markie_q Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 How do you know when meat has cured? I have some pork belly which has had a commercial brand cure on it. It was immediately vac packed and put in the fridge. It's been in for 1 day per 1/2 inch +1 as recommended, but not much liquid at all seems to have been extracted. Is it better to leave it longer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Hi Markie...welcome. There are no hard rules on curing, as far as I can make out, our last lot has been in for 14 days so far. The amount of liquid is small, so how long has yours been curing so far?? Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Just to show you the liquid in the bag for comparison with yours ...you can just see it in the bottom right corner, nothing at all....maybe a tablespoon?? Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markie_q Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 Hi Ice, Thanks for the picture. It's been in for nine days so far. In theory it should have been ready yesterday. How will you know it's done or is it a bit of a gamble? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 10 minutes ago, markie_q said: is it a bit of a gamble? You've hit the nail on the head Mark.............our first lot we did 7 days , the second lot went to I think 10 days. This lot now is 14 days, and I've left the other bay on going maybe mid week say 16/17 days. I'm new to all this only on our 3rd try so far.. If you want to, rinse it off slap on a wire tray and back in the fridge. Want are you going to do with it?? cut & eat or smoke. Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markie_q Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 ? can't beat a gamble! I have another lot, slightly bigger that went in at the same time. It's ready on Wednesday (in theory). So will leave it until then. The plan is to rinse and leave them in the fridge drying until Friday and then smoke overnight on Friday. How long do you smoke for? I've read 12-18 is recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 35 minutes ago, markie_q said: Hi Ice, Thanks for the picture. It's been in for nine days so far. In theory it should have been ready yesterday. How will you know it's done or is it a bit of a gamble? Mark Hi Mark Within reason it is not possible to over cure the bacon when dry curing. A good rule of thumb is to allow 7 days for streaky bacon and 10 days for back bacon. Even if you left both for 14 days that would not be a problem as all you are doing is giving the cure sufficient time to equilibrate throughout the meat. Do not worry about the amount of liquid produced - that will vary a lot between pieces of meat. If you vacuum pack during the curing period you will get very little released - more if you are using a ziplock bag. Unlike salmon, "dry curing" bacon is not about trying to remove water during the curing period but more about adding salt and Nitrite. It is the Nitrite in the Cure#1 that gives bacon its "bacony" flavour. Smoking the bacon after curing is all a matter of personal taste. 18-24 hours is good but some smoke as little as 8 hours and others for 48 hours +. The time also depends somewhat on the smoking wood used too - the stronger the wood flavour the shorted the smoke time required. As this is your first batch I would start with 24 hours and see if you think it needs more or less for batch 2. All of the smoking does not have to be done at the same time. If it is warm during the day then it is perfectly OK to smoke for, say, 3 nights at 8 hours per night, returning to the fridge during the day. Once it has been smoked then wrap it and leave it in the fridge for a few days before slicing (I leave mine for 5 days) to allow the smoke flavour to penetrate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markie_q Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 Thanks Wade, You answered my follow up question on whether or not I had to smoke it in one go! I'll stop worrying about the liquid now. I've enjoyed massaging the slabs and turning each day. I think I'll miss them once they've gone ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 When I first started to cure bacon I had exactly the same concerns and questions. After a couple of batches you will find that you become very comfortable doing it and will want to experiment. The best way to take the uncertainty out of curing is to understand what you are trying to achieve and why. This will be different depending on the meat/fish being cured. Once you have done that then you will see what each of the steps contributes to the end result and the different ways it can be achieved. With bacon it is all about getting the salt and Nitrite into the meat and the smoking is really just getting the the depth of flavour that suits your pallet. With Salmon it is more about the removal of water from the fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markie_q Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 I guess the difficulty with bacon is, until you cut into it and cook it, there's no real way of knowing. I kind of thought it would shrink and go stiffer. Half the fun is all the learning. Thanks for the advice. I'll post some pictures when it's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 30 minutes ago, markie_q said: I guess the difficulty with bacon is, until you cut into it and cook it, there's no real way of knowing. I kind of thought it would shrink and go stiffer. The 7 days for normal belly, 10 days for thick belly and loin will ensure that it is fully cured. Don't forget that the cure already inside the meat when you wash off the outer residual cure will continue to diffuse inwards to the centre whist it is being smoked and rested afterwards. Providing you use the correct strength cure then you can have a very high degree of confidence that the meat is fully cured. Whilst we are applying Nitrite at 150 mg/Kg (Ppm) the concentration at the centre of the meat only has to reach 50 mg/Kg for it to have the required effect on colour/flavour and to be an effective anti microbial. You will probably not notice the meat shrink but it should end up with a firmer texture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markie_q Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 My next step was going to be do rinse the belly and leave it in water for 90 minutes. I was then planning on leaving it hanging in the fridge for two days. Is that correct, or would you suggest a different way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Before I answer this - what was the cure mix that you applied? If you calculated the cure mix to have an ingoing salt concentration of 2-3% then do not soak - just rinse thoroughly under a cold running tap. The only reason to soak after curing is when too much salt has been applied e.g. in a ready mixed cures (often as much as 5% salt) or you have miscalculated the amount of added salt in your own cure mix. Yes it is good to hang the bacon for a day or two after it has been rinsed as this dries the surface and also gives the cure even more time to diffuse evenly throughout the meat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markie_q Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 It was a ready mix cure. So I guess it will need a soak. There's a big difference there between mixing your own and the commercial stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotv Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Wade covered most of it, also only had it once. But it is quite noticeable if the meat hasn't fully cured, as the meat looks very different in colour and texture to what the rest of the cured meat in the joint looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 3 hours ago, markie_q said: It was a ready mix cure. So I guess it will need a soak. There's a big difference there between mixing your own and the commercial stuff. Which mix was it? Supracure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markie_q Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 Angus and Oink's bacon cures. I've got one of each flavor on the go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 The A&O bacon cures are applied at a rate of 5% of the weight of the meat therefore the maximum the ingoing salt content could be is 5%. The actual applied salt would be less than this though as it also contains the flavourings. Do the packs have an ingredients list as I cannot see any online. If so could you upload a photo of the list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markie_q Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share Posted November 6, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markie_q Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share Posted November 6, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markie_q Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share Posted November 6, 2018 Are these clear enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 It gives very little information unfortunately. I have emailed them and requested a more detailed breakdown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 Frankly, Wades cures are top dollar and reasonably priced. I stick with these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 https://www.woodchurchsmokery.com/product-page/bacon-making-kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor72 Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 I’m giving it a go ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.