# Pork Belly Cure Calculator and Sugar Amounts?



## gretscher (Jun 28, 2012)

I see from the cure calc that with 5 lbs of belly it recommends 34 grams of sure but when I see others post their recipe they are using a lot larger amounts like 1/4 cup of maple sugar and 1/4 cup of maple syrup.  I am not sure how many cups 34 grams is but tend to think that 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of syrup which are sugars must be far beyond 34 grams, that is unless I am incorrect. 

I know how much one adds is personal preference but preference or not isn't a total of 1/2 cup of sugar (maple syrup contains sugar of course) a large amount compared to say the 34 grams that is recommended? 

Thanks


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## alblancher (Jun 28, 2012)

Sugar and salt are personal preference and have no affect on the safety of the final product.  I normally use more sugar then included in the calculator.

Just make sure you have enough sugar and salt in the cure mix to ensure a good distribution of the Cure 1.  The sugar and salt are as much carrying agents as anything else so getting a good mix is important


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## diggingdogfarm (Jun 28, 2012)

A cup of sugar is roughly 210 grams.





~Martin


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## fpnmf (Jun 28, 2012)

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/111573/here-s-my-easy-to-make-bacon-step-by-step#post_693843


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## gretscher (Jun 28, 2012)

Thanks for the info.  That member Navigator is the one I saw using 1/4 of maple sugar and 1/4 of maple syrup.  I just thought preference or not that's a lot compared to the recommended amount of 34 grams, so I think.  I have not measured out 34 grams yet.  Even if you use more than that I think there can be a point where the bacon will taste too sweet.  I might use Navigators 1/4 cup each just to see how it turns out and what you say makes sense you need to make sure you have enough coverage too.

Thanks


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## gretscher (Jun 28, 2012)

Thanks so that means 1/4 cup is 52.5 grams which is 14.5 more than the recommended 34 grams.  Then you add 1/4 cup of maple syrup and you got a lot of sweet.  I'm just trying to figure this out, not saying it's too much.  I'll try it and see how I prefer it. Thanks!


DiggingDogFarm said:


> A cup of sugar is roughly 210 grams.
> ~Martin


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## alblancher (Jun 28, 2012)

It really is hard to get too much sweet on bacon.  Sugar doesn't get absorbed as well as salt.  A good coat of sugar rubbed into the surface of the bacon helps.


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## gretscher (Jun 28, 2012)

Thanks for the info.  I'm pretty excited about making bacon because the last one I did which was my first I did a wet brine cure but this time I am gonna do a dry cure. I've heard so much good about dry cure that I'm excited about this. 


alblancher said:


> It really is hard to get too much sweet on bacon.  Sugar doesn't get absorbed as well as salt.  A good coat of sugar rubbed into the surface of the bacon helps.


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## alblancher (Jun 28, 2012)

Don't forget that the flavors take some time to fully develop.  What the bacon tastes like right out of the smoker is not the same after it has rested a couple of days.  The bacon will get sweeter and the flavors will get more complex after a good rest.  Kind of strange, you would think that sugar is sugar?


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## gretscher (Jun 28, 2012)

*Al*, it seems that making good bacon is a long process.  Maybe 10 to 14 days of curing, then 8 to 12 hours of cold smoke, count that another day, then a few days to rest and develop more good flavor.  But you know what some things take a long time to become as good as they can get and this is worth it.  Just make a lot in advance.  Then if I get the bacon kick while mine is being prepared I can go out and buy some although it won't be as good as home made.  Thanks.


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## alblancher (Jun 28, 2012)

It's all fun and the sense of accomplishment you feel when you serve it to your friends makes the extra effort worth it.


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## diggingdogfarm (Jun 28, 2012)

Another thing to consider is that a lot of sugar makes bacon burn easily
That's why I don't like a lot of sugar added to my bacon cure.



~Martin


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## gretscher (Jun 28, 2012)

I just made a dry cure for some pork belly and now I see why you say you need enough for good distribution.  I had just enough to cover about 5.7 pounds of pork belly.  I see why the sugar and the maple syrup is good to use as a means to spread the pink salt and salt.  Without the syrup and sugar I would have a hard time covering all areas.  I tried my best to cover all areas, I really hope I don't miss any.  That would be bad.  I used brown sugar instead of maple sugar because I don't have any maple sugar. Hope it turns out good. 


alblancher said:


> Sugar and salt are personal preference and have no affect on the safety of the final product.  I normally use more sugar then included in the calculator.
> 
> Just make sure you have enough sugar and salt in the cure mix to ensure a good distribution of the Cure 1.  The sugar and salt are as much carrying agents as anything else so getting a good mix is important


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## alblancher (Jun 28, 2012)

Please do not mix the dry ingredients with syrup.   I suggest you use the recommended amounts of cure, sugar and salt until you become more familiar with the process.  When the cure is completed you can add all the additional syrup, sugar, spice, salt etc as you wish.  You can allow the cured bacon to rest with the added stuff another 3 days in the fridge.


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## gretscher (Jun 28, 2012)

Oops, I already did mix it all up and put on the belly.  

Should I try to wash it off and start over and just use the recommended amounts as you indicate?   Thanks so much al! 


alblancher said:


> Please do not mix the dry ingredients with syrup.   I suggest you use the recommended amounts of cure, sugar and salt until you become more familiar with the process.  When the cure is completed you can add all the additional syrup, sugar, spice, salt etc as you wish.  You can allow the cured bacon to rest with the added stuff another 3 days in the fridge.


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## pinksalt (Jun 28, 2012)

Sweet bacon...yuck!


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## alblancher (Jun 28, 2012)

I don't know the answer to that question.  I would go ahead and wash it off and start over.  It has only been a couple of hours.  You may be able to salvage it by placing in a ziplock back and massaging real well.  Maybe someone can offer a better answer?


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## diggingdogfarm (Jun 28, 2012)

What were the ingredient amounts?
Do you have the bellies bagged?


~Martin


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## gretscher (Jun 29, 2012)

al, according to the Dry Cure Calculator the sugar should be 38.76 grams.  Pink Salt should be 8.265 grams. Salt 77.52 grams.  I followed everything exactly but the sugar. I just was going by what the member Navigator did.  He had 5 lbs of belly and I have 5.7.  He used less Pink Salt because his belly was less lbs than mine but for sugar he used maple sugar 1/4 cup and maple syrup 1/4 cup so I followed his lead and did that.  

So you are saying I should wash it off and stick to the 38.76 grams of sugar.  With those low amounts will it be hard to cover completely the belly?  The syrup and larger amounts of syrup and sugar make it easier to cover but I want to do it right and need to do what you suggest and use the recommended amounts.

Thanks for your help.


alblancher said:


> I don't know the answer to that question.  I would go ahead and wash it off and start over.  It has only been a couple of hours.  You may be able to salvage it by placing in a ziplock back and massaging real well.  Maybe someone can offer a better answer?


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## gretscher (Jun 29, 2012)

Yes, have it bagged up.  1/4 cup of maple syrup, 1/4 cup of light brown sugar, 77.52 grams of sea salt (fine) and 8.265 grams of Pink Salt.  The rind was removed by me.  No rind. 5.7 lbs of pork belly. 

Thanks


DiggingDogFarm said:


> What were the ingredient amounts?
> Do you have the bellies bagged?
> ~Martin


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## diggingdogfarm (Jun 29, 2012)

There's no need to wash it off and start over, it's fine the way that it is.
That small amount of maple syrup won't hurt anything, there's nothing to worry about.


~Martin


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## gretscher (Jun 29, 2012)

I don't like it too sweet, I agree. I made my first batch of bacon a month ago and it was brined but I made it too sweet.  Tasted like Honey Baked Ham which is not bad if you want HBH but not for my bacon in my opinion. This time I'm doing a dry cure.  I don't mind sweet if it's the right kind such as a maple flavor but if it's just regular sugar and over powering then no good.  I think al was saying it's hard for sugar to penetrate the meat unlike salt doses so I figure it can't taste too sweet. But then again maybe it does. Navigator, a member here did his with 1/4 cup of syrup and 1/4 cup of maple sugar and I think he liked his results. He did not say it was too sweet. 


Pinksalt said:


> Sweet bacon...yuck!


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## alblancher (Jun 29, 2012)

The most important question is the equal distribution of the cure.  Like Diggy said, if you bag it and keep it massaged you should be fine.  You are doing a kind of sorta Dry cure.  Maybe after 5 or 6 days you can remove it from the bag and place on a rack in the fridge so it can start drying out for you.


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## daveomak (Jun 29, 2012)

gretscher, morning.... Diggy has you covered..... After the 7-10 days of sitting in the refer, rinse well and do a taste test....  The bacon can always be used in beans....  I have many "valuable learning experiences" since joining this forum... Creativity comes into play when experimenting with food....  Dave


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## gretscher (Jun 29, 2012)

al, good tip.  I will take it out of the bag in 5 days or so and let it dry out but until then I'll massage it to distribute the cure. 


alblancher said:


> The most important question is the equal distribution of the cure.  Like Diggy said, if you bag it and keep it massaged you should be fine.  You are doing a kind of sorta Dry cure.  Maybe after 5 or 6 days you can remove it from the bag and place on a rack in the fridge so it can start drying out for you.


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## gretscher (Jun 29, 2012)

Diggie, thanks for the info. I'll do that.  Glad that I did not miss things up.  Dave, I'll check it in 7 to 10 days but I'll do like al said I'll let it dry out. Dave thanks for the help too.


DaveOmak said:


> gretscher, morning.... Diggy has you covered..... After the 7-10 days of sitting in the refer, rinse well and do a taste test....  The bacon can always be used in beans....  I have many "valuable learning experiences" since joining this forum... Creativity comes into play when experimenting with food....  Dave


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## gretscher (Jun 29, 2012)

It's been on for about almost a day now.  Would it be too late to wash it off and start over?


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## alblancher (Jun 29, 2012)

Leave it alone you'll be fine


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## gretscher (Jun 29, 2012)

Thanks.  I look forward to smoking it in about 10 days.  I'll give you guys an update when it's done how it is.


alblancher said:


> Leave it alone you'll be fine


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## navigator (Jul 4, 2012)

Mine turned out great, you could smell and taste the maple, the current batch I used exactly what the calculator said and tried using maple sugar but you could not really taste any difference between the maple sugar and brown sugar versions. Next time I will add the syrup again after it is cured and let it sit a few days as abalancher recommended.


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## gretscher (Jul 5, 2012)

Navigator, I think mine has been curing for 8 days now.  I want to do half of it cold and half of it hot smoked.  I know hot smoking bacon is not well received here but since this is the second time only that I have made bacon and the first was all cold smoke, I would like to hot smoke for scientific or test purposes only to compare how they both go and compare the results.  I'll post my results.  If this works out great then I will continue the same way of curing but I'll try like you are doing as al says to do with the syrup after. 

So you could not tell the diff between the maple and the brown sugar so in that case in future bacon are you gonna just use brown or just use maple sugar?  I can't find maple sugar but maybe if I go to Whole Foods or Bristal Farms I could or online.  So far it's only brown sugar for me.  


Navigator said:


> Mine turned out great, you could smell and taste the maple, the current batch I used exactly what the calculator said and tried using maple sugar but you could not really taste any difference between the maple sugar and brown sugar versions. Next time I will add the syrup again after it is cured and let it sit a few days as abalancher recommended.


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## navigator (Jul 5, 2012)

gretscher said:


> Navigator, I think mine has been curing for 8 days now.  I want to do half of it cold and half of it hot smoked.  I know hot smoking bacon is not well received here but since this is the second time only that I have made bacon and the first was all cold smoke, I would like to hot smoke for scientific or test purposes only to compare how they both go and compare the results.  I'll post my results.  If this works out great then I will continue the same way of curing but I'll try like you are doing as al says to do with the syrup after.
> 
> So you could not tell the diff between the maple and the brown sugar so in that case in future bacon are you gonna just use brown or just use maple sugar?  I can't find maple sugar but maybe if I go to Whole Foods or Bristal Farms I could or online.  So far it's only brown sugar for me.


No I could not tell, I had bought the maple sugar from a well known spice house and it was stronger maple tasting than the grocery store maple sugars I have tried.

I will just use brown since its so much cheaper.


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