The Bandit Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Evening all. Can anyone recommend a basic bacon cure please? Want to make sure we use a reputable source for ingredients. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 (edited) These folks are very good they do these starter kits...https://www.weschenfelder.co.uk/bacon-curing/curing-salts/supracure-dry-cured-bacon.html I now mix my own I use Praque powder #1 for a dry cure...once you get into curing, using a cure calculator & mix in your own spices/herbs. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Surfys-Prague-Powder-Number-Instacure/dp/B0721HK9ZZ/ref=sr_1_8?adgrpid=52245782094&dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAtK79BRAIEiwA4OskBq8FupGxhllqWqIuBJ6gsc5o7a0nUx4ebW80Yew0f3Xh0hCFa3GLjxoCgRwQAvD_BwE&hvadid=259041240363&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9045554&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=7714996146023521054&hvtargid=kwd-327057208954&hydadcr=28145_1724733&keywords=bacon+cure&qid=1605159024&sr=8-8&tag=googhydr-21 Ice. Edited November 12, 2020 by Icefever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Are you looking to begin your bacon making or have you been doing it for a while? I am not a great fan of Supracure as it contains both Nitrate as well as Nitrite. At least they are now recommending that it only be used at a rate of 3% - their original rate produced bacon that was way too salty and delivered twice the commercially permitted maximum of Nitrite. I suggest that you use their Cure #1 and use it to mix your own curehttps://www.weschenfelder.co.uk/professional-weschenfelder-cure-no-1-500g.html Wade 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 22 minutes ago, Wade said: I suggest that you use their Cure #1 and use it to mix your own cure https://www.weschenfelder.co.uk/professional-weschenfelder-cure-no-1-500g.html Wade With your help Wade this is how I started off, I find it so easy using a cure calculator and mixing my own. It's great adding the herbs & spices that suit your own taste buds. Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bandit Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 Thank you for your responses guys. It will be our first time curing bacon. We thought a ready mixed bacon cure would be easiest but not opposed to making our own, especially in light of the nitrate issue. Any chance someone can direct me to a reliable source of cure recipes please. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Hi Bandit. As you are just starting up please send me a private message with your name and address and I will send you a bacon making kit and a pack of Cure#1. I am trying to encourage people who are new to curing and so there will be no charge. The bacon making kit has a ready mixed cure that you use directly on the pork (full instructions included) and the cure#1 will be ready for when you take the next steps. Cheers Wade 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 Wades bacon making kit is the dogs dodas. It is the one I use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bandit Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share Posted November 13, 2020 Thanks Wade, I have sent a PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towney Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Good evening, I am new to dry curing bacon and was wondering if anybody could offer me some assistance please? I have purchased some supacure and used at the specified ratio of 3% but there really doesn't seem to be a great deal of it to cure my 1.5kg piece of pork loin. Do I need to add more supacure each day my loin is in the fridge or is it just the 45g for the whole 5 day curing process. Many thanks in advance. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 Hi Dave The amount of cure that you add is actually quite small and it is dictated by the curing salt (Nitrite) that needs to be added to the meat. Firstly, where did you get the cure from - as this will determine the amount of curing salt that is in the mix. A number of products are available with similar names to Supacure and all are slightly different concentrations. From your description is would appear that you are using the Weschenfelder Supacure that has 0.6% Sodium Nitrite and 0.6% Potassium Nitrate. It is good to see that they are now recommending its use at 3% of the weight of the meat - they used to recommend 6% which made the bacon incerdibly salty and also added nearly twice the recommended maximum cure to the meat. If your meat ia 1.5 Kg then at 3% yes you will only need to add 45 grams of the Supacure and only at the beginning. To get a balanced flavour I would recommend that you also add 50% of the cure weight in sugar - this helps to reduce the saltiness of the final bacon. You could also add 1/4 of the weight of cure in flavouring (e.g. Black pepper or lemon pepper). This will give you a final mix of cure that looks more substantial. 45g Supacure 26g Caster Sugar - brown sugar is good too and will give a deeper flavour 13g Flavouting - blacl pepper or lemon pepper Total added to meat - 84g. This is still the same amout of curing salt but the amount of combined salts/sugars/flavour that you add to the meat will look much more substantial. Rub the cure mixture all over the surface of the meat and place the meat into your plastic ziplock bag. ADD ALL OF THE REMAINING SALT MIX INTO THE BAG TOO. It is the curing salt to meat ratio that is important and this will give you exactly the right amount. Do not add more and do not drain off any of the liquid/brine that may be formed while it is curing in the fridge. Every day turn the bag over to allow any brine to come in contact with the other side of the meat. Once you have lerft it for the curing period (I would leave it for up to 10 days rather than just 5) the curing salts, sugar and flavour will have diffused throughout the meat and the bacon is cured. Wash off any brine under cold running water before slicing or smoking. I hope this helps Wade 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towney Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 Wade, many thanks for your reply. You are correct, I purchased my Supacure from Weschenfelder and followed their recipe for the quantities. I did also add a little caster sugar to the cure mix as I read it helps. I have my loin in a Pyrex dish sat on two small dishes so as to keep the brine away from the meat, hoping this would make a true dry cured product. I have also basted the meat each day with the brine run off whilst I have been turning it. I will see how this turns out but may look to add some further ingredients as you suggest for my next bacon joint. Thank you for your guidance, it's appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Hi Dave The requirement is to get all of the curing salts that you have weighed out diffused into the meat you are curing (or as close to all as you can). It is important that you ensure that the salts (including any that dissolve in water the salt is drawing out of the meat to form a brine) remain in contact with the surface of the meat throughout the curing time. By allowing the brine to run off you risk severely under-curing the bacon and it is likely to spoil. You need to get all/most of that that 150mg/Kg of Sodium Nitrite that is in the Supacure to be absorbed by the meat. The Nitrite has three important roles (1) It inhibits the growth of spoilage bacteria (2) it slows down the rancidification rate of the fat (3) It gives the meat that "bacon" flavour. I would suggest that you take the bacon that you are currently curing and place it in a ziplock bag and pour all of the brine that is in the bottom of the dish into the bag. Remove as much of the air as you can and continue the curing time turning daily- but extend it for a further 5 days. Within reason you cannot overcure the meat when you dry cure. You must keep as much of that brine in contact with the surface of the meat as you can throughout the curing - basting daily will not do this. The different method of curing The term "Dry Cure" refers to the fact that you are applying the curing salt in its dry state onto the surface of the meat - rather than diluting it into an immersion brine or for injection. When you cure using an immersion brine the meat is fully imersed in a diluted curing brine. Althouth the ingredients of the cure are the same the caculations for creating the immersion brine are different than the ones you have just used. The concentration of the immersion brine needs to be the same as the desired concentration in the final bacon as the brine diffises into the meat itself. Along with the cure the meat also typically absorbs about 10% of its weight in water. When you cure using an injection brine you use the same cure calculations that you have made for your dry cure - you then take all of that cure and dissolve it all in a volume of water that is 10% of the weight of the meat. You then inject all of it into your meat - this is the way that normal bacon is produced commercially. As with the immersion cured bacon the weight of the meat is increased by 10% due to the amount of additional water that is injected. When you are dry curing it is not the aim to remove as much of the natural water content of the meat as you can (as you would when making Parma Ham or pork Jerky) but to get the required amount of cure into the meat without introducing any more water than is naturally occuring in the meat itself. I have attached a copy of the instructions that I include in my bacon making kits. Ignore the cure calculations in the document (as they are for when using the cure that is included in the kit) but the instructions will give you photos of the curing process itself.. I hope this helps Wade Dry Cure Bacon (WoodSmoke) - Step by step - 25g seasoning.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towney Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Wade, Many thanks for this excellent information. Since I last posted I have followed your instructions using the quantities suggested in the Supacure leaflet and the results have been superb!! Once again thank you very much for the detailed information you have provided, it's brilliant. Kind regards, Dave. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 That is great Dave. Happy to help. If you need some cure#1 (Nitrite only - you do not need Nitrate when making bacon) to make your next batches of bacon completely from scratch please let me know in pm and I will pop some in the post to you. That way you can also vary the salt content as you will not be reliant on the commercial pre-mixed cures. As I am now retired from Woodchuch Smokery and it is no longer commercial for me and am happy to support others who are just starting out on their curing journey 👍 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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