Makin' Bacon question!

[gooffy140]

I picked up a couple of 5 lb pork bellies on sale at Sam's Club. I won't have time to smoke them for a few weeks.
Do any of you see a problem with putting my dry cure mix on these, vacuum sealing them then freezing them till I have time to thaw, cure and smoke?
Or should I just freeze them and cure them later?

[EricD]

Good question.
I had a similar issue with time. I froze mine for a week until I could thaw them and then cure when I got the time. This is my second attempt at bacon, (the first was a disaster)
so I'm no expert. I don't know if longer cure times would be detrimental or not.
Following this thread now, though!

[jasonjax]

We have some serious experts here on the curing topic that I am sure will chime in, but I'd err on the side of caution and freeze without any cure on them and then do it as you would with a fresh belly once thawed.

[W.I.T.W.A.G?]

not an expert but I've done 15-20 batches of home cured bacon. I would definitely NOT put the cure on until you have the time to complete the whole process. The freezing may slow down the cure process I'm sure, but it's hard to say how much without direct knowledge. if you're human there's a chance that you might forget it's in the freezer (I know I would). and end up with a ruined pork belly.

[Fatback Joe]

Freeze and then cure later.


If you go with equilibrium curing, you can just put the cure on and leave it until you are ready.

[IamMadMan]

I agree with Fatback Joe, freeze and cure later if you need to.

Keep in mind the dry cure is about 1/4 inch per day measured thickness from the center point. If the skin is on, then it's still 1/4 inch per day measured at overall thickness (Cure will not penetrate the skin).

Curing at takes place best at temperatures near 38°, going below causes curing to slow down and going below 34° can cause the cure to stop. But more importantly going below the recommended temperature can also cause inconsistent curing throughout the meat. This can result in a poor cure attempt and poor texture. of the finished product.

Lastly, keep in mind that if you are dry curing or equilibrium curing and you properly weigh the ingredients based on the the weight of the product, you can go beyond the calculated cure time without over-curing (nitrite burn) by several days to a week without negative effects.