# Round 2 for loin bacon



## mike w (Aug 17, 2016)

Picked up about 2.7 kilos of loin today to give it another try with only cold smoking it in the cardboard box. I've got hickory and maple pellets now. 

Any preference from one over the other? Frankly I've never been able to taste a difference between different types of smoke except mesquite. My tastebuds must be pretty dead haha. 

Going with 2% salt and 5% sugar this time. Thanks Wade.












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__ mike w
__ Aug 17, 2016






I raided the reduced price frozen meat section today. Got some beef jerky curing and I'm waiting for the other stuff to thaw out. Bacon gets sliced and vac sealed on Friday after resting for a week from smoking. 












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__ mike w
__ Aug 17, 2016





I'm really enjoying the sunshine and lovely weather!


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## dirtsailor2003 (Aug 17, 2016)

For pork I like milder woods. Apple, cherry, etc. Your maple falls into that category. Hickory would be fine too it's a bit stronger. 

Just to clarify, you are using cure correct? In order to safely smoke meat you need to use cure and follow the processes required with what ever cure you are using.


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## mike w (Aug 17, 2016)

dirtsailor2003
Yes sir. Cure #1 was used with the loin bacon at 156ppm using the digging dog farm universal cure calculator. Probably sit in the fridge for 16 days or more flipping daily. 

I also used cure #1 in the thai jerky, thank you for posting that recipe! I zeroed out the calculator for salt and sugar to get the correct cure amount. 

I am going to let it sit in the cure for two days because I hand cut the beef and it is roughly 1/4" thickness, so better to be safe than sorry. 

So I read DaveOmaks post about pasteurization times and I plan to drop my marinated jerky ziploc bags into 145F degree water for a few minutes to add a further safety step. 

I could use some advice to smoke the jerky Dirtsailor. I can cold smoke, use an oven, and use my Traeger to kind of mimic your steps. Traeger on the smoke setting runs around 120-170 so I was thinking of popping the jerky in my convection oven at 50C to start the drying process. Once the meat isn't wet, then I'd switch to the traeger and apply smoke until I get to an IT of 145F. Then I'll let it rest on cooling racks for an hour or two and then vac seal it.

My cure is from the US so I follow all the US food safety posts for curing and smoking.


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## wade (Aug 17, 2016)

Mike W said:


> So I read DaveOmaks post about pasteurization times and I plan to drop my marinated jerky ziploc bags into 145F degree water for a few minutes to add a further safety step.


The _minimum_ time that it will need to spend at 145 F is 4 minutes but remember that it will take additional time to get the meat in the bag up to that temperature at the beginning. You will probably need a good 8-10 minutes. This will also only provide bacterial control as botulinum spores will survive temperatures over 212 F (100 C). For the jerky, if you are going to use cure then I would recommend using cure #2 as it is usually expected to have a longer shelf life at room temperature. The addition of the Nitrate along with the Nitrite will help provide this.


Mike W said:


> Going with 2% salt and 5% sugar this time. Thanks Wade.


It is good that you are reducing the salt levels but the sugar level is still very high. You may want to try 2.5% of each.


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## mike w (Aug 18, 2016)

Wade said:


> The _minimum_ time that it will need to spend at 145 F is 4 minutes but remember that it will take additional time to get the meat in the bag up to that temperature at the beginning. You will probably need a good 8-10 minutes. This will also only provide bacterial control as botulinum spores will survive temperatures over 212 F (100 C). For the jerky I would recommend using cure #2 as it is usually expected to have a longer shelf life at room temperature. The addition of the Nitrate along with the Nitrite will help provide this.
> 
> 
> It is good that you are reducing the salt levels but the sugar level is still very high. You may want to try 2.5% of each.



We'll see how this batch turns out for the percentages. My wife likes a sweeter "ham" flavor since she grew up with store bought hams being soaked in sprite or ginger ale to remove alot of the salt and sweeten the meat so it was a more mellow flavor. Her folks would buy the store bought hams and those are the kinds that are brine pumped and mass produced. 

I just wish I could find my notes from 2014 where I wrote down all the percentages.

Thanks for confirming the temperature. I was thinking if I put the bag in a water bath that was 145-150F for about 15 minutes that should be enough time to pasteurize it. 

My plan is that once the jerky is smoked and cooled after a rest in the fridge, I'll vac seal it and it will stay in the fridge or freezer. I won't be leaving this out. 

Learning how to use cure #2 is something I want to learn. I don't know enough about it other than reading posts here in the forums. I want to get a charcuterie book first and some of those UMAi bags ive been reading about.


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## wade (Aug 18, 2016)

Mike W said:


> Learning how to use cure #2 is something I want to learn. I don't know enough about it other than reading posts here in the forums. I want to get a charcuterie book first and some of those UMAi bags ive been reading about.


The Nitrate and Nitrite in Cure #2 are fixed concentrations (6.25% Nitrite and 4% Nitrate) and are designed to provide the correct ratio. If you calculate the amount of cure required based on the end Ppm of Nitrite that you need then the Nitrate levels will also be correct. The role of the Nitrate is to slowly break down to replenish the Nitrite as the Nitrite is itself broken down. Except in the production of products where Nitrate is not permitted commercially (e.g. bacon) most people will use Cure #2.


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## wade (Aug 18, 2016)

Mike. Here is a good FDA reference which includes the home production of Jerky.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...at-preparation/jerky-and-food-safety/CT_Index

They are recommending that meat is first taken up to 160 F (71 C) - with chicken taken to 165 F (74 C) - before being dried.

You do not need to use cure when making jerky but if you do then you need to be aiming to achieve Ppm levels at the lower end of the range as it will become more concentrated as the meat dehydrates and loses weight through loss of moisture.


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## mike w (Aug 18, 2016)

Thanks Wade I'll read that. Much obliged.


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## mike w (Aug 19, 2016)

So far so good despite the light rain. 
I did pasteurize this in a water bath, I don't think I'm going to do it again. I took it to 150F for 15 minutes and the meat was oozing out something. Maybe fat. It reminded me of boiled beef. 

I'm smoking it between 160-215F since the rain is making the temperature fluctuate on the pellet grill.












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__ mike w
__ Aug 19, 2016


















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__ mike w
__ Aug 19, 2016





Much better color now


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## mike w (Aug 19, 2016)

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__ mike w
__ Aug 19, 2016






Done! Real chewy, great flavor. Bagged and in the fridge.


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## mike w (Sep 4, 2016)

Taking advantage of the cooler weather today to smoke those loins along with some havarti, danish brie, and some aged cheddar. 

The wind is being a pain. As you can see from the tree.












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__ mike w
__ Sep 4, 2016






Experimenting with the brie. Pulling those off at 1 hour, two hour mark, and 3 hour mark. I cut the top off the rind. 
Havarti I'm watching the color, amd I expect the cheddar to go as long as the loin over a few days. shooting for 12-18 hours depending on the weather. 












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__ mike w
__ Sep 4, 2016






  Back to reading the curing chamber threads.


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## mike w (Sep 4, 2016)

I got 10 hours of maple smoke on the loins and about 8 on the cheddar. I had to pull the cheese when the sun came out and the box temperature went to 75F.  Average temp for most of the day was 67F













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__ mike w
__ Sep 4, 2016






If the weather is favorable tomorrow I'll shoot for another 10 hours on the loin.


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## wade (Sep 5, 2016)

Mike W said:


> I got 10 hours of maple smoke on the loins and about 8 on the cheddar.


Wow - That is quite some smoke for cheese. Usually 2-3 hours is sufficient


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## mike w (Sep 5, 2016)

Maybe for you Wade. 



Wade said:


> Wow - That is quite some smoke for cheese. Usually 2-3 hours is sufficient


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## wade (Sep 5, 2016)

Mike W said:


> Maybe for you Wade.


Yes - and for my customers. Each to their own though.


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## mike w (Sep 5, 2016)

Yep we all have different tastes



Wade said:


> Yes - and for my customers. Each to their own though.


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