Forming Pellicle in dehydrator?

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haywire haywood

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Dec 10, 2014
77
14
I left this last cut of meat in the fridge for 24 hours uncovered and no pellicle formed.  Can I put the next one in my dehydrator for a couple hours to accomplish this?  If so, what temp should I set it to?

thanks,

Ian
 
It's an untrimmed tenderloin and will be cold smoked for bacon.  See the "X-9" smoker thread for my latest failure.  LOL

Ian
 
 
I left this last cut of meat in the fridge for 24 hours uncovered and no pellicle formed.  Can I put the next one in my dehydrator for a couple hours to accomplish this?  If so, what temp should I set it to?

thanks,

Ian
Ian, afternoon......  place it on a wire rack in front of a fan....  the pellicle should form well in a couple hours....    If you are adding anything to the outside like pepper or corn meal, add it when wet the put in front of the fan....   the soluble proteins, when they dry, will glue the stuff to it pretty good..... 
 
I would worry the dehydrator would dry the surface too much. Since this is cured for Back Bacon, an hour or more in front of a fan will get the job done drying the surface protein without drying the meat itself. A Pellicle is just the protein laden juices on the surface drying to the point that they are tacky and shiny, not the meat muscle itself getting dry. If this cut of pork is longer than 12" and more than a pound with a fairly uniform thickness of about 4-6" the whole length rather than going from a thickness of about 3" to less than 1"...Then it is a Loin. A Tenderloin weighs less than 2 pounds and is 3" thick at one end and thins out to 1" or less at the other...JJ
 
Thanks, I'll do the fan thing next time.  This is the cut of meat that I just chucked (after 7 hours in apple smoke at about 50 deg).  It was actually wet to the point of trying to drip in one place when I took it out.

 
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That's not a Tenderloin.

It could be a Loin from a Pig making a right turn when they got him.
biggrin.gif


A loin looks like the one in the link I posted above. 

A Tenderloin is like ChefJJ described going from 3" at one end to 1" at the other end.

Bear
 
Aha, well there ya go. Learned something. I've got 3 more of those to play with. If the results don't change, I'm just going back to buying bacon at the store. It's actually fattier than I anticipated anyway.
 
Aha, well there ya go. Learned something. I've got 3 more of those to play with. If the results don't change, I'm just going back to buying bacon at the store. It's actually fattier than I anticipated anyway.
Don't get it from the store!!!

If this one doesn't come our good, follow my Step by Step below---Guaranteed to be Awesome!!

*New------Canadian Bacon    1-15-2015

If it's too fatty for you, you can't trim the fat off before or after you cure & smoke it.

Bear
 
The RED circled fat, is back fat...  I would trim and save it for sausage....  The GREEN is the loin...  The remaining meat would be great for sausage or smoked up for a bean dish....      To smoke the entire cut of meat would give you a weird finished product I think.... 

Unless I'm missing something.....    Dave

 
I'm just aiming for a leaner bacon than the stuff you find in the store that's half fat.  That pic is from a British butcher and is what they sell for back bacon.  I just want to smoke it American style.
 
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I'm just aiming for a leaner bacon than the stuff you find in the store that's half fat.  That pic is from a British butcher and is what they sell for back bacon.  I just want to smoke it American style.
All I can say about the fat is if you can't pick your own Loin you can trim it off the outside if it's too much fat for you.

Then since you can't see the inside until after you cure it, smoke it, and slice it, if there's too much fat streaking inside for you, you'll have to cut it out as you eat it.

Bear
 
I was thinking of trying the Buckboard if I get this worked out.  Looks like it has fat marbling but not a huge amount.  We might get a pig or two this year and will probably aim for a leaner animal instead of feeding them grain or whatever is done to lay on the fat before slaughter.
 
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