# G'day- and Help!



## jayinoz (Apr 21, 2012)

G'day peoples. Just made bacon from a small belly- young saddle back. Used a simple recipe of salt, brown sugar and maple syrup. Smoked it today and fried a few slices- and it's saltier than the Dead Sea. Is there anything I can do at this late stage to save my bacon? (pardon the dreadful pun) The bulk of it isn't sliced. Any replies appreciated. Thanks. JayInOz


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## daveomak (Apr 21, 2012)

jay, morning....   Did you use a cure ??? How much and what kind ???  As far as salt goes, I use 2% salt/meat... 9 grams / pound...  Dave


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## rabbithutch (Apr 21, 2012)

G'day, Jay!

Don't know if this will help or not.  I'm originally from NC where salt-cured hams ("Country Hams") were very common.  Dad used to buy corned hams in December, put molasses, black pepper and other goodies on them, and hang them in the attic to cure.  Sometimes we would get one that had been corned too much and the meat would be too salty to eat.  My mother would pull the salt out of the ham when she cooked it (whole) by placing a blanket of raw biscuit dough (flour, lard, salt, baking powder and buttermilk) on top of the ham while it was cooked.

I've never soaked any smoked meat and don't know what that would do to it, but you might try taking a slab and doing an experiment.  If you are cooking the bacon in other foods for flavoring, a potato for the pot will draw a lot of salt.

Just some ideas to kick-start the thinking.

rh


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## chef jimmyj (Apr 21, 2012)

Try soaking the Bacon in cold water for 30 minutes then patting the strip dry before frying. The water will pull out the Salt but will also pull some of the Sugar and may reduce the Smoke flavor as well. There are some great Bacon recipes here. If you prefer Dry cure try Al Blanchers cool Bacon Calculator. For Wet/Brine Curing review Pops Brine...JJ

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/dry-cured-bacon-calculator-and-procedure

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/pops-wet-curing-brine


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## jayinoz (Apr 22, 2012)

Thanks for the replies people:) Dave I didn't use a commercial cure, just a recipe from the internet;

     Just salt, sugar and maple syrup. A week or so in the fridge, then smoke, then disappointment:)  I'm in New South Wales, Australia- have a small farm. Your generic American brands aren't available here. I picked a recipe from the 'net that was cheap and easy (like me) because I'm poorer than a church mouse and trying to produce as much of my own everything as I can. Jimmy I'll try soaking some of the bacon in water as you suggested, and if that doesn't work I'll try the stuff suggested by rh- I hate throwing out food so I'll find a solution eventually. Will report back with the results:)   Jay InOz


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## moikel (Apr 22, 2012)

OK neighbour I think you better get proper cure or you may have more problems than just too salty.! I get mine from mistygully.com.au.You can buy pure sodium nitrate from them then break it down to 7% by just adding tablesalt or buy the finished product.If you dry cure like some of the guys here do its very cheap.I am a wet brine bloke but thats just me.Way back in the day back on the farm in the Riverina we made our own cornbeef/corn roll/ham but  Herbie who was in charge always added sodium nitrate.

I dont know how to retrieve it now. I have 5-6 kg in the smoker now I always give mine a soak in fresh water for 20 minutes then the fry test. I turned 2kg of albacore tune into dog food because I  over salted.Lesson learnt. I just soaked it for 2 hours then shandied it through the dogfood over a few days.

I hate waste too,if you use it in soups /stews without adding salt to the pot you might save the day. Or boil it with a spud in the pot, serve it like oldtimers used to eat hand of pickled pork.


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## scarbelly (Apr 22, 2012)

Hello JayinOz 

Looks like the guys have given you some great advice

Please do us a favor and update your profile with your location then stop by Roll Call and intorduce yourself 

Thanks


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## chef jimmyj (Apr 22, 2012)

Mick gave good info but I wish to add, mixing your own cure can be tricky. The Salt and Nitrite seperate very easily and even with a good shake over time you can have mixed results. The Pink premix Cure #1 is chemically formulated to stay perfectly mixed. The majority of guys that mix their own cure are well versed in it's use and use it in large batch production where the amouts are more easily measured. Have fun...JJ


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## moikel (Apr 22, 2012)

Chef JimmyJ said:


> Mick gave good info but I wish to add, mixing your own cure can be tricky. The Salt and Nitrite seperate very easily and even with a good shake over time you can have mixed results. The Pink premix Cure #1 is chemically formulated to stay perfectly mixed. The majority of guys that mix their own cure are well versed in it's use and use it in large batch production where the amouts are more easily measured. Have fun...JJ


I should have been a bit more precise.Yes you can make your own cure #1 IF you get the right advice from this site by guys who know how to do it.. I personally would go with pink cure #1 every time made by experts. You pay a little more but worth every cent of my money for the certainty.


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## jp61 (Apr 24, 2012)

Moikel said:


> OK neighbour I think you better get proper cure or you may have more problems than just too salty.! I get mine from mistygully.com.au.You can buy pure sodium nitrate from them then break it down to 7% by just adding tablesalt or buy the finished product.If you dry cure like some of the guys here do its very cheap.I am a wet brine bloke but thats just me.Way back in the day back on the farm in the Riverina we made our own cornbeef/corn roll/ham but  Herbie who was in charge always added sodium nitrate.
> 
> I dont know how to retrieve it now. I have 5-6 kg in the smoker now I always give mine a soak in fresh water for 20 minutes then the fry test. I turned 2kg of albacore tune into dog food because I  over salted.Lesson learnt. I just soaked it for 2 hours then shandied it through the dogfood over a few days.
> 
> I hate waste too,if you use it in soups /stews without adding salt to the pot you might save the day. Or boil it with a spud in the pot, serve it like oldtimers used to eat hand of pickled pork.


Hey guys, I'm in the process of curing some bellies for my first time and have been doing some reading and asking questions. I have a book titled Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages. Now I do not know if this applies only in the US but it says "Because of problems associated with nitrosamine formation in bacon, *nitrate is no longer permitted in any curing method for bacon.*" Now if this is true and I'm reading it as such, someone new at making bacon like me reads a post like the one above speaking of using nitrate and things can get a bit confusing. Some input from the well experienced in curing bacon would be appreciated. Thank you.


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## jp61 (Apr 25, 2012)

JP61 said:


> Hey guys, I'm in the process of curing some bellies for my first time and have been doing some reading and asking questions. I have a book titled Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages. Now I do not know if this applies only in the US but it says "Because of problems associated with nitrosamine formation in bacon, *nitrate is no longer permitted in any curing method for bacon.*" Now if this is true and I'm reading it as such, someone new at making bacon like me reads a post like the one above speaking of using nitrate and things can get a bit confusing. Some input from the well experienced in curing bacon would be appreciated. Thank you.


I was doing some more reading when it came to my attention that this is a sensitive topic...... so, never mind.


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## rollmyown (Mar 18, 2013)

Hi Jay

           I from NSW and I learnt a tick from an old cook that poaching in water with a granny smith will draw out salt and make it palatable,tried it and it worked!

Try using large pot and depending how salty use a few quatered apples,simmer and dont boil the crap outta of it,about 15 to 20 minutes,then in a slow oven to finish and dry.You could try basting with more maple syrup to kick it up on the sweet side while baking.


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