Cured Bacon Storage

[MalcolmG]

Need advice please.

I cured some bacon for 10 days which finished on Tuesday. Its been washed and left on a rack in the fridge to dry before smoking. Unfortunately I was unable to smoke it when I intended to so its still in the refrigerator. I would like to smoke it tomorrow but was wondering if its been there too long (4 days) its not wrapped. Is there a cut off time for leaving cured bacon in the fridge before smoking. Thank You folks.

[Wade]

It will be fine. It will have started to air dry but the salt and cure will have protected it from bacterial growth in the fridge. Smoke it and wrap it asap though.

[MalcolmG]

Many thanks Wade.

[Eddie]

My first go at dry cured pork belly has air dried for 24hrs and had a couple of slices off the end for taste testing. Should I now slice up the lot, portion and freeze? Its currently unwrapped in the fridge. 

Edited March 27, 2021 by Eddie

[Icefever]

To slice, or not to slice?? ok I won't say the rest...😆...I've been curing bacon for a couple of years, to start with I would cut the slab into small sections into a size that you can use without wasting any.
From the start of this year, I've gone back to using the machine, the reason being is when a piece was taken from the freezer you have to wait until it's softened enough to use a knife.
Most times I would miss it and by the time I got around to slicing it, it would be too soft to be able to cut decent slices.
I find even straight from the fridge is not firm enough, that's why I now use the machine, count out 8 slices and vac-pack.

One point to take on board thou is unsliced will last a little longer in the fridge in a block..but ours is never around that long to survive 🤣

Also I leave the bcon (air dry) in the fridge for 48 hours.

 

Ice.

[Wade]

Good advice from Ice. The bacon will store longer in the fridge if it is uncut, but if you don't think you will eat it all over 4 weeks or so then you will need to freeze some.

Unlike @Icefever (aka "gadget man" 😁) you may not have access to slicers and vacuum packers so below is how you can achieve similar results...

If you don't have a slicer, put the bacon in the freezer for about an hour to get it to firm up (but not freeze) and then slice as thinly as you need it with the sharpest knife you have. The sharper the knife the more successful the slicing will be. If you don't have a vacuum packer then, once sliced, place in zip locked plastic bags, removing as much of the air as you can before sealing and freezing. Freeze in batches that you will be able to use in about a week.

Don't forget to save the saltier end slices and any offcuts to use as lardons. They can be cut into small chunks and frozen in individual use portions.

[Eddie]

So I'm clear, approx 4 weeks with slicing rashers off as needed, otherwise freeze the defrost and use within a week.

In terms of storage before slicing and freezing should it be wrapped, in a container or open in the fridge?

 

Bacon tastes amazing, so much better than supermarket stuff, I don't usually like green bacon but I like this stuff.

[Wade]

4 hours ago, Eddie said:

So I'm clear, approx 4 weeks with slicing rashers off as needed, otherwise freeze the defrost and use within a week.

Yes. All fridges behave slightly different though and so you will need to use your judgement towards the end. Bacon is going to be cooked before eating, you have applied two different bacterial controls (salt and nitrite), and you are going to keep it refrigerated, and by keeping it as a block you are minimising it's surface area.

4 hours ago, Eddie said:

In terms of storage before slicing and freezing should it be wrapped, in a container or open in the fridge.

It should be wrapped in the fridge. Keep it in the zip locked bag with as much air removed as possible.

4 hours ago, Eddie said:

Bacon tastes amazing, so much better than supermarket stuff, I don't usually like green bacon but I like this stuff.

That is great to hear. Making your first batch is always the most stressful and now you will have the confidence to experiment further. Advice I will give is to keep a book to document everything you do. This will help you remember each batch, what you have changed, anything that went wrong and how you overcame it. This will help you to produce consistent batches as you move forward.

[Trout fisherman]

Hi Wade

Its me again.

just a quick question, after I have cured a belly of pork and it’s rested and dried in the fridge, do I have to smoke it, or can I just cook the bacon slices without smoking it.

Kind Regards.

Bob.

from the U.K.

[Wade]

Hi Bob - No you do not need to smoke it. Once it is cured it is unsmoked (or "Green") bacon. If you would like "Smoked" bacon then smoke it.

However you prefer to eat it you slice and cook it in the usual way. Sliced it gives you bacon rashers, cut into steaks it gives bacon steaks, Cooked a a joint it becomes a bacon joint.

Cheers

Wade

[Trout fisherman]

On 11/16/2023 at 1:24 PM, Wade said:

Hi Bob - No you do not need to smoke it. Once it is cured it is unsmoked (or "Green") bacon. If you would like "Smoked" bacon then smoke it.

However you prefer to eat it you slice and cook it in the usual way. Sliced it gives you bacon rashers, cut into steaks it gives bacon steaks, Cooked a a joint it becomes a bacon joint.

Cheers

Wade

Hi Wade

How long should I smoke the belly of pork for the best flavour.

Have read that it can be 3hours, Also can be 12 hours.

I don’t want to under smoke it or over smoke it and being that you have smoked bacon before, I thought you may be able to give me a good guide.

I don’t want to ruin the first one I smoke, but willing to experiment after I have already done my first smoking.

Thanks Wade, your info is really helping me to get the hang of smoking pork bellies.

very much appreciated.

Bob

Somerset

England.

[Wade]

Hi Bob

This is really a difficult to give a specific answer to as it is down to personal preference and the type of smoke you are using. Hopefully this will help...

If you are using a sweet wood (such as hickory) then you can smoke longer to get a deeper rounded flavour. However if you are using something like Oak then smoking too long can result in quite a harsh edge to the flavour.

I suggest that for your first smoke you go for a happy medium (8 hours of smoke) and then adjust up our down for subsequent smokes. After the smoke dont forget to wrap the bacon joint and leave in the fridge for several days to allow the smoke flavours to mellow and diffuse into the meat. Also be aware that when you slice it, the first couple of rashers at each end will taste much smokier and more salty than the centre of the bacon.

If you are going to use the bacon within a couple of weeks then slice it all and refrigerate. If you want it to last longer (unfrozen) then slice off what you need as you need it and it will keep for about 6 weeks. If you intend to keep it longer then slice and freeze.

Cheers

Wade

[Trout fisherman]

Hi Wade

Your info is helping me immensely, I need all the I help I can get before I start on this venture.

I have watched quite a few YouTube videos and in a lot of them, after putting the cure on the belly

of pork, they then put it in a vacuum sealed bag, I have asked someone over here in  the UK about

It, and they recommend not to put it in a vacumm sealed bag while in the fridge, saying the cure 

will not work properly.

Can you point me in the right direction as to whether I can use this method or I cant use this method.

Again Wade, thank you so much for your info input, it is very much appreciated, I want to get the

procedure correct first time even if the bacon is either too smokey or not smokey enough.

Cheers Wade

Bob

U.K.

[Wade]

Hi Bob

The cure will work perfectly well when vacuum packed. It would be interesting to know where they are getting their evidence from for this claim 

Vac packing helps to ensure that the cure remains in intimate contact with the surface of the meat for longer. If you do not vac pack and just use a ziplock bag you need to try to get as much air out of the bag as you can in order to minimise any space for a brine to form and cure to flow away from the meat. You will still get a brine forming around the meat when vac packing but it will not be as obvious as it will be more efficiently kept in contact with the meat surface so that it can diffuse inwards.

Either way, you should ensure that you turn your meat over in the fridge at least once every 24 hours to ensure any brine that is formed stays in contact with as much of the meat surface as possible.

Another good tip to ensure the even distribution of the cure. If you have one, weigh all of your cure ingredients into a spice grinder or coffee grinder and give it a blitz together before applying it to the meat surface. Dont forget that any cure that does not stick to the meat still needs to be added to the bag before it goes into the fridge.

Cheers

Wade

[Trout fisherman]

Hi Wade

Thanks for the information, it really helps me, as an absolute beginner.

After it has been smoked, you say leave it in the fridge for several days to allow the smoke to diffuse into it, do I leave it open on a rack or do I vacuum seal it again while the diffusing is working.

cheers Wade, I don’t know what I would have done without all the help and knowledge that you have shared with me. Thank you for your patience.

I will let you know how I get on soon.

Bob.

Somerset. U.K. 

 

[Trout fisherman]

2 hours ago, Wade said:

Hi Bob

The cure will work perfectly well when vacuum packed. It would be interesting to know where they are getting their evidence from for this claim 

Vac packing helps to ensure that the cure remains in intimate contact with the surface of the meat for longer. If you do not vac pack and just use a ziplock bag you need to try to get as much air out of the bag as you can in order to minimise any space for a brine to form and cure to flow away from the meat. You will still get a brine forming around the meat when vac packing but it will not be as obvious as it will be more efficiently kept in contact with the meat surface so that it can diffuse inwards.

Either way, you should ensure that you turn your meat over in the fridge at least once every 24 hours to ensure any brine that is formed stays in contact with as much of the meat surface as possible.

Another good tip to ensure the even distribution of the cure. If you have one, weigh all of your cure ingredients into a spice grinder or coffee grinder and give it a blitz together before applying it to the meat surface. Dont forget that any cure that does not stick to the meat still needs to be added to the bag before it goes into the fridge.

Cheers

Wade

 

[Wade]

Keep it wrapped while it is resting in the fridge. In a ziplock bag, clingfilm or vacuum packed - it does not matter which. Most fridges work by circulating cold air around the inside so If you leave it unwrapped the smoke will start to come off the surface of the bacon and liberally coat everything else that happens to be in the fridge at the time.

 

[Trout fisherman]

Hi Wade

i managed to cold smoke my first pork belly for bacon, using your impeccable advice and smoked it for 8 hours using apple wood dust. I can’t believe the flavour of the bacon, wow, the best I have tasted ever, by a million miles.

Thank you for all your expert advice, it worked wonders.

I now want to try another flavour, I’m thinking either maple or a mixture of apple and maple, any advice?

If I’m mixing different flavours, how do you get the mix right? 
If I’m doing half & half would the measure be by volume or weight, I’m assuming volume, because the weights may be different. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Thanks a Million Wade, very much appreciate your input, couldn’t have achieved it without your input.👍👍👍