# Curing Pork belly for bacon...how long is too long to cure in fridge.?



## Kevin Hannigan

Good evening all.i have a quick question about curing pork belly in the fridge for bacon.? i have done quite a bit in the last few months,usually i just do a 7 day cure and then smoke them for about three hours but this batch i have in the fridge is at 24 days cured..meat feels really firm.A friend of mine told me about soaking in cold water after curing just to take out some of the saltiness.? any tips or suggestions you have are always welcomed ..thanks in advance..


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## smokerjim

I would soak it for a couple hours, cut a piece off and fry it if it's still to salty soak again until you get it to your liking.


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## bregent

Dry or wet cure? If it's a dry cure, then it's going to absorb all of the salt you put on it in a matter of days. Doesn't matter if you let it go longer, it can't get any saltier. Test fry a few slices and see how it tastes before trying to remove any salt. If you wet brined, that's a different matter.


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## Kevin Hannigan

bregent said:


> Dry or wet cure? If it's a dry cure, then it's going to absorb all of the salt you put on it in a matter of days. Doesn't matter if you let it go longer, it can't get any saltier. Test fry a few slices and see how it tastes before trying to remove any salt. If you wet brined, that's a different matter.


so i'm pretty new at this and i'm thinking its a "dry cure" because i only used salt,pepper,nitrate salt and some herbs.then put each slab into a bag that was vacuumed sealed.


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## atomicsmoke

Was it an equilibrium cure? If it was no need to soak.


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## atomicsmoke

Kevin Hannigan said:


> so i'm pretty new at this and i'm thinking its a "dry cure" because i only used salt,pepper,nitrate salt and some herbs.then put each slab into a bag that was vacuumed sealed.


Amounts?


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## Kevin Hannigan

atomicsmoke said:


> Amounts?


its been almost a month and i'm not sure  anymore but i did follow a recipe online that had i had found.


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## pc farmer

Kevin Hannigan said:


> its been almost a month and i'm not sure  anymore but i did follow a recipe online that had i had found.



Not being mean here, but you need to keep track of recipes you find.  Curing meat is a science.   Check with the members here before using online recipes.  Alot of them have it wrong.


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## tropics

Did you use sodium Nitrite Or Nitrate?
They are used for different types of curing.
Richie


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## indaswamp

I'm with atomicsmoke on this...


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## Kevin Hannigan

pc farmer said:


> Not being mean here, but you need to keep track of recipes you find.  Curing meat is a science.   Check with the members here before using online recipes.  Alot of them have it wrong.


Buddy you are not being mean at all.i'm a grown assed man who probably  should have looked stuff up a bit before posting.funny thing about Google is when you research stuff the pages you looked at are marked so here is the recipe i used for the pork belly.i used the exact measurements to the amount of belly i'm curing.i think i'm curing about 15lbs right now in 4 slabs.
*Ingredients*
3 pounds of unsliced pork belly about 1 1/2" thick and 6 to 8" wide across the grain to make slicing easy and to make sure it fits in the frying pan

4 1/2 teaspoons Morton's kosher salt

4 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

6 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon Prague Powder #1


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## atomicsmoke

You were heavy handed with the salt: 6%. I would soak it if I were you.  In my 2c opinion it would need a long soak to make it edible as bacon. You could also smoke and use for cooking while starting another one with equilibrium cure.


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## chef jimmyj

I don't think all is lost. 24-48 hours of fresh water, with changes should get it close enough. Not optimal for Dry Cured Bacon but certainly an option is , Soak your Sliced Bacon...The thin strips will give up the salt in short order. Just dry it Really Well before frying or baking...JJ


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