.

Doesn't the high mountain cure already have curing salts in it?

thirdeye · Jan 27, 2008

Don Marco said:
Thirdeye, i used 50% Hi mountain cure and 25% each curing salt and texasbbqrub.

I always thought beef ages better than pork ?

DM

Jeremiah said:
I'm by no means a curing expert but that seems like a bit much on the curing salts. The curing salts that I have require far less than 25% of their share in the rub.

Doesn't the high mountain cure already have curing salts in it?

Thanks what I'm thinking.....So DM, if the amount need was 4 tablespoons - are you saying you used 2 tablespoons of Buckboard cure, 1 tablespoon of curing salts and 1 tablespoon of the rub?

What kind of curing salts? Pink salt (Prague #1) or something else.

Don Marco · Jan 27, 2008

I used this salt :

I´ve used this mix before with good results and also cured buckboard bacon with a mix of 6 tb curing salt and 2 tb brown sugar before, never had any problems and got perfect bacon.

DM

thirdeye · Jan 27, 2008

Don Marco said:
I used this salt :

I´ve used this mix before with good results and also cured buckboard bacon with a mix of 6 tb curing salt and 2 tb brown sugar before, never had any problems and got perfect bacon.

DM

Okay, you have a sodium nitrite salt and even though the bag has a comma instead of a decimel point I'm guessing the concentration is .5%. (Some curing calts are 6.25%) We also have several that are a mixture of nitrate and nitrite at .5% each.

But to get back on track, it all boils down to the strength and the
amount needed, which is based on weight of the product, and the amount of time allowed for curing. The concentration of the Buckboard cure calls for just over 1.3 tablespoons of cure per pound. Some other products I have used are 1 tablespoon per pound.

When you use 6 tablespoons of your curing salt, what is the weight of the meat you are curing. And what is the curing time in days?

Don Marco · Jan 27, 2008

Honestly, i never cared too much for the ammount of salt/cure.

Just used as much of it as was needed to cover all of the meat and then let it sit in the fridge for 10-14 days.

DM

thirdeye · Jan 27, 2008

Don Marco said:
Honestly, i never cared too much for the ammount of salt/cure.

Just used as much of it as was needed to cover all of the meat and then let it sit in the fridge for 10-14 days.

DM

I appreciate your honesty. And it sounds like you get good results.... You know, I've never had any safety concerns while home curing meats, (like under curing and having it turn), I usually keep tabs on amounts and times so I can duplicate the method.

Looking forward to some pictures....10 days and counting.

Buckboard Bacon curing / food safety question

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