Buckboard: Rinse or no Rinse?

[Sven Svensson]

Tomorrow I hit the 8 day mark on dry brining my first Buckboard bacon. I’ve been a belly man for the last decade. I’m also new to the dry brine weighing method. I made one with just salt, cure, and brown sugar. I also made one with Capicola spices. My method of belly bacon included rinsing and even soaking.

So do I rinse these? Do I soak them? I’m very happy about the color on these. They are both most certainly cured.

And GrumpyGriller , I think your buckboard is also approaching cured status, right?

 

[indaswamp]

No rinse or soak necessary. The amount of salt you added is the right amount of salt. no need to rinse it off.

 

[indaswamp]

How thick is the slab? always good to let them go 3-4 days extra for better color and flavor as the sugar migrates slower into the meat than the salts.

 

[Sven Svensson]

I had a feeling you were going to say that indaswamp . I was also hoping you were going to say that because I don’t want to lose those spices.

 

[Sven Svensson]

How thick is the slab? always good to let them go 3-4 days extra for better color and flavor as the sugar migrates slower into the meat than the salts.

They are not real thick. Maybe an inch and a half at most. I’m a patient man and I’m not in any rush. I can easily let them go a few more days. That’s good advice. Thanks.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Tomorrow I hit the 8 day mark on dry brining my first Buckboard bacon. I’ve been a belly man for the last decade. I’m also new to the dry brine weighing method. I made one with just salt, cure, and brown sugar. I also made one with Capicola spices. My method of belly bacon included rinsing and even soaking.

So do I rinse these? Do I soak them? I’m very happy about the color on these. They are both most certainly cured.
View attachment 524009
And GrumpyGriller , I think your buckboard is also approaching cured status, right?

I agree with indaswamp
Just because they are “cured” don’t mean they are done. To a point, the more time the better. Go 10 to 14 days, just for flavor development. Smoke it, then give another couple days in the fridge to equalize. Time in rest here is your friend.

 

[Sven Svensson]

Sounds like Friday is the day. Looks like I’m smoking this coming weekend.

 

[DougE]

I rinse mine, possibly unnecessary, but that's how I have been doing it. At 1.5% salt, I haven't needed to get rid of any of it, for my tastes, so no on the soaking. I'm not a heavy salt user, so if anything, mine might not be salty enough for some. And, yea, go the 2 weeks. I did 11, or 12 days on the first one, cause I was impatient, and even 2 or 3 extra days does make a difference.

 

[SmokinAl]

We soak our’s for a couple of hours in ice water after removing from the cure. Then a 4 day dry in the fridge on a cooling rack, then 10-12 hours of cold smoke, then another 4 day dry in the fridge. Finally 2-3 hours in the freezer, then slice on the meat slicer. Good luck with yours. We like the flavor of BBB, over belly bacon. It’s just leaner with more flavor.
h

Al

 

[chopsaw]

I rinse when it comes out of the cure , dry , then back in the fridge overnight on a rack . No soak . Smoke the next day .

 

[Fueling Around]

I do the same as chopsaw on my dry cures.

 

[Winterrider]

Do a fry test. If to your liking, no need to rinse..if a bit to salty, like Al said soak in ice water for couple hrs.

 

[DougE]

Do a fry test. If to your liking, no need to rinse..if a bit to salty, like Al said soak in ice water for couple hrs.

I see rinsing and soaking as 2 different things. Rinsing just removes stuff from the surface, but will not remove excess salt absorbed by the meat during curing; that's what soaking does. At any rate, if you get the numbers dialed in with a dry cure, your salt level will be spot on with boring repeatability.

 

[Sven Svensson]

Thanks for all the great advice everyone. That shot of your buckboard SmokinAl looks incredible! I’m hoping mine turns out half that good. I’m very anxious to see how this measure method works for me.

 

[DougE]

Thanks for all the great advice everyone. That shot of your buckboard SmokinAl looks incredible! I’m hoping mine turns out half that good. I’m very anxious to see how this measure method works for me.

Once you get it dialed in to your preferences, each slab will pretty much come out like the last one did.

 

[thirdeye]

When I got into the Buckboard method, Hi Mountain cure was my starting point, it's a Wyoming product and I can get it just about anywhere. Although marketed as a 'pioneer' cure for boneless butts... I used their cure on a number of items from chops, tenderloins, loins, butts and picnics. When shipping costs rose, a lot of my online friends and blog readers stopped ordering it, so I switched to a Tender Quick based cure and posted that as an alternate. I rinsed and suggested several different times for a 'soak-out' as both dry cures benefited from it.

Using a universal curing brine like Pop's Brine, or an equilibrium curing method does allow you to rinse, rest, and smoke.... but I still do a short soak-out.

 

[Sven Svensson]

Once you get it dialed in to your preferences, each slab will pretty much come out like the last one did.

Thanks DougE . I look forward to the mundane and predictable. Bacon is the best gift, especially to your boss. My neighbor, who has to put up with smell of me smoking bacon, needs something more lean so I’m hoping this keeps him happy.

 

[Sven Svensson]

When I got into the Buckboard method, Hi Mountain cure was my starting point, it's a Wyoming product and I can get it just about anywhere. Although marketed as a 'pioneer' cure for boneless butts... I used their cure on a number of items from chops, tenderloins, loins, butts and picnics. When shipping costs rose, a lot of my online friends and blog readers stopped ordering it, so I switched to a Tender Quick based cure and posted that as an alternate. I rinsed and suggested several different times for a 'soak-out' as both dry cures benefited from it.

Using a universal curing brine like Pop's Brine, or an equilibrium curing method does allow you to rinse, rest, and smoke.... but I still do a short soak-out.

One of my slabs I put some seasonings on. I’m not sure how a soak will effect that. I may just leave two alone and see what happens. I’m not a guy who likes salty bacon so this should be a fun experiment.

 

[DougE]

When I got into the Buckboard method, Hi Mountain cure was my starting point, it's a Wyoming product and I can get it just about anywhere. Although marketed as a 'pioneer' cure for boneless butts... I used their cure on a number of items from chops, tenderloins, loins, butts and picnics. When shipping costs rose, a lot of my online friends and blog readers stopped ordering it, so I switched to a Tender Quick based cure and posted that as an alternate. I rinsed and suggested several different times for a 'soak-out' as both dry cures benefited from it.

Using a universal curing brine like Pop's Brine, or an equilibrium curing method does allow you to rinse, rest, and smoke.... but I still do a short soak-out.

I went straight to using cure#1, salt, and sugar, with some guidance from SmokinEdge , and the results are some really good bacon, confirmed by independent testers (tasters), and with the formula I use, it always comes out about the same.

 

[thirdeye]

One of my slabs I put some seasonings on. I’m not sure how a soak will effect that. I may just leave two alone and see what happens. I’m not a guy who likes salty bacon so this should be a fun experiment.

My main additional seasoning I use during the curing process is cracked pepper. A lot of it will remain after a rinse or soak-out, but I always hit it again before the refrigerated rest. The pellicle really anchors it.