Makin' Bacon w/Pink Salt Rub

[Just BS]

I got me a slab of pork bellie and I have pink salt in the cupboard but all of my research shows using Morton's Tenderquick, which I do not have. Can pink salt be used to cure bacon? If so, what is the ratio of salt to a pound of bellie? Additionally, does anyone wet cure their slabs? Feel free to share any recipes you might know of. Thanks Brethren.:bow:

[c farmer]

I have only used pink salt in a brine. TQ for rubs.

[scp]

I use the Ruhlman recipe.

http://ruhlman.com/2010/10/home-cured-bacon-2/

[legendaryhog]

I use the Ruhlman recipe.

http://ruhlman.com/2010/10/home-cured-bacon-2/

You can use pink salt. The Ruhlman recipe is too salty for me personally. I dry cure my bacon, don't want any extra water going into my bacon, unnecessary.

[Fat Woody]

From Charcuterie:

Basic ratio for a dry cure is 2 parts salt to 1 part sugar plus 10% of the combined salt/sugar weight of pink salt.

I use this basic dry cure all the time for bacon (Ruhlman's):

1 lb. kosher salt
8 oz. table sugar or brown sugar
2 oz. (10 teaspoons) pink salt

I like mine with a heavy dose of black pepper, so to this I will add a 2-3 tbsp. of fresh coarse grind black pepper.

[kevinc]

From Charcuterie:

Basic ratio for a dry cure is 2 parts salt to 1 part sugar plus 10% of the combined salt/sugar weight of pink salt.

I use this basic dry cure all the time for bacon (Ruhlman's):

1 lb. kosher salt
8 oz. table sugar or brown sugar
2 oz. (10 teaspoons) pink salt

I like mine with a heavy dose of black pepper, so to this I will add a 2-3 tbsp. of fresh coarse grind black pepper.

I've made this before and it was WAY too salty for my liking. I wouldn't cut back on the pink salt, but perhaps the kosher next time.

[southpaw_1979]

From Charcuterie:

Basic ratio for a dry cure is 2 parts salt to 1 part sugar plus 10% of the combined salt/sugar weight of pink salt.

I use this basic dry cure all the time for bacon (Ruhlman's):

1 lb. kosher salt
8 oz. table sugar or brown sugar
2 oz. (10 teaspoons) pink salt

I like mine with a heavy dose of black pepper, so to this I will add a 2-3 tbsp. of fresh coarse grind black pepper.

I do the same but I omit the pink salt. And I'm sure I'll start the battle of you need the pink salt to properly cure, no disagreement. If I were going to cold smoke I would, if I were going to hang to dry, yup like a dry sausage I would want the proper cures for that as well.

I do the salt and sugar only (no different than when we used to make salt pork as a kid except dry). Then I smoke until it's fully cooked at 165°. I know there is risk of contamination in the smoker as conditions are right.....

I then do not eat it cold, I fry it to cook it again, so I feel I've minimized the risk sufficiently. I do not tell others that it is without risk, but with it being fully cooked and salted, the risk is pretty low.

Also I always add a lot of pepper as was mentioned, and other herbs to part of the batch.

If you find it too salty, soak in water longer after curing, before smoking.

I do not suggest simply following my ideas but doing ones own research and deciding what is best for you.

For unsmoked salt pork, we used to simmer it in milk to get rid of some of salt before frying.

[Shagdog]

8oz kosher salt
4oz brown sugar
4oz white sugar
1tbls pink salt

That'll do about 15 lbs. you really don't need much pink salt to cure.

[Ackman]

I go with 1/2 ounce TQ per pound and 1 TBS Brown sugar per pound then throw in a generous amount of butcher cut black pepper

[joshcary]

Here is a short video on did on curing bacon at home.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Ilba002hg&feature=share&list=UUSeKtP7bqePrJqi99UX2NSQ)

[Just BS]

You can use pink salt. The Ruhlman recipe is too salty for me personally. I dry cure my bacon, don't want any extra water going into my bacon, unnecessary.

If too salty, did you try blanching it before cooking like he stated in the article?

Also, he just rinsed it off, where as other recipes csll for an 8 hr soak with multiple rinses. That seems prudent to me.

[Smoking Westy]

Here is the basic cure I use on bacon (and just about everything else I cure for that matter)...

1 pound/450 grams of pickling salt
8 ouces/225 grams of granulated sugar
2.4 ounces/68 grams of pink salt (Prague Powder #1)


Mix those ingredients together, use in a ratio of 1 tablespoon per pound of meat and store the rest in a mason jar. I've never had it come out too salty and I don't do a fresh water soak. I've done 100's of pounds of bacon this way.

[billm]

Make sure you are using pink curing salt as there is some pink salt out that is not really for curing. I wouldnt be cutting down on the salt as thats whats keeping the bacteria at bay during the curing process . After you cure and rinse let the meat soak and hr or two in a bowl of cold water ..pat dry then let sit in fridge uncovered for a night before oyu smoke it. The soak really helps get some the salt out.

[legendaryhog]

If too salty, did you try blanching it before cooking like he stated in the article?

Also, he just rinsed it off, where as other recipes csll for an 8 hr soak with multiple rinses. That seems prudent to me.

No I just rinsed it off as directed, patted it dry, and cold smoked it. No big loss though, I just ended up using it for soups, veg, beans, pasta, etc. instead of eating it for breakfast. Was still good as an ingredient, just too salty by itself.

Now I have my own recipes that I use as a matter of salt-level preference. However, I have seen folks post that they use his recipe exactly and they love it. Maybe I just have less tolerance for salt than they do.

This is a little off topic, but for anyone who is making bacon at home for the first time or is just getting into it (or any curing for that matter) buy a cheap jewelry scale and a postal scale (they are way cheaper than food scales), and measure by weight. You will have more consistent results IMO.

[gtr]

I like country ham, so I'm probably not the best person to ask about what's too salty.

That said, the Ruhlman recipe is a good one for a pink salt cure IMO. I've had good success with it in the past. Throwing on some crushed bay leaves, garlic cloves, some cracked black pepper etc. certainly wouldn't hurt.

Fair warning - you probably won't go back to store bought after you do this. The stuff from the butcher case is good, but I definitely prefer home made bacon to any other that I've tried, esp. packaged bacon. Homemade just has better and deeper flavor IMO.

My current favorite recipe is cowgirl's (check out her blog if you haven't already - it's a treasure trove), but it uses Tenderquick. BTW I do soak out things I cure in TQ, and I don't soak out things I cure in Instacure. I have no idea if that's "right" or not, but it's been working for me. I do rinse the stuff I cure in Instacure and always let ham, bacon, etc. sit uncovered in the fridge at least overnight to form a pellicle.

[Big George's BBQ]

I belive thirdeye addresses pink salt in his blog when discussing bacon

[Fat Woody]

I typically find the 7 days to cure in Ruhlman's recipe about 2 days too long. If I'm doing 4-5 lb slabs of even thickness then I usually take them out and rinse after 5 days. Pop it in the fridge on a rack overnight to form the pellicle and onto the smoker or leave in fridge up to a week. I do hot smoke at 180* until the bacon is 150* IT.

Always helps to slice off a bit and cook it before you smoke the whole thing; this helps determine if it's overly salty and needs a post-cure soak.

Have done both ways (soak/no soak) with stellar results. YMMV

[IamMadMan]

I got me a slab of pork bellie and I have pink salt in the cupboard but all of my research shows using Morton's Tenderquick, which I do not have. Can pink salt be used to cure bacon? If so, what is the ratio of salt to a pound of bellie? Additionally, does anyone wet cure their slabs? Feel free to share any recipes you might know of. Thanks Brethren.:bow:

I did not read all of the other posts, but your concern should be that your "Pink Salt" is a curing salt containing sodium nitrite. It is usually called "cure 1" "Instacure 1" ect. Cure #1 and cure #2 are NOT interchangeable...

If your pink salt is something like Himalayan Pink Salt or Hawaiian Pink Salt, these are not curing salts....

Cures should be stored safely out of the reach of children. This is particularly true with cure #1 & #2. The pink candy like color is attractive to children.

All cures should be kept in their original container, and away from ingredients such as salt and sugar that they could be mistaken for and accidentally used.

.

[Fwismoker]

I'd personally stick with TQ for dry cure and pink for wet

[southpaw_1979]

I like country ham, so I'm probably not the best person to ask about what's too salty.

That said, the Ruhlman recipe is a good one for a pink salt cure IMO. I've had good success with it in the past. Throwing on some crushed bay leaves, garlic cloves, some cracked black pepper etc. certainly wouldn't hurt.

Fair warning - you probably won't go back to store bought after you do this. The stuff from the butcher case is good, but I definitely prefer home made bacon to any other that I've tried, esp. packaged bacon. Homemade just has better and deeper flavor IMO.



My wife and I always add herbs or spice of some sort as well, we've done bay leaves, rosemary, cayenne.....

My wife doesn't want anything to do with store bought anymore. We bought a pack the other day. Man is that some slimy wet bacon.

[legendaryhog]

I did not read all of the other posts, but your concern should be that your "Pink Salt" is a curing salt containing sodium nitrite. It is usually called "cure 1" "Instacure 1" ect. Cure #1 and cure #2 are NOT interchangeable...

If your pink salt is something like Himalayan Pink Salt or Hawaiian Pink Salt, these are not curing salts....

Cures should be stored safely out of the reach of children. This is particularly true with cure #1 & #2. The pink candy like color is attractive to children.

All cures should be kept in their original container, and away from ingredients such as salt and sugar that they could be mistaken for and accidentally used.

.

I did not even think of this confusion! :doh: This is good, sound advice. "Pink" salt for curing is dyed pink and contains nitrites/nitrates (depending on the salt) and can be harmful or even deadly in quantities. It is dyed pink so it is not easily mistaken for regular salt, sugar, or whatever (as stated above).

Himalayan or Hawaiian (or other ) salts are naturally pink because of the minerals they contain and do not contain nitrites/nitrates in quantity. You can use these to cure things (or any salt), but if you need(for food safety)/want to ad nitrates, you need to use the cures above.

[samfsu]

Great thread. Just subscribing :) Thanks for all the great info. Especially about omitting the pink salt. Wife wants "nitrite free" bacon lol

[Just BS]

Great points about the pink salts. I am using Prague Powder#1. It is left over from the ham a cured last Easter.
I'd personally stick with TQ for dry cure and pink for wet
I am under the impression that using TQ wont give me that "cured bacon flavor" and the color won't be as appealing. Any thoughts?

[c farmer]

I use TQ for a rub on my bacon all the time. Pretty pink color and its cured.

[Shagdog]

Was always curious about this, so I did a little research -

The difference between Prague Powder #1 and Tenderquick is that Tenderquick contains Sodium NitrIte AND sodium NitrAte, along with some sugar. Sodium NitrAte is found in Prague Powder #2. here's a couple snippets I found surfing around the internet -

Insta Cure #1 (Prague Powder #1) is used for any type of cured meat product that will require cooking, such as bacon, hams that are not air dried, smoked but not dried sausages etc. It is 93.5% table salt, 6.5 % Sodium Nitrite. 2 tsps of insta cure #1 is enough to cure roughly 10 lbs of sausage or bacon.


Insta Cure #2 (Prague Powder #2) is used for meat products that will be air dried and not cooked, such as dried salamis, pepperonis etc, and some air dried hams. It contains Both Nitrates and nitrites.
The reason a cure with the addition of sodium nitrate (Insta Cure #2) is used for such long curing products is because it breaks down very slowly over a period of time into sodium nitrite. In the words of the great sausage maker, Rytek Kutas, the sodium nitrate works like an extended release medication for meats that require very long curing times, like dry cured sausages.

Sodium nitrite, even in small quantities, is very dangerous, and can kill. The lowest known lethal dose of sodium nitrite is 71mg per kg of body weight. At this level, about a tsp of pure sodium nitrite could be enough to kill an average sized adult.

Not trying to scare anyone, but it seems like a lot of people have very high amounts of curing salts in their bacon cures, and they are really unnecessary. The point of using the nitrites/nitrates is just to prevent spoilage (preservative) and kill unwanted botulism. 2 teaspoons is enough for 10 POUNDS! Regular salt will do the rest of the work. Using cups and cups of curing salts to make bacons or hams is just a waste of expensive salt and potentially harmful for you.

[YetiDave]

2.5g per Kg of meat for cure #1 / Prague powder

[Just BS]

2.5g per Kg of meat for cure #1 / Prague powder

How much is that in teaspoons?

[Just BS]

2.5g = 1/2 tspn

[Just BS]

From Charcuterie:

Basic ratio for a dry cure is 2 parts salt to 1 part sugar plus 10% of the combined salt/sugar weight of pink salt.

I use this basic dry cure all the time for bacon (Ruhlman's):

1 lb. kosher salt
8 oz. table sugar or brown sugar
2 oz. (10 teaspoons) pink salt

I like mine with a heavy dose of black pepper, so to this I will add a 2-3 tbsp. of fresh coarse grind black pepper.

I went with this.... How long is the cure?

[gtr]

I usually do 5 days for slabs that are around 5#, flipping the meat each day. I feel for how firm the slab is at the end - it should be nice & firm. Allow time for the slab to sit on a rack in the fridge uncovered at least overnight to allow the pellicle to form.

[Just BS]

Thanks Greg.... What about soaking in water to get some of the saltiness out? Or is that overkill?

[Shagdog]

After you cure it, before you smoke it, cut a little test piece and fry it. If its too salty, soak it in cold water. With the cure you picked, I think you'll be soaking for a while. After a soak, fry a piece again. Repeat that cycle unil it tastes right.

[gtr]

Thanks Greg.... What about soaking in water to get some of the saltiness out? Or is that overkill?

I've never soaked out bacon cured with pink salt - just rinsed. The one batch of bacon I cured with TQ I've soaked out per the advice of cowgirl and thirdeye. I'm curing another couple slabes with TQ right now which I plan on soaking - but the short answer is I've never soaked bacon cured with Instacure nor have I seen a need to.

[Just BS]

Thanks again Greg. I just reread the thread and you already had answered my question.

I'll have home made bacon this weekend. Stoked!

[SBH]

Great info, thanks guys

[YetiDave]

Equilibrium curing is the way to go in my opinion. It's impossible to over salt -

2.5-3.5% salt
1% sugar
2.5g cure #1 per kilo of meat

So for a kilo of belly it's 30g salt (3%) 10g sugar and 2.5g of cure. Takes about a week to cure, doesn't matter if you leave it any longer than that because your salt level's calculated - you want the meat to absorb all of it, rather than just enough and having to soak. Stick with metric measurements on this one and it's more likely you'll be able to get the same results twice

[Just BS]

Six day cure complete.
Cut a couple of slices off and cooked it. Holy smokes was it salty.
Gave it an eight hour soak in fresh water, changing it every couple of hours.
Pellicle is forming on it in the fridge..
Tomorrow I'll smoke it.