Question on curing pork belly

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first timer

Newbie
Original poster
Feb 25, 2013
28
10
Kingston, NY
I started the curing process on two 5lb pieces of pork belly in the hopes of making bacon for the first time. I used a combo of pink curing salt, kosher salt and brown sugar using a calculator I found in another post.
I am 5 days in and although the belly is sweating some it does not seem to be putting out as much liquid as I have read and viewed on videos.
Is this normal or should I be doing something else.
I had planned on cold smoking it after about 7-9 days of curing while flipping the bags each day.
Any thouhts or comments are very appreciated
 
I have never used pink salt, so I couldn't offer any advice.

One of the curing pros will chime in I'm sure though.

Which post were you referring to?
 
Last edited:
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Each belly is a little different. Some will put up a lot of moisture and some don't put out much. I cure my bellies for 10-14 days and then cold smoke for 8-10 hours or until my belly has a good color (golden brown) and when you feel the belly it should be a little stiff or firm.
 
I've been making bacon for many years. Pork belly, pork loin and coppa bacon. I always us a Morton product called tender quick. This can be bought in most high end grocery stores or online. This stuff is fool proof. Use 1 tablespoon per pound of raw meat. For 1 inch thick pork belly, cure in zip lock bags for 7 day. Morton also has a booklet on curing and it's salt products. I use fruit wood, alder and pecan for smoking bacon. Once you have had home made bacon, you'll be hooked for life. Then it's on to smoking fish, beef, hams, poultry  and other cuts of meat.

Good luck.   
 
Thank kihler. I'll keep that in mind for next time as it sounds a little easier to manage then the pink salt.
My biggest worry was that it wasn't curing properly due to the smaller amount of liquid I've read about and seen on videos.
From reading above though it sounds like I'll be alright
 
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