# Dry box cured Bacon



## big casino (Dec 22, 2011)

Has anyone used the Dry box  method of curing Bacon from the "great sausage recipe and meat curing" by rytek kutaz?

the question is in the directions it says to rub the slabs with the cure and stack in a box, and then wait 1 day per pound, but it doesnt mention refrigeration during the curing period.

does anyone know if this was a forgotten step in the recipe, or are you not supposed to refrigerate?


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## alblancher (Dec 22, 2011)

I would definitely refrigerate.  I do a lot of dry cured bacon and I just can't imagine it holding up without refrigeration.   Keeping it cool certainly won't hurt it.  But then again, I basically live in the tropics

I have also never heard of determining cure time by weight.  I recommend a minimum of 3 days after each cure application because it takes at least that long for the cure to work.  Normally I am looking at a 8 - 10 day cure time for dry cure bacon.  It doesn't hurt to sit in the fridge a couple of extra days especially if you do a nice thick sugar coat toward the end to add some sweetness.

Good luck, let us know what you decide to do

Al


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## SmokinAl (Dec 22, 2011)

I'm with Al on this one. I can't imagine curing bacon unrefrigerated.


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## mballi3011 (Dec 22, 2011)

Yes I would highly recommend that you refrigerate the bacon.


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## daveomak (Dec 22, 2011)

BigCasino, morning.... It has been awhile since I read Rytek's dry box curing method....So I dug it out.... Maybe your book has a mis-print or something... It happens... My edition is 1976... Dave







I think some of the confusion may come from "refrigerating the bellies before the cure is rubbed into the meat and stacked in the box"... I think this was put in there to make sure someone didn't rub warm bellies and then stack them... One would assume to store in 36-38 deg refer until smoked because after smoke the bacon is stored at 36-38 degrees...

I believe there is a complete explanation of the process discussed elsewhere in the book, but the process is abbreviated in the individual recipes to avoid repetition.... I know I have read thru the complete book at least 3 times in the last 35 years and parts of it are forgotten.. DUH !!   If I remember correctly, reading and rereading sections to clarify portions of the book is a necessity to get a complete understanding of the processes and not screw up...

This quote by mballi is from yesterday.... "Now everyone has given you some really good advice but I think Craig has the best advice. Read up on curing meats for it can be really dangerous. You might not like the waking up dead part of learning how to cure meats."

I laughed when I read that... it is so true...

Dave


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## chef jimmyj (Dec 22, 2011)

Dave, this explanation makes sense...I have a lot of books that give detailed "technique" instructions in the beginning, then give just a list of ingredients and the amounts in the Recipes...JJ


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## alblancher (Dec 22, 2011)

Out of curiosity I checked with the Marianski book.  Box cured bacon is in a section called "Formulations from the past" and refrigeration is not mentioned.  But it was common practice to kill pigs in the fall and winter when the weather had cooled because they didn't have refrigeration  I am guessing a "formulation from the past" needs to be adapted to our 52 week a year meat processing.  Marianski's guidance for Box cured bacon is basically how I do dry cured bacon


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## DanMcG (Dec 22, 2011)

Dave, In my '84 version of Rytek Kutas's book the sentence about being ok to cure in a galvanized container has been removed.


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## big casino (Dec 22, 2011)

DaveOmak said:


> BigCasino, morning.... It has been awhile since I read Rytek's dry box curing method....So I dug it out.... Maybe your book has a mis-print or something... It happens... My edition is 1976... Dave
> 
> I think some of the confusion may come from "refrigerating the bellies before the cure is rubbed into the meat and stacked in the box"... I think this was put in there to make sure someone didn't rub warm bellies and then stack them... One would assume to store in 36-38 deg refer until smoked because after smoke the bacon is stored at 36-38 degrees...
> 
> ...


yeah this is exactly the same directions, I read it twice b4 I even attempted it, and never noticed that part wasn't mentioned, out of instinct or habit, I automatically rubbed them stacked them and refrigerated them, it wasn't until 2 days later I got the book out to check the recipe to make some brine to cover the bellies that I noticed it didn't mention keeping them refrigerated.

Alblancher I never thought to cross refference this in my Marianski book, good Idea

DanMcG, I didn't even notice that, you are correct I have the 4th edition, revised in 2008 I think, Hard back


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## big casino (Dec 22, 2011)

Wow after I looked at your recipe again I noticed there was  other differences to like how they give the amounts of ingredients, so I scanned mine in as well


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## venture (Dec 28, 2011)

For Christmas, I was given a book that was written many years ago and has been "updated" a couple of times.  The info is still sketchy and often out dated, so I will not list the author and title here.

It did address the subject of dry box aging, and definitely stated to refrigerate.

Good luck and good smoking.


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