# Newbie Bacon Makon Question



## txsharkbait (Jun 25, 2004)

I bought 25 lbs of pork bellies. followed the directions and weighed everything out using prague powder #1 brown sugar and salt. bagged them up individually and put them in the fridge on the second, turning them every day
I was planning on cold smoking them this weekend, but I'm not sure theyre ready yet. They have not released much liquid and some of the color is still the same as when I started.
???How do you know when they are cured enough???


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

If you have the total amount prague powder #1 correct, and proportioned it correctly per each belly, you should be good to go. Nitrites will usually penetrate around 1/4" per day if applied evenly and turned every day or two.

I found that the outside color doesn't change much. Even the interior will only be very slightly pinker. The tell tale is what it hasn't done. It hasn't turned brown like uncured pork kept in the frig for 10 days would have. This will be even more noticeable after the bellies are smoked. Interior will be pinkish/red, and not brown

Before you cold smoke it, cut off a piece and rinse it under cold water, and then pat it dry. Fry it up and see if you like the level of salt. This is your only chance to reduce the salt level. If it tastes too salty, rinse off the other bellies and then soak them in cold water for and hour or two to reduce the salt level. 

If the salt level is OK, rinse off the rest the bellies, pat them dry, and then let them air dry some more, uncovered, in the frig for at least a couple of hours. This "air drying" step will get you much better smoke penetration when you cold smoke.

Post up some pictures of your "before" and "after" bacon project.


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## FREON (Jun 14, 2005)

If yo have cured for 10 days you should be good to go. Don't worry about not much liquid being released. I would do just what Dick Hanks said.


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## txsharkbait (Jun 25, 2004)

Good to know.
I found a cool calculator on another site that I found helpful for figuring out the cure amounts. cant do a link But "universal cure calculator" done by diggingdogfarm.
Thanks for the replies, I will post some pics when im done. 
Might be going all hillbilly with my pit to do a cold smoke. Should be fun!


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## fangard (Apr 18, 2008)

www.smokingmeatforums.com has some great resources to tap into.

I like the book "Charcuterie" by Micheal Ruhlman as well.

Have fun.

Haven't bought store bacon in 5 years.


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## txsharkbait (Jun 25, 2004)

Turned out great!
Next time I will smoke it longer. But its amazing stuff.
I plan to keep something curing/brining in my shop fridge continuously.
Belly Bacon, Buckboard bacon, Canadian bacon, Corned beef/Pastrami, Brined turkey etc. Or at least much more often than I have been. The next thing I find on sale, is the next project. I'm hooked.
I'll try to put some pics up


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

Great job and thanks for posting the pictures.

Yes, belly bacon needs to be smoked a looong time because it needs to be cold smoked. A 24 hour cold smoke wouldn't be too long. The colder the meat is, the tighter the cells are, and it is hard for the smoke to penetrate. That is also why it is so important to have the belly bacon "air dry" for several hours prior to going into the smoker. Smoke doesn't penetrate "wet" and wet won't dry out in a cold smoker. 

When you make Buckboard (shoulder) or Canadian bacon (loin) you can smoke at higher temps like 225. It won't be as important that none of the fat melts. Going into the smoker dry will still shorten the smoking time, and enhance the smoke absorption, but it isn't as critical because the higher temp will dry the meat surface. Smoking time shortens to 5 and 7 hours.

Your kitchen has to smell wonderful with all of that smoked bacon there. Mine smells like a meat market right now. I love that smell.


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

What does "cold smoked" mean?

In Alaska I saw the Eskimos smoked salmon fillets hung off the ceiling of a 15' x 15' log cabin with windows open. There was a pot sitting in the middle of the room with a few logs in it burning and putting out smoke. I don't know if it was for real or just a tourist fantasy land thingie. The smoked salmon samples they handed out to us during the tour was delicious but I don't know if it was really smoked in a cabin like that.


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## bonehead (Jan 25, 2009)

Looks good . Where did you buy your bellies ? I normally make 60 lbs a year and I'm running low


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

mas360 said:


> What does "cold smoked" mean?
> 
> In Alaska I saw the Eskimos smoked salmon fillets hung off the ceiling of a 15' x 15' log cabin with windows open. There was a pot sitting in the middle of the room with a few logs in it burning and putting out smoke. I don't know if it was for real or just a tourist fantasy land thingie. The smoked salmon samples they handed out to us during the tour was delicious but I don't know if it was really smoked in a cabin like that.


 Cold smoking usually means trying to keep the temp under 100 degrees. Cold smoking is just for imparting flavor, and on a long smoke, reducing moisture.

That salmon was probably actually cold (100 degrees or less) smoked in that shed. After a couple of days in there, it has taken on enough smoke, and lost enough moisture, that it will be safely preserved. I smoke brined salmon @ around 180 for 1 or 2 hours, depending on thickness. This is NOT preserved and needs to treated as perishable. Also delicious.

The reason that you need to cold smoke belly bacon is to keep the fat from rendering or changing consistency. I think that pork fat really starts to change a lot at anything over 120 degrees. With Buckboard or Canadian Bacon, I don't care if some of the fat renders during the smoking process. Not acceptable with Belly Bacon though IMHO.

In Texas, You might need to cold smoke your bacon in the winter time.


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## fangard (Apr 18, 2008)

bonehead said:


> Looks good . Where did you buy your bellies ? I normally make 60 lbs a year and I'm running low


I am in Spring Branch/Memorial area. I buy mine at Ranch 99 or Super H Mart off I-10/Blalock. Can catch them on sale for $1.89, but usually pay 2.39-2.89.

If you can find Jowls, they make excellent bacon as well. The fat has a different texture and it literally melts in your mouth. Jowls at J and J Packing in Brookshire are about $1 a pound. www.pork2go.com


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## Red3Fish (Jun 4, 2004)

I have made bacon twice and both times too salty. I used the Mortons' Salt cure. I rubbed it well, until it would take no more salt, rinsed and way too salty the first time. Second time let it soak for a couple of hours in fresh water...still too salty......and I like salt!! Great flavor other than the too salty. Remedy, please?

Later
R3F


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## txsharkbait (Jun 25, 2004)

I got the bellies from Ranch 99 Market as well. They had some that were from USA,(which is what I wanted) but they were pretty sad looking. The ones I got were from The Netherlands I believe.

As far as being too salty. I used a recipe/formula that used Prague powder#1, salt and brown sugar. (use the calculator I mentioned earlier. Its really important to get it right. You will need a gram scale.) I used pickling salt because somehow I was out of kosher. We use kosher for everything, have no use for regular table salt.

After the curing time in the fridge, I rinsed the bellies and fried up a test piece, it was as salty as store bought stuff, which was fine. But I wanted less salt so I could really taste the meat. so I soaked them in a cooler of water and rinsed them again. Fried another tester and it was right where I wanted it. 

Then the bellies were dried off and went into the fridge uncovered on racks for good air flow all around. The next day they went on my old pit, as far from the fire as they could get on rigged up double decker racks. A vertical chamber would be great for this. I lit a small fire in the offset box using pecan branches. It was a really small fire but quickly tried to go over 120 deg. Next time Ill cut holes in a large coffee can and make a little fire in it. I think I could keep the temp down easier that way using small chunks of pecan or maple or hickory. My first time cold smoking as well. I put some cheese and some jalapenos on the pit also, turned out great!

This is well worth doing, I had a little trouble with the math at first, but once I found the calculator it was easy.

There is a LOT of info out there. The smoking meat forum is very helpful, but even there, I found a lot of people not doing the process correctly. Took me a while to figure out what was good or bad info, by comparing with USDA site etc.

Cant wait to do my next thing!


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

Red3Fish said:


> I have made bacon twice and both times too salty. I used the Mortons' Salt cure. I rubbed it well, until it would take no more salt, rinsed and way too salty the first time. Second time let it soak for a couple of hours in fresh water...still too salty......and I like salt!! Great flavor other than the too salty. Remedy, please?
> 
> Later
> R3F


It sounds like you are using the Morton's Tender Quick curing salt. That one has .5% Nitrate and .5% Nitrite added. .5% is the same thing as 1/200th, or a ratio of 1 to 200. VERY small amount. You should only be using 1 tablespoon of the Tender Quick per pound of meat. Don't keep applying until it won't take any more.

If you add more than 1Tbls per pound, you are using too much Nitrate as well as too much salt. Apply the measured amount evenly over the bacon. I use an equal amount of brown sugar and cracked pepper at this time as well. After this is rubbed in, put the pork in a bag and include any rub that didn't stick. Seal the bag, turn daily, and don't add anything again.

I am still using the Morton's Tender Quick because it has been so simple to use. If you are new to curing, this is the safest way to begin. Less likely that you will have measurement errors with the nitrite or nitrate. Only now, after many trials, am I going to start using Prague pink salt with 6.5% nitrite in the future. With the nitrite being 13 times more concentrated, there is no room for measuring errors or misunderstanding a recipe. For safety sake, Get comfortable with the process, before using stuff that requires EXACT measurement by WEIGHT. With Morton's Tender Quick, you can safely measure by volume ( i.e. 1TBLS / # )

RF3... If you did all the above correctly, you may just have to do some more cold water rinses and soaks. Don't cut back on the correct amount of Tender Quick used in the beginning. Remember that it is also delivering the correct amount of nitrites to the meat as well. Nitrites won't soak out as easily as the salt will in a later soak or rinse. Does this help?


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## Red3Fish (Jun 4, 2004)

Thanks guys. I used the Morton Tender Quick but didn't measure.....just applied as much as it would take and put a little more in the bags. Did everything else right. Guess I will have to use less and do a longer soak and wash.

J and J packing sells jowls for $1 a pound...might try a few of those too. They are about 10 miles from me. 

As a side note....my grandmother used to buy salt pork, (It was packed in real salt then, not brined like today), slice it off, rinse it off, roll in flour and fry pretty crisp. Darn good. That place in Tomball said they invented "chicken fried bacon", but I believe my grandma kinda did! LOL 

She also raised quail and said 6 quail eggs equaled 1 large hen egg. Often times with the chicken fried bacon, I would have 6 quail eggs she fried in a real small copper pan, just right to hold the 6 eggs, with real butter. Toast of homemade bread with big swaths of "homemade" butter on it.

Later
R3F


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## kweber (Sep 20, 2005)

nice pictures..


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## el dorado (Jul 26, 2010)

I have never made bacon before, but after reading this...I don't have a choice. Going to J&J's today.


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## glenbo (Apr 9, 2010)

We've been making our own bacon and Canadian bacon for a couple months with the Prague powder and recipe from Charcuterie which says to leave bacon in the cure for a week. The box of Morton's Tender Quick says to leave meats in the cure for 4-8 hours, or up to 24 hours for thicker cuts. Any ideas on why the difference? Not that I intend to use the Morton, it contains sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, and propylene glycol. Putting anti-freeze on our food just doesn't sound good to me.


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## txsharkbait (Jun 25, 2004)

I haven't used Tender Quick. Don't intend to either. But I read the label and that must be a misprint. Or for really thinly cut meat. I don't get it either.

This is a quote from the Morton Tender Quick meat curing guide.

The Morton Salt Book: Curing Meat at Home _This excerpt from Morton Salt's superior booklet, A Complete Guide To Home Meat Curing, covers the process of curing meat at home - specifically pork - and introduces curing poultry. _

By the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors 
January/February 1973

*DIRECTIONS FOR DRY CURE* For the dry cure, use Tender-Quick at the rate of 6 lbs. Tender-Quick per 100 lbs. of loins. First rub the meat with 1/3 of the Tender-Quick, then in 2 or 3 hours rub on the second 1/3 and in 24 hours apply the balance. Pack the loins closely while in cure and overhaul once when the curing time is about half up, changing the position of the pieces.

Leave the pieces in cure for 10 days to two weeks. When taken from the cure, wash the loins, let them dry thoroughly, and rub with cornmeal and pepper. Wrap in muslin the same as for the sweet pickle cure


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