Pops6927's Wet Curing Brine

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Hi Dr K,

I think I will cure them separately, because I would never want to smoke Pork Loin to 165* IT.

Before the USDA lowered the safe temp of Pork from 160* to 145* IT, I used to smoke my Canadian Bacon to 160* IT, and I found it a little dry. Smoking CB to 145* IT is MUCH better!!!

However thanks for sticking with this to get the answers!!

Bear
 
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Hi Dr K,

I think I will cure them separately, because I would never want to smoke Pork Loin to 165* IT.

Before the USDA lowered the safe temp of Pork from 160* to 145* IT, I used to smoke my Canadian Bacon to 160* IT, and I found it a little dry. Smoking CB to 145* IT is MUCH better!!!

However thanks for sticking with this to get the answers!!

Bear
I won't combine different proteins in the same curing vessel again.  My other Canadian bacons were cooked to 145*F.  This time I had no choice but to cook to a higher temp for safety measures.  I am surprised that it wasn't dry. 

-Kurt
 
Hi all, I read the thread. I see that there is no percentage cure to meat noted. DO understand its cure to water here?

Can I brine a whole belly using this recipe and have enough #1 as long as I scale to gallons needed to cover?

I've only dry cured and its always to salty for me.

Many thanks

Jeff
 
 
Hi all, I read the thread. I see that there is no percentage cure to meat noted. DO understand its cure to water here?

Can I brine a whole belly using this recipe and have enough #1 as long as I scale to gallons needed to cover?

I've only dry cured and its always to salty for me.

Many thanks

Jeff
Yup.  1 tbsp per gallon.  I do whole bellies with 2 gallon of water, so 2 tbsp of cure#1
 
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Hi all, I read the thread. I see that there is no percentage cure to meat noted. DO understand its cure to water here?
Can I brine a whole belly using this recipe and have enough #1 as long as I scale to gallons needed to cover?
I've only dry cured and its always to salty for me.

Many thanks

Jeff

Jeff, evening.... try weighing the salt.... 2% salt and 1% sugar and 0.9 grams/# of cure #1 will give you a start....
I use pops brining method and weigh stuff.... It makes great bacon....
 
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Jeff, evening.... try weighing the salt.... 2% salt and 1% sugar and 0.9 grams/# of cure #1 will give you a start....
I use pops brining method and weigh stuff.... It makes great bacon....
Thank you, I made a half gallon batch to test using only pops recipe, no weights but volumes. Of course getting 1/2 of 1/3 cup of salt is not too easy but I got close. Tasted this cure off my finger and its pretty darn good, not too salty by any means. 

I will go back to weighing as I trust that over the goofy volumes we use in the USA. I found this while searching, http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html and its a nice calculator. As I understand I will need to add both meat weight AND water weight to the first box? 

I have a side of bacon thawing in the fridge anxiously awaiting a new Smokin-It #3. 
 
POP's is all I ever use
yahoo.gif
 
I was given a whole ham 4 days ago, and feel like I need to get it in a cure ASAP before it starts to sour. I couldn't find curing salt anywhere in town but bought this brown sugar cure from a butcher: http://www.waltonsinc.com/p-2420-brown-sugar-cure.aspx
The plan is to boil a gal of water, add 2 lbs of this cure, inject generously and then add the last pound of cure with what remains and wet cure the ham for a week or so.
The butcher said he only leaves it in the solution for 24 hours then smokes. Sounds too short of a time from what I've read around here.
Thoughts? Am I in the right track?
 
6.25%

I was given a whole ham 4 days ago, and feel like I need to get it in a cure ASAP before it starts to sour. I couldn't find curing salt anywhere in town but bought this brown sugar cure from a butcher: http://www.waltonsinc.com/p-2420-brown-sugar-cure.aspx
The plan is to boil a gal of water, add 2 lbs of this cure, inject generously and then add the last pound of cure with what remains and wet cure the ham for a week or so.
The butcher said he only leaves it in the solution for 24 hours then smokes. Sounds too short of a time from what I've read around here.
Thoughts? Am I in the right track?
I have no Idea since it's .75% sodium nitrite instead of the 6.25% you need like the sure cure at the bottom of the page of the link you gave above.  $10 dollars for a 5lb bag of sure cure 6.25% sodium nitrite sounds pretty good. 
 
I was given a whole ham 4 days ago, and feel like I need to get it in a cure ASAP before it starts to sour. I couldn't find curing salt anywhere in town but bought this brown sugar cure from a butcher: http://www.waltonsinc.com/p-2420-brown-sugar-cure.aspx
The plan is to boil a gal of water, add 2 lbs of this cure, inject generously and then add the last pound of cure with what remains and wet cure the ham for a week or so.
The butcher said he only leaves it in the solution for 24 hours then smokes. Sounds too short of a time from what I've read around here.
Thoughts? Am I in the right track?

Do not add the curing mix to boiling water..... add it to water at less than 100 F to be safe.... I have heard cure starts to break down at temps around 130 deg. F....

Did you see the directions for making a brine solution ??? If not, I would use the directions below..... 1# per gallon and pump at 15% green weight of the meat..... This is the same stuff... http://www.spokanespice.com/products.php?showall=1&page=1&secid=69&search=

Seasoning and Spices - Brines & Cures - MAPLE SUGAR CURE
SKU: 200H-GB-0053
Price: $4.68
Qty:
Description: A pre-mixed blend of salt, maple and cane sugars, dextrose and sodium nitrite.
Each pound will make one gallon of sugar cure solution for a 15% pump by green weight.


For a dry rub......
2#'s = 908 grams x 0.0075 (0.75%)..... 6.81 gm. nitrite
100#'s x 454 = 45,400 gm. meat... 6.81 / 45,400 = .000150 or 150 Ppm nitrite.... perfect for a dry rub.....
For the Brine Mixture.... follow directions....
 
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Good afternoon everyone... I have a few quick questions about this brine and pork bellies for bacon. So after the belly has been in the cure and ready to come out, please correct me if i'm wrong, your suppose to rinse the belly off and pat it dry and leave in the fridge for a day?

I read that pops brings the IT of his bacon to about 135- 146... with his smoker temp @225-250... do you start the smoker off at 225, or do you cold smoke for awhile then crank it up to 225? 

The bellies I bought were on sale 2.49 per lb. but i was not ready to brine them yet.. I have them in the freezer, can i start the brining process with the bellies frozen, or do i need to have them unthawed  first? 

What are some other thinks that you guys have added to the brine while playing with taste that you have enjoyed? 

are you suppose to season the bacon with any kind of rub after it is done in the brine and b4 it goes in the smoker, or just soak and smoke? thanks for all of your help! 
 
 
Good afternoon everyone... I have a few quick questions about this brine and pork bellies for bacon. So after the belly has been in the cure and ready to come out, please correct me if i'm wrong, your suppose to rinse the belly off and pat it dry and leave in the fridge for a day?

I read that pops brings the IT of his bacon to about 135- 146... with his smoker temp @225-250... do you start the smoker off at 225, or do you cold smoke for awhile then crank it up to 225? 

The bellies I bought were on sale 2.49 per lb. but i was not ready to brine them yet.. I have them in the freezer, can i start the brining process with the bellies frozen, or do i need to have them unthawed  first? 

What are some other thinks that you guys have added to the brine while playing with taste that you have enjoyed? 

are you suppose to season the bacon with any kind of rub after it is done in the brine and b4 it goes in the smoker, or just soak and smoke? thanks for all of your help! 
Well once the meat is cured you can cold smoke it with no heat at all. You can hot smoke it running the smoker at one temp. Or you can do the bump up process like used when smoking sausage. That process you start low 120-130 for an hour and then increase the temp 10 degrees every hour until you get the smoker up high enough to get to your meat to your desired IT. You need to have the smoker be around 25° higher than your target IT.

I am a cold smoker for bacon. I hit mine with smoke for 6-8 hours, no heat, rest overnight in the fridge. I repeat this process until I get the color I want. I have gone as much as 24 hours total smoke. I then let it rest 3-4 days in the fridge and then vac pack and freeze. This needs to be cooked prior to being eaten.

It is best to thaw the bellies first.

I have tried adding flavors to the brine, and have found that it is better to add the flavoring after pulling from the brine. Make sure and air dry the meat so it will form a pellicle. You can speed this up with a fan, or if in a big hurry hit with a hair dryer on low.

You can season it if you like. I like to add pepper and garlic powder, sometimes chipotle. Prior to soaking it slice a piece off and fry it to test how salty it is. We use 1/3 cup -1/2 cup of salt instead of the full amount called for when making Pop's brine and have found that is perfect for us. You can adjust the salt amount but do not adjust the amount of cure.

Good luck with your smoke and please post some photos!
 
I have tried adding flavors to the brine, and have found that it is better to add the flavoring after pulling from the brine. Make sure and air dry the meat so it will form a pellicle. You can speed this up with a fan, or if in a big hurry hit with a hair dryer on low.

You can season it if you like. I like to add pepper and garlic powder, sometimes chipotle. Prior to soaking it slice a piece off and fry it to test how salty it is. We use 1/3 cup -1/2 cup of salt instead of the full amount called for when making Pop's brine and have found that is perfect for us. You can adjust the salt amount but do not adjust the amount of cure.

Good luck with your smoke and please post some photos!
 so once your pulls your from the brine do you rinse it off, or just start the air dry process? 
 
 
Good afternoon everyone... I have a few quick questions about this brine and pork bellies for bacon. So after the belly has been in the cure and ready to come out, please correct me if i'm wrong, your suppose to rinse the belly off and pat it dry and leave in the fridge for a day?

I read that pops brings the IT of his bacon to about 135- 146... with his smoker temp @225-250... do you start the smoker off at 225, or do you cold smoke for awhile then crank it up to 225? 

The bellies I bought were on sale 2.49 per lb. but i was not ready to brine them yet.. I have them in the freezer, can i start the brining process with the bellies frozen, or do i need to have them unthawed  first? 

What are some other thinks that you guys have added to the brine while playing with taste that you have enjoyed? 

are you suppose to season the bacon with any kind of rub after it is done in the brine and b4 it goes in the smoker, or just soak and smoke? thanks for all of your help! 
I don't think Pops brings his Bellies to 135-146.

A lot of people cold smoke their Bacon, which is good, but it takes twice as long to get good color & flavor than by adding a little heat.

I like to smoke mine at temps between 100* and 130*, until I get good color, which is about 10 to 12 hours with an AMNPS.

Don't use temps above 140* on Belly Bacon, or you will render some of the fat.

Bear
 
 
 so once your pulls your from the brine do you rinse it off, or just start the air dry process? 
ALWAYS rinse the cure off when done curing.   Then dry ( I use paper towels ) the let it air dry.
 
 so once your pulls your from the brine do you rinse it off, or just start the air dry process? 

Yes rinse, then dry. You can season prior to drying, or after. I season after drying once the pellicle has formed and right before I smoke.

A member here, Disco was looking for some super maple flavor and I believe his last batch turned out good. If you're interested in maple flavor search his threads.
 
I hot smoke all my bacons to  minimum 135°, partially cooked, (enough to kill trich) to 146°, fully cooked.  I always give some to my sons and I don't want to worry that they'd eat it uncooked and die or get sick.


I don't think Pops brings his Bellies to 135-146.
A lot of people cold smoke their Bacon, which is good, but it takes twice as long to get good color & flavor than by adding a little heat.
I like to smoke mine at temps between 100* and 130*, until I get good color, which is about 10 to 12 hours with an AMNPS.

Don't use temps above 140* on Belly Bacon, or you will render some of the fat.

Bear
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This is what I read.
 
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