Curing meat

This is what I used when I did my Buckboard Bacon...

http://himtnjerky.com/board-inst.html

http://shop.himtnjerky.com/online/home.php

This will do the trick it fairly easy to find and cheap

I've made my own using a cure similar to this one here - http://texascookin.blogspot.com/2009/02/buckboard-bacon-at-home.html

You can add a little bit of real maple syrup or brown sugar to the cure to make it sweeter (not to much or you'll have a problem with it burning in the pan)
I added a tsp of crushed red pepper and a tsp of homemade chipotle powder to mine for a slightly spicy bite.

The author of the link above brags about "knowing" what is in his cure, what he doesn't realize is that he added the sodium nitrate to his when he used Tender quick... Oh well, if you want the bacon to keep for any amount of time without it spoiling, you kinda need the nitrate.

Don't go crazy on the tender quick, you'll get really overly salty bacon if you do.

Oh! and you want to rinse the meat (or even let it rest in cold water for a few hours if you want it less salty) before you smoke it and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for 24 hrs to get the best results.
From a site I found:
Rinse the pork bellies with fresh water, and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Before you smoke the bellies, you must further dry them so that a pellicle forms on the outside of the meat. A pellicle forms as a result of the cure pulling water soluble proteins up to the surface of the meat. When these proteins dry, they form a shiny, sticky coating over the meat, which will absorb the smoke much better. The meat will not take smoke until the surface is dry. If the meat is smoked when still damp, it will be smudgy, not rich in color and not taste as good.

Hope it goes well for you... the taste is amazing when you get it right!!

jestridge said:

This will do the trick it fairly easy to find and cheap

Click to expand...

That's what I use

Dude, I don't think you have anything to worry about trying that stuff out... It's salt & sodium nitrate - no way they're gonna go bad. I think the worst that could happen is that the spices might have lost a lot of their potency... and maybe you ruin an $10 pork shoulder?

If you die can I have your Chargriller? Mine needs a lil' brother to keep em company :wink:

BTW - is there a exp date anywhere on the box? I looked all over the pkg of my tender quick and there isn't even a batch # or anything printed on it... I'm guessing it doesn't expire.

I've not tried the buckboard mix but if you find some Tender Quick, this recipe works great for beef...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56614

Nitrate you can buy at some drug store another name for it is salt peter.

wnkt said:

I finally found some TenderQuick....it was only in the 14th place I looked....and only in the next town over from the start of my search. For Local folks....It is in Clover SC in the Piggly-Wiggly right smack-dab in the middle of town.

Click to expand...

OMG! Piggly-Wiggly Still Exists???? Haven't seen one of those in years! lol

Glad you found some cure! Just don't get to thinking "more is better" or you'll have a salt lick! =)

Cabelas has cures if you can't find them local.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...602009&parentType=category&parentId=cat602009

I can't vouch for them, never used any, just remember them in the catalog.
Maybe someone else has tried them.

jestridge said:

This will do the trick it fairly easy to find and cheap

Click to expand...

Bingo...