the directions on the bag say 24 hrs for bacon
Rob, afternoon.... You may find this hard to believe but....... the directions on the bag are wrong...... Also, that product should never be used for bacon, IF YOU FOLLOW THE FDA RULES FOR MAKING BACON.... Nitrate is not allowed in bacon..... Nitrate only works at temperatures around 50 degrees F..... Nitrate needs bacteria to convert the nitrate to nitrite.... It is the nitrite that makes food safe from botulism....
Soooo, when the package says, rub this stuff on the meat and put it in the refrigerator..... nothing is happening...
Nitrate, when put on meat, should only be put on meat that is not going to be cooked....
Click on the link and study up a bit...
http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-making/curing/nitrates
What’s Better, Nitrate or Nitrite?
Both Nitrates and nitrites are permitted to be used in curing meat and poultry with the exception of bacon, where Nitrate use is prohibited. Sodium nitrite is commonly used in the USA (Cure #1) and everywhere else in the world. To add to the confusion our commonly available cures contain both nitrite and Nitrate.
Many commercial meat plants prepare their own cures where both nitrite and Nitrate are used. All original European sausage recipes include Nitrate and now have to be converted to nitrite. So what is the big difference? Almost no difference at all. Whether we use Nitrate or nitrite, the final result is basically the same. The difference between Nitrate and nitrite is as big as the difference between wheat flour and the bread that was baked from it. The Nitrate is the Mother that gives birth to the Baby (nitrite). Pure sodium nitrite is an even more powerful poison than Nitrate as you need only about ⅓ of a tea-spoon to put your life in danger, where in a case of Nitrate you may need 1 tea-spoon or more. So all these explanations that nitrite is safer for you make absolutely no sense at all. Replacing Nitrate with nitrite eliminates questions like: Do I have enough nitrite to cure the meat? In other words, it is more predictable and it is easier to control the dosage. Another good reason for using nitrite is that it is effective at low temperatures 36-40° F, (2-4° C), where Nitrate likes temperatures a bit higher 46-50° F, (8-10° C). By curing meats at lower temperatures we slow down the growth of bacteria and we extend the shelf life of a product.