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