My first cure

[cowgirl]

Good information Bearcarver and Pops.  When brine curing something that size IMO..it's a good idea to inject along the bone... at least you will have even curing.

as for the meat not being safe.. I think Squirrel's "ham" was safe due to the fact that it was only in the fridge for 4 days and it was hot smoked or cooked fast...

So even though the center wasn't cured, it was hot cooked or hot smoked...making the inside uncured section more like a cooked pork roast and the outside cured section taste like ham. 

I "Cold" smoke bacon and hams at about 65 to 75 degrees F... if you're going to cold smoke, they HAVE to be cured all the way through.  Also, if you're going to cure meat in the fridge for several days or weeks, make sure it's getting cured in the center too.

The pork looks tasty Squirrel!!

 

[pandemonium]

I dont think you offended anyone Bear like Myth said i am glad you and Pops are here to give your expert opinions as i have zero knowledge in curing and am sure  is Squirrel is new to it so its all good and thanks.

 

[pops6927]

One thing age does is bring patience.. and dang am I patient! (and OLD too! lol!

).  By choice and by dad's training, I choose to use less cure and longer times.  He'd pump his hams and shoulders and give 'em 3-4 weeks in the brine, so that's what I do.  Yup, you can add more cure and shorten the time, either by lb. or thickness, but I'm too lazy to get that detailed, lol.. a few weeks soaking and it'll git cured well enough.  It's like that Ron Popiel thing.. "Set it and forget it!"  You don't have to turn it, you don't have to massage it, just let 'er be and it'll git done.  Now, the trick is to do the same as dad did.. every week he'd start new batches of hams and bacons... so he'd be putting some down and pulling some out, smoking and cooking, so there was a constant flow of smoked meat to sell on his counter.  Pandemonium, set yourself up a schedule...  1 week butts for buckboard bacon, next week pork bellies, 3rd week, pork shoulder picnic and more buckboard bacon, 4th week, whole ham and more bellies... etc. etc. and smoke every weekend, producing different products, just keep rotating!  Now, you may get too much stuff... so take donations from your neighbors and provide them with some smoked goodness and buy another fridge... see how it all works out? 

 

[pops6927]

Oh, don't forget to get some turkeys, chickens, rump or rib roast beef or brisket for corned beef, rounds for dried beef, pig hocks, all brining too for even better stuff too, lol!  Lots you can soak in brine (basically, if oinked, clucked or mooed... git 'er soakin'!).  Dad did a whole case of pig tails and pig ears once for a guy.. his family loved 'em!  Oh yeah, you can do plate beef for beef bacon also.  One thing I'm going to try is to chunk up some pork butt and soak probably for 2 or 3 days, take out and make a ham sausage in casings too.. it just sounds good!  Hmmm.. now you got me thinking.. what if I soaked some beef?  Would it be corned beef sausage? Humma..!  Gotta go experiment some more, lol!

 

[Bearcarver]

I dont think you offended anyone Bear like Myth said i am glad you and Pops are here to give your expert opinions as i have zero knowledge in curing and am sure  is Squirrel is new to it so its all good and thanks.

Pops is the pro around here. He knows a thousand times more about this stuff than I do, and he's even younger than I am.

Bear