Dry box cure HELP

[big casino]

to anyone who has dry curing experience, or anyone who might know for that matter,

I rubbed my bellies with the cure wich was 1cup salt 1 cup powdered dextrose and 1\4 cup cure#1

I stacked them in a tub tightly one on top of the other meat side up just like the recipe says to,

my bin fit two side by side I had 4 pieces so ther was 2 stacks of 2 right beside each other.

I left it go for 2 days and the brine was not covering them so the recipe says to make a brine with the same amounts listed above  but mix it with 1 gallon of water,

I didn't need that much so I cut the recipe for the brine in half, I poured it in and weighted down the bellies so they were completely covered and put back in the fridge for 10 days... recipe says to cure 1lb per day not to exceed 3 days past the 10 day cure, and I had 10lb of bellies

this morning was 10.5 days.

I took the bellies out to rinse and  on the meat side of the bottom bellies the meat was still red like the day I put it in there,

did this cure uneven?  or is there another reason the meat was still pink?

I THINK i read somewhere if  oxygen doesnt get to the meat while curing it will stay pink, but I can't find that info now when I need it...LOL

Any help would be appreciated

right now I have over hauled them and put them back in the Brine in the fridge

 

[alblancher]

BigCasino

The recipe you are using apparently combines dry cure and brine techniques so I don't know how to help.  Not sure what recipe you are using but I do dry cures all the time and some parts of the belly will maintain a bright red color.  I do believe it is the fact that the meat has not had a lot of O2 get to it.  I rearrange my stacks every time I add cure or salt during the process and eventually the entire belly takes on that dull red color I expect.

Wish I could help but I am really not comfortable giving advice with the recipe your are using.  By the way I am trying to draw moisture from my green bacon so I let all that wetness drain to the bottom of the tub and discard it.  There is enough moisture trapped on the surface of the meat to dissolve the dry ingredients and allow the cure to be absorbed by the meat.

When I add a heavy sugar coat at the end it really pulls a lot of moisture making a syrup in the bottom of the pan.  Regardless I just re-dust with sugar and let it do it's bacon thing.

Good luck,  maybe someone more familiar with that technique can help you out more then I can!

 

[big casino]

Thanks Al the Recipe is Kutas's here is a link to a thread where we posted the recipe, the bellies make a brine of there own really you just add a little if there isn't enough

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/114933/dry-box-cured-bacon

 

[alblancher]

If it is in Kutas' book then it has to be fine,  just adding brine throws me off!

 

[mballi3011]

I'm like Al here and say that you are mixing to different curing procedures. I personally use the dry method and put the cure on the bellies and then put the bellie into it's own plastic bag (my bellies come individually wrapped) and put that into the refrig. Then a let them sit for 2 weeks.

 

[SmokinAl]

Like Al said if it's in Kutas' book then I would follow the recipe exactly as he wrote it.

 

[big casino]

thanks fellas

gonna rinse them and get them in the smoker