Making Bacon Progress & Question

[Chronos]

Everyone,

So after some issues I believe I got everything going the right direction. I got a 12 lb pork belly from my butcher and have split it into 3x4lbs. I've got it in the basement fridge (which holds the right temp).

Some pictures are below of things so far. One question - how much moisture is supposed to come out of these slabs? All the posts and guides I've read talks about massaging the moisture back in and I got the impression it was a decent amount. You can see from the pics that there's moisture in there but nowhere near enough to pool or collect.

I used a little less than a level tsp in each 4lb batch, along with garlic, brown sugar, pepper, and bay leaves. They've been curing for about 3.5 days so far.

Pictures attached.

Thanks

Jerry

[LordlyMantis]

When I made bacon there wasn't a massive amount but it was certainly noticeable as the week went on. It was very gradual though.

[rookiedad]

massaging the moisture back in? i've never heard of that. i think you should have had some non-iodized salt in the mixture along with the curing salt. maybe that is why you are not drawing alot of moisture

[Chronos]

The info I read said to flip over the slab every day and massage it to help the distribution of the seasoning/cure.

I was torn on the salt. Half of the blogs/directions I read said to add salt and half did not include it. I don't like things salty so I left it out. I'm going to do a hot smoking and getting it up to 150 internal so I figured I'd be safe either way.


massaging the moisture back in? i've never heard of that. i think you should have had some non-iodized salt in the mixture along with the curing salt. maybe that is why you are not drawing alot of moisture

[IamMadMan]

Everyone,

So after some issues I believe I got everything going the right direction. I got a 12 lb pork belly from my butcher and have split it into 3x4lbs. I've got it in the basement fridge (which holds the right temp).

Some pictures are below of things so far. One question - how much moisture is supposed to come out of these slabs? All the posts and guides I've read talks about massaging the moisture back in and I got the impression it was a decent amount. You can see from the pics that there's moisture in there but nowhere near enough to pool or collect.

I used a little less than a level tsp in each 4lb batch, along with garlic, brown sugar, pepper, and bay leaves. They've been curing for about 3.5 days so far.

Pictures attached.

Thanks

Jerry

Jerry,

I am not sure exactly what your level teaspoon for four pounds of pork actually contains? But the ratio amount of curing salt (cure #1) is totally dependent upon the total weight of the piece of meat you are curing. Too little can cause spoilage and food poisoning whereas too much could make you sick and possibly even be fatal. I would guess by the math a 4 pound piece of pork would require 8.4 grams of cure #1 which would be close to 1.48 teaspoons. Then you have to add the kosher salt, sugar, and spices.

As far as moisture, I have had some bellies look like they are sitting in a lake of water while others will only give off a minute amount.

Massaging does nothing for the cure, but they should be turned once a day to help insure even curing. Also note that the sugar will also slightly slow the curing process, so depending upon the size of the cut it may take an extra day to completely cure.

Here is my recipe....
For 10 pounds of pork I use;
200 gr kosher salt
200 gr brown sugar
360 gr honey
21 gr pink salt
bay leaves, peppercorns, juniper berries, garlic - use as per your taste


As far as not liking things salty, that is why we soak in clear water before smoking. It is done to remove the excess salt which helped to pull the flavors and cure deep into the meat itself. Without the salt the liquids of the meat cannot be drawn out and the spices and the cure cannot be pulled back into the cells of the meat until the levels have reached a point of being equal.

.
.

[bbqgeekess]

I've cured bacon twice now, with a dry brine (3% pickling salt, 1% brown sugar, .25% cure #1). Both times it has been buckboard bacon with IBP brand pork butt.

Moisture is drawn out the first and second days, and not much. After that is gels up and stays that way. I keep massaging and flipping it once a day.

But the amount of salt I put on it is exactly the amount of salt the meat needs, and the pork butt isn't injected with any solution--all natural.

(All I do after 7-10 days, when the pork has cured, is just give it a good rinse, then pat dry and throw in the fridge to form a pellicle--because the salt is at the correct level.)

It has turned out perfect for me both times, same for my brother and others here. (YetiDave is who I learned this trick from.)

I know a lot of people add a lot of cure / curing rub and end up having to soak the meat after to draw some salt out. Perhaps these with more salt suck out more moisture? I dunno.

[oifmarine2003]

Depends on the belly. Sometimes there is a decent amount of moisture that comes out and sometimes it is barely noticeable. Don't freak out if you don't see much.

[YetiDave]

Here is my recipe....
For 10 pounds of pork I use;
200 gr kosher salt
200 gr brown sugar
360 gr honey
21 gr pink salt
bay leaves, peppercorns, juniper berries, garlic - use as per your taste


As far as not liking things salty, that is why we soak in clear water before smoking. It is done to remove the excess salt which helped to pull the flavors and cure deep into the meat itself. Without the salt the liquids of the meat cannot be drawn out and the spices and the cure cannot be pulled back into the cells of the meat until the levels have reached a point of being equal.

.
.

Cut the salt to 136g and you won't need to soak, you can also safely cut your pink salt content virtually in half to 11.33g. That'll get you to the recommended usage level which is 2.5g per 1000g of meat :thumb:

[Smoking Westy]

The moisture content that is pulled out will vary by side. I've had some pull out a ton of moisture, some much less. I try to remember to flip daily but don't spend any time rubbing the meat. Things got crazy the last batch and I believe I flipped it exactly twice - turned out to be my best batch to date (we made nearly 600 pounds of it last year) so don't think it's that critical.

A couple weeks ago we did a 400 pound batch - 33 sides!

[eddieh70301]

I cured a pork belly about two weeks ago. I used Morton Tender quick instead of pink salt. The belly was about 2.5 lbs so i used 1.5 oz or 2.5 TBL of TQ. I also added about 3 TSP of brown sugar. I rubbed the TQ on then sprinkled the sugar. It sat in the fridge for 7 days.
I rinsed and placed in fridge for 4 hrs then cold smoked for about 8 hrs. I had a good bit of liquid that formed in the bag. The sugar content was way too much for me so next time I would cut the sugar in half. 8 hrs of smoke too much. Next time will cut smoke time in half.
Live & Learn.

[MadCityJim]

I've done about 8 batches of bacon and I agree with YetiDave's advice. His recommendations are very close to my standard recipe.
For 10 pounds of pork I use;
150 gr kosher salt
150 gr brown sugar
150 gr Real Maple Syrup
12 gr pink salt

I love my Maple Bacon.

[cowgirl]

I raise pigs and have made more bacon than I can remember...and not once did I have to massage it.

[Shagdog]

So if I'm understanding this correctly, the only salt you used was a teaspoon of pink salt per bag? You're going to need to add kosher salt. Salt is crucial to the curing process, as that is what draws the moisture form the meat. Follow any of the recommendations above on amount, but without adding some kosher salt, I'm not sure what you'll end up with will be bacon at all. This also would explain the lack of moisture in your bags.

I don't think this round is a wash, just add some salt and start the clock over on your curing time. Massaging isn't really necessary, just flip bags once a day, as mentioned above.

[bbqgeekess]

I raise pigs and have made more bacon than I can remember...and not once did I have to massage it.

Thanks, I've only done that because I used a dry brine. It's what I've read that one is supposed to do. I probably don't need to you are right.

But I will do initial massaging of course, when I apply the dry brine curing rub.

[capnkrusty]

I'm going to be smoking my first bacon tomorrow after an 8 day cure. I am guessing I want to smoke it fat side up, right?

[Shagdog]

Doesn't really matter much, but if you're doing over a direct heat at a temp any higher then 225, fat down would make more sense, just to use the fat as a protective layer...

I smoke mine really low heat, around 150, until the bacon reaches at least 130IT, then turn the smoker up to 180 until the bacon gets to 150.

[Chronos]

I hear you on the soaking part. I'll try that next time.

I had been following the information from thirdeye and cowgirl. The mistake I see I've made is they used Tenderquick while I used prague powder. I thought tenderquick was a mix of cure and sugar, now I see it's a mix of cure, sugar, and SALT. I needed to figure out what amount of salt I needed to equal the recipe.

As to the amount of cure. I'm using prague powder #1 which the attached directions said to use 2TBs (6 teaspoons) per 25 lbs. Since I'm doing 12lbs, that equates to slightly less than 3 teaspoons.

So at this point it's been 4 days in the under 40 degree environment. Should I add some salt at this point or just give it longer for the cure to work?


Jerry,

I am not sure exactly what your level teaspoon for four pounds of pork actually contains? But the ratio amount of curing salt (cure #1) is totally dependent upon the total weight of the piece of meat you are curing. Too little can cause spoilage and food poisoning whereas too much could make you sick and possibly even be fatal. I would guess by the math a 4 pound piece of pork would require 8.4 grams of cure #1 which would be close to 1.48 teaspoons. Then you have to add the kosher salt, sugar, and spices.
.

[Chronos]

Terrific - will do. I'll get this right eventually!

So if I'm understanding this correctly, the only salt you used was a teaspoon of pink salt per bag? You're going to need to add kosher salt. Salt is crucial to the curing process, as that is what draws the moisture form the meat. Follow any of the recommendations above on amount, but without adding some kosher salt, I'm not sure what you'll end up with will be bacon at all. This also would explain the lack of moisture in your bags.

I don't think this round is a wash, just add some salt and start the clock over on your curing time. Massaging isn't really necessary, just flip bags once a day, as mentioned above.

[YetiDave]

If there's no regular salt in there too I'm not sure I'd keep it.. The salt is as important to the curing process (if not more so) than pink salt

[Chronos]

Okay, pulled the bacon out to add 162gms of kosher salt (3% of weight of the pork belly). Interestingly, while it wasn't visibly wet the spices/cure were saturated and somewhat squishy. I think the brown sugar and granulated garlic kind of sopped it up to this point.

I've added the salt and I feel confident the belly is still edible. It's only 4 days since I got it from the butchers, cure was added immediately, and it's been sitting in a <40 degree fridge the whole time.

I'll restart the curing clock, use hot smoking, and then fry the bacon before eating (obviously). I believe I'll be fine.


Terrific - will do. I'll get this right eventually!

[captndan]

I hear you on the soaking part. I'll try that next time.

I had been following the information from thirdeye and cowgirl. The mistake I see I've made is they used Tenderquick while I used prague powder. I thought tenderquick was a mix of cure and sugar, now I see it's a mix of cure, sugar, and SALT. I needed to figure out what amount of salt I needed to equal the recipe.

As to the amount of cure. I'm using prague powder #1 which the attached directions said to use 2TBs (6 teaspoons) per 25 lbs. Since I'm doing 12lbs, that equates to slightly less than 3 teaspoons.

So at this point it's been 4 days in the under 40 degree environment. Should I add some salt at this point or just give it longer for the cure to work?

Since you have been to Thirdeye's site follow Lynn's recipe it cannot be beat.

[YetiDave]

Okay, pulled the bacon out to add 162gms of kosher salt (3% of weight of the pork belly). Interestingly, while it wasn't visibly wet the spices/cure were saturated and somewhat squishy. I think the brown sugar and granulated garlic kind of sopped it up to this point.

I've added the salt and I feel confident the belly is still edible. It's only 4 days since I got it from the butchers, cure was added immediately, and it's been sitting in a <40 degree fridge the whole time.

I'll restart the curing clock, use hot smoking, and then fry the bacon before eating (obviously). I believe I'll be fine.

Sounds like it'll be all good :thumb: at 3% salt you won't need to soak either, which is a bonus