Bacon video.

[Icefever]

 

Had to start another batch of curing has the bacon account was getting low 😂,    so I decided to make a video of the method I use.

 

 

Ice.

 

[sotv]

Nice video Brian..👍 learnt something myself about folding the vac bag over, never thought of that before, I like to add the cure to the meat using a flour shaker before putting in the bag. Folding it over first, will hopefully help to stop some of the cure getting all over the opening of the bag, where I seal it, when I put it in 😀

Did some pork belly the other day, do you turn you vac bag daily and give it a massage first on the outside to make sure the cure gets into the meat before turning it or just leave it to do its thing in the fridge for however long you leave it? 

Did I miss the link for the calculator in the video?

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by sotv

[Icefever]

Cheers Strevie......yes I turn the packs daily, don't bother to much about giving them a massage.  The list are showing on youtube click the "show more" button..👍

 

Ice.

[Icefever]

54 minutes ago, sotv said:

I like to add the cure to the meat using a flour shaker

I started off by adding the curing mix over the pork on a tray, then put the pork into a bag.  Then I read somewhere that the small amount of mix left behind on the tray/hands means that there's less of the #1 in the bag....it seemed daft at first but then I thought about how small the amount of #1 salt there is in the mix??...in this slab @ 1.586 kgs there is only 3.08 grams. It would be easy to loose half a gram which lowers the effect of the #1.....worth taking it on board??

 

Ice.

[sotv]

 

1 hour ago, Icefever said:

I started off by adding the curing mix over the pork on a tray, then put the pork into a bag.  Then I read somewhere that the small amount of mix left behind on the tray/hands means that there's less of the #1 in the bag....it seemed daft at first but then I thought about how small the amount of #1 salt there is in the mix??...in this slab @ 1.586 kgs there is only 3.08 grams. It would be easy to loose half a gram which lowers the effect of the #1.....worth taking it on board??

 

Ice.

I can see the reasoning behind that and for people new to it, a good and less messy practice to follow 👍 

I pretty well now just do Pork Belly for myself, family and friends and I find with the shaker over a large surface area of the belly I know I will get an even distribution of cure that covers all the sides and edges and any left in the ceramic roasting dish after putting it in the bag, I scrape it all out with a plastic spoon and put it in the bag. I doubt if there is more than a teaspoon of the cure left in the dish, I have had to scrape out. It just what works for me and gives me a consistent finished bacon every time

As with anything it is what works for you, this pork belly started curing less than 48 hours ago and already developing a nice colour on the outside and edges although will leave for another 5 days.

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by sotv

[Foggy01.1983]

Great video!

 

[Icefever]

I'm chuffed to f**k,  just had an update.....it makes it all worth it...the Kardashian had better look out. 

 

Ice.

[Mick]

Fantastic, great vid, will you be doing the black one again? 

[Icefever]

6 minutes ago, Mick said:

Fantastic, great vid, will you be doing the black one again? 

I will in time as Wade has pointed out that adding the beer turns a dry cure into a wet brine cure.....so will take on board what he said and re-do it so it's proper..🤞

 

Ice.

[Mick]

So exact same recipe but no beer?

[Icefever]

1 hour ago, Mick said:

So exact same recipe but no beer?

No....I have to weigh the meat and the liquid as a total and then work from that for the curing brine....doing a lot of reading up on it.

 

Ice.

[Icefever]

I managed to finish the #2 video on curing bacon...

 

Ice.

[Skagg2000]

Now that is spooky. I just logged on to have a look & see what I could find about making Bacon & though Ice would get a good place to start & low & behold the second post in my activity list is this!

I'll search out part 1 & see if there is something I can do with the belly pork i have here from the heritage breed pigs i bought locally the other day.

Thanks Ice, just the ticket

Cheers n Gone NIck

[Icefever]

7 hours ago, Skagg2000 said:

Thanks Ice, just the ticket

Cheers n Gone NIck

Cheers Nick it's great to get feed back on stuff like this...makes it worth doing. Don't forget to post any photo of you doing that belly..👍

Ice.

Edited May 19, 2020 by Icefever

[Wade]

Great Part 2 

For those new to bacon making, remember that the outside slices will be the saltiest and so do not let this put you off if you think they are too salty.

[Skagg2000]

I guess I'll have to go back to the drawing board. now the pork belly has defrosted I've discovered it's bone in. not sure what to do with it now.

Cheers n gone Nick

[Wade]

Are you talking about the small cartilage bones? If so then don't worry Just treat it as you would normally. If it still has the rib bones in then just use a sharp knife to remove them then re-weigh the remaining belly meat and calculate the cure on the un-boned weight accordingly.

[Skagg2000]

1 hour ago, Wade said:

Are you talking about the small cartilage bones? If so then don't worry Just treat it as you would normally. If it still has the rib bones in then just use a sharp knife to remove them then re-weigh the remaining belly meat and calculate the cure on the un-boned weight accordingly.

Cheers Wade. It's the rib bones, not the cartilage. I'll have a go at removing them but butchery isn't my strength. Lol

If i make a dogs dinner of removing the bone any suggestion on what to do with the remaining meat?

Cheers n Gone Nick

 

[sotv]

20 minutes ago, Skagg2000 said:

Cheers Wade. It's the rib bones, not the cartilage. I'll have a go at removing them but butchery isn't my strength. Lol

If i make a dogs dinner of removing the bone any suggestion on what to do with the remaining meat?

Cheers n Gone Nick

 

I am sure you will de-bone them fine, if not Pork Belly Burnt Ends is a great dish this is one of 2 different recipes I use. But loads of other versions out there, if you don't have the ingredients to hand. Usually on the sweet side but a really tasty moreish finished meal.

 

[Wade]

If you don't have a pionty sharp (sorry about the technical term 😁) boning knife to cut between the ribs then just use a sharp flat knife to cut underneath the ribs. You should only end up wasting a little meat between each rib but this can be cut out afterwards and used for other things. When you get to the cartilage don't forger that they angle quite sharply at the edge. They are worth getting out unless you don't mind cutting them out of the bacon after it has been cured and sliced.

[Skagg2000]

I've booked my slot in the kitchen for later today with SWMBO. I do have a paring knife i use for trimming brisket so should be ok. i'll keep you posted on how i get on!

Thanks guys

Cheers n Gone Nick

 

[Icefever]

3 hours ago, Skagg2000 said:

I've booked my slot in the kitchen for later today with SWMBO.

I find arm wrestling 🤼‍♂️  the best way...🤣....no...I'm waiting until the SWMBO goes to work tomorrow, then I have 3 hours to get my next video done....I find being sneaky the best for me.  🤣🤣

 

Ice.

[Skagg2000]

So it's now de boned & skin removed, as you say @Wade minimal waste which was good. I've use some of Surfy's curing mix & it's now sat in the fridge vac packed. 

Roll on 14 days or so!

If this goes well I'll be trying back bacon next.

Cheers n Gone Nick

[Skagg2000]

On 5/18/2020 at 6:18 PM, Icefever said:

I managed to finish the #2 video on curing bacon...

 

Ice.

@Icefever how long do you air dry the bacon before placing it in the fridge or is that part of the air drying process once you have towel dried it?

Cheers n Gone Nick

 

[Wade]

23 minutes ago, Skagg2000 said:

So it's now de boned & skin removed, as you say @Wade minimal waste which was good. I've use some of Surfy's curing mix & it's now sat in the fridge vac packed. 

Roll on 14 days or so!

If this goes well I'll be trying back bacon next.

Cheers n Gone Nick

I always buy a whole belly with skin on and bone in as it works out more cost-effective. Before I bought some decent boning knives I would get the butcher to skin and bone it for me - but with some good sharp knives it now only takes a few minutes. The bones and trimmings are good for stock.