How much space between cuts for wet brine?

[void425]

At my local meat market they sell Boston Butts without the bone for $2.09 per lb.   An 8 pound piece without the bone is about 10 inches long and just under 4 inches thick.  

I plan on cutting each piece in 1/2 so it is only 2 Inches thick.  Since I want to make 16 pounds per batch that means I will have 4 pieces of meat using Pop's wet brine.  When I place them in the brine bucket I would like to space them apart so that the brine evenly coats each piece of meat.

What is the minimum space I should leave between each piece of meat to make sure the brine has plenty of room around the meat?

I want to put them as close as I can because the more space between means more brine solution.

What should I use as a spacer for the meat?

I believe Glass Rods would be best, but they are not that simple and cheap.  I have also considered just using some Marbles or Small rocks.  Wooden dowels may work are not very re-usable and I am unsure of the wood reaction with the brine and how much brine it would absorb.  Building some type of metal rack would also be nice, but again I am unsure which metal I could use and not have a problem.  (Below is a picture of my idea on how I was going to space them)

Space.jpg

• void425
• Mar 19, 2015

 

[rgautheir20420]

You're making this more complicated than it needs to be I think. All you need to do is overhaul the meat a couple times a day for even curing. By that, shake the container or move the meat around so all sides are getting touched by the brine. I wouldn't introduce foreign objects to my brine container if I could avoid it.

 

[daveomak]

I use the plastic perforated panels in the knitting dep't. at W-Mart..... Some say you don't need them, but, if the brine/cure is always surrounding the meat, I'm for that..... ALSO, you can wiggle the meat stack, or what ever, and the fresh brine will circulate...

DSCF1897.JPG

• daveomak
• Mar 19, 2015

 

[void425]

I use the plastic perforated panels in the knitting dep't. at W-Mart..... Some say you don't need them, but, if the brine/cure is always surrounding the meat, I'm for that..... ALSO, you can wiggle the meat stack, or what ever, and the fresh brine will circulate...

 

I decided I was going to space my meat in the diagram.  I am going to use PEX pipe between them. (The same as approved for drinkable water in house pipes).  I just bought a 10 foot section and cut it into 8 inch pieces to stick between the pieces of meat.  

Eventually I think some type of rack would be much easier if I did a combination of the PEX piples for stability and those perforated panels as the shelves.  I would cut much larger holes then the perforation panels just to make sure as much as the meat is fully exposed as possible.

Of course my 2nd batch will most likely be dry cured so I can see which way I prefer and that will be my long term method.

 

[daveomak]

That will work...... Thumbs Up

 

[void425]

My attempt at using the spacers like shown failed.  The meat just wrapped around them too much.  Since it did not separate like I wanted I will have to move the meats around a little bit during the process.  I was hoping to not have to open the container at all for the whole process.  I am sure the shelf idea will work because it has more support, but that is too late to put together for this batch.