Bacon made the easy way...

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After my last disaster outlined on page two of this thread I'm giving bacon a second try. Going with pop's brine recipe, just about.

1 cup kosher salt

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 TBSP cure #1

2 gallons of water

1 TBSP garlic powder

1 TBSP onion powder

1 TBSP course black pepper

Just wondering if I'll get away with my plan here. I just put it in the brine this morning but I need (promised) it for a cookout Saturday.

Y'all think I'll be okay to brine it until Thursday night, dry overnight and smoke Friday to consume Saturday?  It's almost a guarantee it will all be eaten saturday.

7# belly. about 1 to 1-1/4 inch thick.
 
FWIW I just did some additional searching and found a posting by Ruhlman where he does canadian bacon in brine for 72 hours followed by 4-24 hours of drying to form the pellicle then a smoke.

Considering a pork loin is considerably thicker than this belly I am comfortable leaving this belly in the brine until Friday afternoon, giving it several hours in the fridge to form a pellicle, then an overnight smoke to finish.

I've yet to taste any bacon made with pop's cure for any length of time, let alone the 10-14 days the other members here are using but based on all the posts for future bacon endeavors I will follow the recommendation for 10-14 but in the interest of time I will give this belly a 3 day brine. If Ruhlman is brining something larger than a belly for 72 hours I believe wholeheartedly that it will be safe.
 
It's now Tuesday, it will be kept in the fridge until cooked Saturday, wouldn't this be OK?  

Providing it's in date and refrigerated.  

Will it be bacon though or would this be 'flavored' pork and not traditional bacon?  

Just a thought from a beginner.

Gary
 
Here is a recent thread where a piece of pork did not get cured. It is a great post and has some good information.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...-or-just-cut-out-uncured-spot/20#post_1015595
It's now Tuesday, it will be kept in the fridge until cooked Saturday, wouldn't this be OK?  

Providing it's in date and refrigerated.  

Will it be bacon though or would this be 'flavored' pork and not traditional bacon?  

Just a thought from a beginner.

Gary
Thanks for the link to that post. Looks like as long as I keep this belly cold and get through the danger zone in ample time then I should be ok from a food safety perspective.

Now, Gary, considering the cure #1 will give the belly antibacterial properties, coloring, and a flavor change from plain salted pork there's a (good) chance that the inner portion of this belly will be more like salted pork where the outside would be more like bacon. This is a chance I'm willing to take since I am responsible for having this belly edible by Saturday. If, based on the Ruhlman article and the link posted above, there would be a food safety issue I'd just have to let it go for a few more days but I believe it will be safe to eat.

In any case I will keep y'all posted.
 
As I thumb through this long thread, I see various times and temps. Can we get a definitive gauge of time per poundage? I have a MES 30" digital. I plan to brine tomorrow. I'm gonna make 10lb belly bacon.

Basically what I'm asking is, for how long do I smoke it? I'll be cold smoking at 125 with apple, pecan, and hickory mix.

Also, if I don't have fridge space can I put them in a bucket and keep the bucket in an ice bath? At what point does the temp get too high while curing?
 
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As I thumb through this long thread, I see various times and temps. Can we get a definitive gauge of time per poundage? I have a MES 30" digital. I plan to brine tomorrow. I'm gonna make 10lb belly bacon.

Basically what I'm asking is, for how long do I smoke it? I'll be cold smoking at 125 with apple, pecan, and hickory mix.
I cold smoke mine for 10 - 12 hours & a lot of times I will let it rest in the fridge overnight & cold smoke it again the next day for 10 - 12 hours & sometimes I will do it a third time. It all depends how much smoke you like & that's an individual call which is why you see the various times 
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  125* is not cold smoking though...
 
You could always smoke it for a while then rest in the fridge overnight. Slice a little off the next day & try it.  If you like it you're done - if you want more smoke throw it back in for another round. Repeat till you're happy with the bacon 
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Here is a question for ya. . . I plan on picking up my bellies tomorrow (first time) and I'm going to get them in the cure tomorrow as well. . . I was going to smoke on Aug. 9 or 10 but with the way it works out I noticed that after you cure it you left it in the fridge another 2ish days? How necessary is this?
 
Here is a question for ya. . . I plan on picking up my bellies tomorrow (first time) and I'm going to get them in the cure tomorrow as well. . . I was going to smoke on Aug. 9 or 10 but with the way it works out I noticed that after you cure it you left it in the fridge another 2ish days? How necessary is this?
Depends on what you are looking for, smokey taste or taste and appearance. This is what mine looked like after smoking after 2 drying days and 10 hours smoking, I should have quit at 7 or 8 hours.


This is what a batch looked like after 6 hour dry. The top slab has Cajun Power on it, its not color.

Another question. . . I keep reading about a "danger zone" what is this and how do I combat it??
No idea, just put the sow belly in the brine and make sure its covered, Make sure all the utensils have been thoroughly disinfected prior to using and make sure the brine covers the pork. <Looks over at Gary> You might also make sure the fridge is working.
And you guessed it. . . Another question. . . Is your 34 hr cold smoke continuous or ???
Bacon

There is two excellent tutorials here. Pops which is a brine and BearCarvers which is a rub.

Here is what I understand, max heat allowable is approx 140 degrees. The warmer the bacon the better the smoke holds on, but you don't want to "Cook" it or render the fat. So from what I have seen some do cold smoke with a smoke generator the entire smoke.

Some of the more seasoned veterans do extended smokes gradually increasing the temp from 100 to approx 140 carefully watching to not render the bacon. Some small amounts of weigh loss are generally given to loss of water from curing. Less than 5% seems acceptable.

Cold smoking can but doesn't require a cooling medium like ice. More normally its achieved by just using a smoke generator with no additional heat from the smoker.

If you still have questions and don't we all I would suggest you read either:

Bearcarvers Tutorial

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/108099/bacon-extra-smoky

Craigs Tutorial (Pops Brine)

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/124885/bacon-made-the-easy-way

Obviously you've read Craigs, <Chuckles> but you might want to check out Bear's Smoke Day itinerary.

Hope it helps, have fun and enjoy the smoke
 
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Thanks for the info guys. . . So since I am curing my bellies I shouldnt have to worry about the danger zone right?

So the 34 hr smoke in Craig's is continuous?
 
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