# Pops bacon cure , to much sugar



## Cliff Ashbaugh (Nov 8, 2018)

Ok I’ve been following this site for a few years & finally took the time to join up , so I’ve been making the bacon using the pops brine meathod & I enjoy the hassle free method , my bacon turns out ok , but it seems to me that it has to much sugar to it , as around the outer edge it turns a dark brown & gets real sticky , before the rest of the bacon is cooked . Now pops  basic resipe is 1 cup table salt , 1 cup sugar & 1 cup brown . Now I read where one fellow cut his Down to half or less because of the salt being to much for him , I been cuting pops down to about 3/4 cup on every thing , cause I’m not a salty fan either , so what I did is measure out every thing 2/3 & then I weighed them , so every time I make s batch it’s exactly the same . So my ? Is can I cut back on the sugar more so I don’t get this sticky bacon that tends to have more sugar than it needs , has any of you bacon pros had this problem ? , I’ve search the smoking forum to read if any body has had this problem , but haven’t come across it . My gut tells me cut back on the sugar , especially the brown sugar . What say you pros . Thanks cliff .


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## smokerjim (Nov 8, 2018)

I used pops quite a few times, I did also cut back on the salt a little, I don't see any reason you couldn't cut back on the sugar more if you wanted. I'm not sure about the salt , I think you need a certain  % for curing. I'm sure some of the pros will be along.


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## daveomak (Nov 8, 2018)

Sugar is a HUGE molecule and takes a long time to penetrate the meat...
Try a dry rub method...
1 tsp. cure#1 for every 5#'s of meat...  or 1.1 grams / #
40 grams of Kosher salt for every 5#'s of meat.... or 8 grams / #
20 grams of sugar for every 5#'s of meat.... or 4 grams / #

With this method, you can tailor the rub to your liking...

zip bag it and let cure for 7 days per inch at 38 deg. F...  I let bacon cure for 14 days...


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## atomicsmoke (Nov 8, 2018)

You can eliminate the sugar from the cure. We don't like sweet meats or fish around here so i rarely use sugar in brines/cures.


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## bill ace 350 (Nov 8, 2018)

you can definitely adjust the sugar level. no reason to switch to a dry cure.

experiment with different amounts of sugar. 

I was fortunate enough to have eaten bacon from Pop's old family meat market many, many years ago. 

don't give up on Pop's brine...

if you have questions,  I'll bet he'd be glad to help.


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## pops6927 (Nov 8, 2018)

Oh most definitely!  Sugars are for flavoring, nothing more, won't affect the effectiveness of the curing, either.  And, I've always wanted to just try water and cure only, no extra salt or sugars, as the curing salt is 93.75% plain salt, too!

The name of the curing brine is "Sugar Cure", but you don't have to use any sugar at all if you don't want to.

And, you can substitute artificial sugars also - Splenda® or Stevia® at whatever amount suits you (1 to 1 substitution).


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## Cliff Ashbaugh (Nov 8, 2018)

bill ace 350 said:


> you can definitely adjust the sugar level. no reason to switch to a dry cure.
> 
> experiment with different amounts of sugar.
> 
> ...


I do like the ease of the pops resipe & ive done the dry rub to , the dry rub is good , but requires proper measurements & when your belly’s are of all diferant weights , at least where I am getting mine , I’m from midland texas & I get them from HEB , all the different weights , gets it tricky to get it all the same every time , & I like the brine meathod , cause you can repeat the same results , once you fine tune it . Well that’s good to know on the sugar , I’m sure if I was doing a ham , it would be great cause you bake hams & not frying like bacon , well I will cut my sugar way back , & see how is goes , I’ve seen how it’s done comercialy & they cure it in a few days , coat it with liquid smoke , dry it a bit , heat it some , chill it for a few days & slice it & pack it , all in a mater of 5 days or so . I prefer slow & real cold smoke . Thanks for the tips .


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## Cliff Ashbaugh (Nov 8, 2018)

daveomak said:


> Sugar is a HUGE molecule and takes a long time to penetrate the meat...
> Try a dry rub method...
> 1 tsp. cure#1 for every 5#'s of meat...  or 1.1 grams / #
> 40 grams of Kosher salt for every 5#'s of meat.... or 8 grams / #
> ...


Thanks for the dry rub recipe , will try it on a small batch .


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## Cliff Ashbaugh (Nov 10, 2018)

daveomak said:


> Sugar is a HUGE molecule and takes a long time to penetrate the meat...
> Try a dry rub method...
> 1 tsp. cure#1 for every 5#'s of meat...  or 1.1 grams / #
> 40 grams of Kosher salt for every 5#'s of meat.... or 8 grams / #
> ...


On your dry rub


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## Cliff Ashbaugh (Nov 10, 2018)

On your dry rub , is it 1.1 grams of cure per pound & 8 grams of salt per pound & 4 grams of sugar per pound ?


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## daveomak (Nov 10, 2018)

That gives you a rub that is edible...  The right amount of cure per the USDA and the right amount of salt and sugar for my taste....  Takes awhile for the sugar to penetrate fully into the meat...   I usually wait 2 weeks...


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