# Cure questions



## jeff1143 (Feb 23, 2022)

Curing pork belly with tender quick at 1 Tbsp per pound. I rubbed the tenderquick on 1 side only and realized I should have done both sides. They are about 1 1/2 inch thick in ziplock bags on day number 8 at 36 degrees. Have flipped and massaged each day.  So my question is are these going to cure correctly but will take longer or should I start over?


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## jeff1143 (Feb 23, 2022)

jeff1143 said:


> Curing pork belly with tender quick at 1 Tbsp per pound. I rubbed the tenderquick on 1 side only and realized I should have done both sides. They are about 1 1/2 inch thick in ziplock bags on day number 8 at 36 degrees. Have flipped and massaged each day.  So my question is are these going to cure correctly but will take longer or should I start over?


Also the belly was skin off  and rubbed on the meat side opposite of the fat cap


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## SmokinEdge (Feb 23, 2022)

jeff1143 said:


> Also the belly was skin off  and rubbed on the meat side opposite of the fat cap


You are golden in a plastic bag. What was your total time going to be? I’d stick with it and the belly will be fully cured. Enjoy.


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## jeff1143 (Feb 23, 2022)

SmokinEdge said:


> You are golden in a plastic bag. What was your total time going to be? I’d stick with it and the belly will be fully cured. Enjoy.


Thanks for the reply.  Was originally planning on 9 days. But now I think I’ll go 11 days due to the weather. -25 below at night here in Minnesota for the next couple days..


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## SmokinEdge (Feb 23, 2022)

jeff1143 said:


> Thanks for the reply.  Was originally planning on 9 days. But now I think I’ll go 11 days due to the weather. -25 below at night here in Minnesota for the next couple days..


Longer never hurt anyone. The salt content of TQ may over all be  a bit salty at the finish, but you can soak the meat in fresh water to mitigate that. It will be perfectly cured and save though.
I use cure #1 and control my salt by percentage to meat weight. In this way my finished product has the exact salt concentration that I like. Can’t necessarily do that with TQ, which was developed by a company who sell salt. Just saying.


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## jeff1143 (Feb 23, 2022)

SmokinEdge said:


> Longer never hurt anyone. The salt content of TQ may over all be  a bit salty at the finish, but you can soak the meat in fresh water to mitigate that. It will be perfectly cured and save though.
> I use cure #1 and control my salt by percentage to meat weight. In this way my finished product has the exact salt concentration that I like. Can’t necessarily do that with TQ, which was developed by a company who sell salt. Just saying.


Will definitely fry a piece and see how salty it is and go from there. Thanks again


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## jeff1143 (Feb 25, 2022)

cold smoked it for 8 hours at 60-75 degrees then turned it up to 180 till the bacon was at 95 degrees. Was a tad bit salty before I smoked it so I soaked it in water for a couple hours. Should be tasty!


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## TNJAKE (Feb 25, 2022)

Great color on that. I'm cold smoking beef bacon right now. Nice work bud and don't forget to post the slices


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## jeff1143 (Feb 26, 2022)

Finished product


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## chopsaw (Feb 26, 2022)

Looks great . I like TQ for this . I've never had it to salty .


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## jeff1143 (Feb 26, 2022)




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## SmokinEdge (Feb 26, 2022)

jeff1143 said:


> View attachment 527057


Congratulations!
So how does it taste? I know you fried some,,,


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## jeff1143 (Feb 26, 2022)

Excellent


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## jeff1143 (Feb 26, 2022)

jeff1143 said:


> Excellent


Tastes great. Soaking it in water took away the saltiness. Almost to the point of not being salty enough. But I think it is still excellent 


jeff1143 said:


> Excellent


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## SmokinEdge (Feb 26, 2022)

jeff1143 said:


> Tastes great. Soaking it in water took away the saltiness. Almost to the point of not being salty enough. But I think it is still excellent


If the packages are given any time to rest, I say if because we all turn into circus freaks when there is fresh bacon and we eat it all, that said, as the bacon has a chance to rest even frozen, the salt will move around and it will balance. If not next time just rinse and dry, no soak.


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