Pops6927's Wet Curing Brine

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ALWAYS rinse the cure off when done curing.   Then dry ( I use paper towels ) the let it air dry.


Yes rinse, then dry. You can season prior to drying, or after. I season after drying once the pellicle has formed and right before I smoke.

A member here, Disco was looking for some super maple flavor and I believe his last batch turned out good. If you're interested in maple flavor search his threads.

Thanks guys!!
 
Yes rinse, then dry. You can season prior to drying, or after. I season after drying once the pellicle has formed and right before I smoke.

A member here, Disco was looking for some super maple flavor and I believe his last batch turned out good. If you're interested in maple flavor search his threads.


ALWAYS rinse the cure off when done curing.   Then dry ( I use paper towels ) the let it air dry.


Thanks guys.
 
ALWAYS rinse the cure off when done curing.   Then dry ( I use paper towels ) the let it air dry.


Yes rinse, then dry. You can season prior to drying, or after. I season after drying once the pellicle has formed and right before I smoke.

A member here, Disco was looking for some super maple flavor and I believe his last batch turned out good. If you're interested in maple flavor search his threads.

Thanks!
 
I don't think Pops brings his Bellies to 135-146.
A lot of people cold smoke their Bacon, which is good, but it takes twice as long to get good color & flavor than by adding a little heat.
I like to smoke mine at temps between 100* and 130*, until I get good color, which is about 10 to 12 hours with an AMNPS.

Don't use temps above 140* on Belly Bacon, or you will render some of the fat.

Bear
[/quote


This is what I read.
What you read was probably how Pops smokes Canadian Bacon & Buckboard Bacon, because I never saw him take a Belly to 135*-146*. I could be wrong, but I can't remember him taking a Belly to those temps. Do you remember where you read this?

Bear
 
 
What you read was probably how Pops smokes Canadian Bacon & Buckboard Bacon, because I never saw him take a Belly to 135*-146*. I could be wrong, but I can't remember him taking a Belly to those temps. Do you remember where you read this?

Bear
page 4 of this thread 
 
 
Holy !@#$%^&

I stand corrected. I had no idea!!

Thanks for enlightening me.

Bear
haha.. this will be my first shot at bacon.. so i'm just trying to figure everything out.. i have seen a lot of people talk about the 140 degree mark rendering fat like you were talking about, then i saw that with pops. i plan on cooking my bacon.. so i don't need it pre cooked in a smoker.. so u recommend around 100*?
 
 
haha.. this will be my first shot at bacon.. so i'm just trying to figure everything out.. i have seen a lot of people talk about the 140 degree mark rendering fat like you were talking about, then i saw that with pops. i plan on cooking my bacon.. so i don't need it pre cooked in a smoker.. so u recommend around 100*?
I don't like to step on anything Pops posts, because I look to him for the how-to of so many things.

However, since you asked, below is my Best Bacon Ever "Step by Step". It contains everything, including my smoking time & temps.

Bacon (Extra Smoky)

Bear
 
I just finished my first belly bacon using Pop's brine. Now I'm at the point of adjusting ingredients to suit tastes. That first batch was a bit salty and too sweet. I've adjusted the salt down from 3/4c to 1/2c for this batch now curing. I've started to weigh ingredients to get more consistent results.

What do you Bacon experts recommend about cutting the sweetness? Reduce the white sugar only? Or both white and brown? I'm making belly bacon for Christmas gifts and want to get it dialed in. It's a bit cumbersome making adjustments and then having to wait 2 weeks to taste the results. Small operation here...first batch was 4.5lbs, batch now curing is 6.5 lbs. Good thing is that I get to eat my mistakes.

BTW my first batch I soaked in water 2 hours, cause the "test fry" was too salty. Changing water out every 1/2hour. Cold smoked with maple / hickory mix for 16 hours...first full tray AMNPS, just had to see how long it would burn. Rested in refer for a day, then cold smoke another 9 hours, until I liked the color. Kept temps between 80~100 degrees.

Tastes GREAT....just a bit too sweet.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

RG

One piece from My First Batch....it did happen !!
 
I just finished my first belly bacon using Pop's brine. Now I'm at the point of adjusting ingredients to suit tastes. That first batch was a bit salty and too sweet. I've adjusted the salt down from 3/4c to 1/2c for this batch now curing. I've started to weigh ingredients to get more consistent results.

What do you Bacon experts recommend about cutting the sweetness? Reduce the white sugar only? Or both white and brown? I'm making belly bacon for Christmas gifts and want to get it dialed in. It's a bit cumbersome making adjustments and then having to wait 2 weeks to taste the results. Small operation here...first batch was 4.5lbs, batch now curing is 6.5 lbs. Good thing is that I get to eat my mistakes.

BTW my first batch I soaked in water 2 hours, cause the "test fry" was too salty. Changing water out every 1/2hour. Cold smoked with maple / hickory mix for 16 hours...first full tray AMNPS, just had to see how long it would burn. Rested in refer for a day, then cold smoke another 9 hours, until I liked the color. Kept temps between 80~100 degrees.

Tastes GREAT....just a bit too sweet.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

RG

One piece from My First Batch....it did happen !!
I started at 1/2c. granulated sugar and 1/2c. brown sugar and 1/2c. sea salt per gallon of water.  A little sweet and salty for me for Canadian Bacon.  Last cure was 1/3c, granulated sugar and 1/3c. brown sugar and 1/3c. sea salt per gallon of water.  I used this for Canadian bacon and a turkey.  Salt seemed right on at 1/3c. but I'm going to try 1/4c. granulated sugar and 1/4c. brown sugar next time.

-Kurt
 
It's best to not make up curing solutions ahead of time.... It can get ropy and degrade.... It only takes 15 minutes to make up a batch... Why take a chance on having it go bad.....

As a side note...... when making up curing/brine solutions..... DO NOT ADD THE CURE TO WARM OR HOT WATER...... wait for it to cool....
What does warm H20 do to the cure, i mixed up a batch of pops cure last night.. the first gallon was cold water, but it didn't seem to do a good job of dissolving all of the salt and sugar. I didn't have enough tot cover all of my belly bacon so i mixed up another batch using warm tap water to help the salt and sugar dissolve. do u think i will be alright?  
 
Somewhere I read that cure #1, nitrite, starts to break down or degrade at about 130 ish deg. F when the cured meat is heated....

So, I am assuming that breakdown would take place when making curing brines..... I could be wrong... Have been before.... But I like to lean to the "Safe Side" of unknown stuff...
 
Somewhere I read that cure #1, nitrite, starts to break down or degrade at about 130 ish deg. F when the cured meat is heated....

So, I am assuming that breakdown would take place when making curing brines..... I could be wrong... Have been before.... But I like to lean to the "Safe Side" of unknown stuff...
ok, that makes me feel better.. my "warm" water would have been just over room temp. 
 
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I just finished my first belly bacon using Pop's brine. Now I'm at the point of adjusting ingredients to suit tastes. That first batch was a bit salty and too sweet. I've adjusted the salt down from 3/4c to 1/2c for this batch now curing. I've started to weigh ingredients to get more consistent results.

What do you Bacon experts recommend about cutting the sweetness? Reduce the white sugar only? Or both white and brown? I'm making belly bacon for Christmas gifts and want to get it dialed in. It's a bit cumbersome making adjustments and then having to wait 2 weeks to taste the results. Small operation here...first batch was 4.5lbs, batch now curing is 6.5 lbs. Good thing is that I get to eat my mistakes.

BTW my first batch I soaked in water 2 hours, cause the "test fry" was too salty. Changing water out every 1/2hour. Cold smoked with maple / hickory mix for 16 hours...first full tray AMNPS, just had to see how long it would burn. Rested in refer for a day, then cold smoke another 9 hours, until I liked the color. Kept temps between 80~100 degrees.

Tastes GREAT....just a bit too sweet.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

RG
 
 The first BBB I made seemed too sweet to me, but after resting a couple of days it mellowed some.

Chuck
 
So I am currently doing my first belly bacon. I have had it in Pops brine for 7 days tonight. My question is, with thanksgiving right around the corner i may not be able to get to it until after. that would put me 17 or 18 days in the brine. Now i know you can leave it in safe for up to 45 days, my question is for thou's of you who have done sever batches in pops brine. if you leave it in longer have you noticed and increase in saltiness? or does it not seem to change much if you leave it in for an extended period of time? thanks! 

-Baydoe
 
You'll be Ok, you can leave it in there for 3+ weeks. I know from experience. But make sure and do a test fry.

On hams I always exceed Pop time requirements , why? Because I can. I hate having a due date to worry about and after the initial 3 or 4 sides, I had bacon, Iwasn't insuch a hurry. The thing is, I just love the smokers pecan smell. I would pipe that smoker exhaust into the houses A/C vent. system if I could.
 
 
You'll be Ok, you can leave it in there for 3+ weeks. I know from experience. But make sure and do a test fry.

On hams I always exceed Pop time requirements , why? Because I can. I hate having a due date to worry about and after the initial 3 or 4 sides, I had bacon, Iwasn't insuch a hurry. The thing is, I just love the smokers pecan smell. I would pipe that smoker exhaust into the houses A/C vent. system if I could.
i guess my question is, with pops brine, does the meat hit a certain level of salt that can diffuse into the meat around that 12-14 day mark that is recommended.. or will you meat continue to get saltier the longer you leave it in the brine?
 
Some one smarter than me will reply but from what I have experienced with Pop's as long as you rinse well and do a fry test before smoking all should be fine. If it is to salty on the fry test it will need to be soaked more in cold water and rinsed maybe even overnight or longer. If you followed the instructions my money says it will be just fine. The great thing about this forum is if you follow the directions others have laid out it's a pretty good bet you are going to make great products.

I just put 50 lbs. of pork butts in Pop's and I plan on getting it in the smoker the day after Thanksgiving or so. I will rinse and do the fry test and go from there. 
 
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