# Dry Cure Bacon Help



## flareman (Jan 4, 2015)

Hi everyone. I have been using pop's brine to make bacon and I have been very happy with it so far. However, the last time I made the cure, after my curing time ( I believe it was about 21 days), the cure became kind of a gel, and it was a mess to clean up. 

I was going to try a dry cure this time, and I found one on here by Navigator that I liked:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/137563/24-pounds-of-dry-cured-belly-bacon-pic-heavy

My butcher ran out of pork bellies, so I decided I would try some canadian bacon with a pork tenderloin I had left over. 

When I measured the meat, it was 605 grams. the calculators I used from the post above came back with 1.94 gm of cure #1, 13 gm salt, and 9.07 gm sugar. 

When I mixed this up it barely covered the bottom of the container I was using. 

This did not seem like it would be enough to cure the meat, especially if followed the instructions above and split the cure into 1/3's. 

Any guidance, suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

jck


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## themule69 (Jan 4, 2015)

Use the amount on the bag. Fallow it to the letter as to much is bad and so is not enough. I use TQ for CB and have never had a bad batch.

Happy smoken.

David


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## wade (Jan 4, 2015)

FlareMan said:


> My butcher ran out of pork bellies, so I decided I would try some canadian bacon with a pork tenderloin I had left over.
> 
> When I measured the meat, it was 605 grams. the calculators I used from the post above came back with 1.94 gm of cure #1, 13 gm salt, and 9.07 gm sugar.
> 
> ...


Hi FlareMan

Yes the amounts are fine and will give you 196 Ppm Nitrite and 2.5% salt. It does not need to cover the container it just needs to be rubbed onto the surface of the meat. You need to do this in a container as some will fall off and needs to be added back into the zip lock or vac pack bag before it is sealed. It may not look as if you have much cure mix compared with Navigator however you are curing ~1/10th the weight of bacon he was and so you will only have ~1/10th of the amount of cure mix.

You do not need to apply the cure in 3 stages. Simply add it all at the start and allow to cure for about 10 days - depending on the thickness of your pork. The dry cure will cause a brine to form around the meat and it is important that you keep this in contact with the meat throughout the curing time by turning regularly.


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## talan64 (Jan 4, 2015)

I've been using Morton's Sugar Cure for my CB.  The first time i used it, I didn't think there was enough cure to do a proper job, it looked like the meat barely had any on it, even though I followed the directions on the Morton's bag (1/2 oz / lb). Once complete, I was not disappointed though, it was properly cured and tasted great.
Like Wade says, it will make a "brine" in the bag, and you just need to massage and turn it to keep it going during your cure.

Good Luck, it should turn out just fine!


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## daveomak (Jan 5, 2015)

FlareMan said:


> Hi everyone. I have been using pop's brine to make bacon and I have been very happy with it so far. However, the last time I made the cure, after my curing time ( I believe it was about 21 days), the cure became kind of a gel, and it was a mess to clean up.
> I was going to try a dry cure this time, and I found one on here by Navigator that I liked:
> 
> http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/137563/24-pounds-of-dry-cured-belly-bacon-pic-heavy
> ...



...click on pics to enlarge..... 













bf215222_RopyStringyBrine1.jpg



__ daveomak
__ Jan 5, 2015


















cdf54037_RopyStringyBrine2.jpg



__ daveomak
__ Jan 5, 2015


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## flareman (Jan 5, 2015)

thanks for the advice everyone. tenderloin in in the fridge in ziplock bag with cure in place. i plan to "massage" it daily through the bag to make sure the cure is getting everyone (seemed to be with my inspection prior to putting it in fridge tonight). 

Per Dave's advice on navigators post, I plan to cure one day/ quarter inch of thickness + 2 days. That would give me 6 days (meat 2 inch in thickness). 

Would anyone leave it for longer?

I ask because I have to go to San Diego on 14Jan for a conference and will be gone until the 18th. Is there such a thing as curing too long? I plan to rinse it and let it rest in fridge for a day or so and let a pellicle form. 

Thoughts? Thank you again, you guys rock!


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## daveomak (Jan 6, 2015)

FlareMan said:


> thanks for the advice everyone. tenderloin in in the fridge in ziplock bag with cure in place. i plan to "massage" it daily through the bag to make sure the cure is getting everyone (seemed to be with my inspection prior to putting it in fridge tonight).
> 
> 
> Per Dave's advice on navigators post, I plan to cure one day/ quarter inch of thickness + 2 days. That would give me 6 days (meat 2 inch in thickness).
> ...



Leaving it in longer is always good...  that insures full penetration and more importantly equal distribution throughout the meat....   rinsing and resting in the refer, for a few more days, exaggerates the above mentioned processes...  which is good...


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## wade (Jan 6, 2015)

FlareMan said:


> I ask because I have to go to San Diego on 14Jan for a conference and will be gone until the 18th. Is there such a thing as curing too long? I plan to rinse it and let it rest in fridge for a day or so and let a pellicle form.





DaveOmak said:


> Leaving it in longer is always good... that insures full penetration and more importantly equal distribution throughout the meat.... rinsing and resting in the refer, for a few more days, exaggerates the above mentioned processes... which is good...


The aim is to get to a point of equilibrium where the salt and cure is evenly distributed throughout the meat. Theoretically the longer you leave the meat curing the more even this will be. If you were to add the cure today or tomorrow and leave it in the fridge curing until the 18th (11/12 days) that would not be a problem.


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