SUGAR CURED BACON

Do you have a recipe you are contemplating ??  Most folks add sugar to negate the salt taste...  I use 1% sugar and 2% salt..  no saltiness to my bacon...   Using too much sugar and your bacon will burn giving an off flavor... 

The "soak" to remove salt note, if you add the correct amount of salt at the start, there's no need to soak....

Mixes, sometimes, appear to be mostly salt...  especially when folks say to soak to remove the salt...

I do a dry rub and have for several years...    this is my last bacon that I'm still eating on...


I'm now using a commercial mix.. But... you can make your own...  My meat guy gave me 10#'s of his mix... 

Anywho, try starting with Kosher salt at 2% the weight of the belly/loin...  Brown sugar at 1% the weight of the belly/loin...   Get some Cure #1 and add it at 1 gram per pound of belly/loin OR 1 tsp. per 5#'s of belly/loin...   mix those ingredients very well and rub into the meat... 

You can add any spices and herbs you like... measure them so you can make educated changes the next batch...

Now, this needs to sit in the refer for 10-14 days...  longer if it is a loin...  the time thing is 1 week per inch of thickness and I always go on the long side for increased flavor intensity...

Lightly rinse under cold water...   pat dry the surface and add more spices/herbs if you wish...    let the hunk of meat rest on a wire rack, on a sheet pan, in the refer for several days...   that dries the surface and allows for more "age related flavor development"...

Then you can add smoke...  You can cold smoke, warm smoke....  fully cook the meat..  whatever your needs are....

I cold smoke below 70 deg. F..  from 4-12 hours...   depends on my mood..   then refer and use as needed ....   That's what's in the picture..

Also, in the picture, you may have noted the white stuff...  that's lard... I rubbed it on the meat to stop the dehydration of the belly...  that step worked very well... my first time of doing that lard thing.... 

Meat curing and smoking is a "personal" thing..  develop spice mixes, wood smoke flavors, time of smoke.. time to rest...   The amounts of salt, sugar and spices can be adjusted....  Cure #1 is pretty much cast in concrete...  too much sugar and it will burn when you cook it and it has an off flavor...

Making your own rubs etc. can be very rewarding when it comes to eating time...   

If I have left something out, I'm here, along with MANY experienced meat curing smokers...    Dave

I like Pops Brine for Bacon.
Calls for 1 cup sugar per gallon of water
1 Cup Brown Sugar per gallon of water
1 Cup salt per gallon of water
1 tbsp. cure #1 per gallon of water.

I made a few batches before deciding between 1/2 and 2/3 cup of salt was the right amount for me.

As a matter of fact, just put 4 pieces of belly in Pops Brine this morning.

Search for Pop's brine to see what others think.

Good luck!