Ref; Should I start over...

[TomKnollRFV]

So I got 10 pounds of butt I just set up for buckboard, cut into 4 pieces.

Normally I go with a vaccum seal bag for the curing, but me and my dad were wondering like, come on, do I really expect there to be a leak in a ziplock from walmart? I even taped the darn things up...

One of them leaked, and I honestly don't know which one. Should I go through and redo each piece and the curing and reapply?

Or is it not a big deal? It's only been a day.

 

[tropics]

Dry cure or wet?
Richie

 

[zwiller]

I think you should be able to find the leak. I would just redo that one.

 

[daveomak]

how much water was in the bag and how much leaked...

I'd change to the bags that are sold on this forum.... I use them... No problems..

 

[TomKnollRFV]

To verify; this is dry curing..

And this wasn't a vaccum seal bag, this was me trying to save a few cents and using ziplocks. <Never doing that again>...

But I've tilted the bags upside down, every thing and never saw a leak. Every bag looks like it has the same amount of liquid in it, yet one had to cleak, to have what looked like brownish sticky liquid inside my curing fridge. I'm pretty puzzled because they look all the same volume of liquid wise.

 

[tropics]

To verify; this is dry curing..

And this wasn't a vaccum seal bag, this was me trying to save a few cents and using ziplocks. <Never doing that again>...

But I've tilted the bags upside down, every thing and never saw a leak. Every bag looks like it has the same amount of liquid in it, yet one had to cleak, to have what looked like brownish sticky liquid inside my curing fridge. I'm pretty puzzled because they look all the same volume of liquid wise.

Tom when I do any curing,I put the bag in a bowl or plastic box.
Is it possible something spilled in the fridge.
Richie

 

[daveomak]

Reseal the bags or put in new bags after you find the leak.. they will be OK the way they are if it's just a TBS or 3 that leaked out..

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I did put them in tubs now, just really concerning to not see how it leaked.

And richie; I did check that. Not sure what it woulda been. Ahh well. Saving a buck when curing 10 pounds of bacon wasn't worth it. Hopefully it'll be alright. I actually need to get some tubs I can directly put the stuff in with out bags. Like to do it that way!

 

[rob g]

I usually place my Ziploc bags on a tray in the fridge when curing. I arrange the bags so the adjacent bag holds the sealed end vertical to prevent leaks if one of the seals is bad. Ive had good luck so far.

 

[Smoking in Virginia]

Like rob g, I've used ziploc bags and put them on a tray in the fridge. The last batch I vacuum sealed them and did NOT use the tray. Saves space (a good thing around the holidays) and turned out fine.

So no leaks, regardless of how I did the cure. The pro of the vacuum bags is space and for that my wife is happy. (And it's worth a few cents, I think, for my wife's happiness.)

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Like rob g, I've used ziploc bags and put them on a tray in the fridge. The last batch I vacuum sealed them and did NOT use the tray. Saves space (a good thing around the holidays) and turned out fine.

So no leaks, regardless of how I did the cure. The pro of the vacuum bags is space and for that my wife is happy. (And it's worth a few cents, I think, for my wife's happiness.)

This is my first time using ziplocks to try and save a few pennies. Not doing it again. Fortunately, I cut the bacon into 4 pieces, so only one leaked, my loss is maybe 4 bucks total of meat and spices!

Though they all definitely look right, got that pink look going, etc :)