# First cure attempt, Canadian Bacon, check my numbers!



## WaterRat (Oct 1, 2019)

Hey All,

So I've been planning for a while and finally got around to doing a cure. First attempt is Canadian bacon made with a pork tenderloin (not loin) that I bought on sale. Cure is a wet cure using cure #1 and following 

 disco
  's method shown here: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/back-canadian-bacon-wet-vs-dry-cure-and-video.286059/

By the way, I already did it, I had a out-of-town wedding this past weekend and threw it together before I left but had no time to ask questions... ;P

So the math:
tenderloin 1.42 lbs
water 2.33 lbs (conveniently converts to 1.015L  aka 1L 15mL)
meat + water = 3.75 lbs used in the rest of the calculations
light brown sugar (2.5tsp/lb) 9.38 tsp  So is this packed? loose? heaping? I used slightly packed and level.
kosher salt (1.5tsp/lb) 5.63 tsp  again heaping? level? I used level(ish)
Cure #1 (0.2tsp/lb) 0.75 tsp level  I back calculated the water quantity so this number would come out easily measurable

Doing this in the future I plan on getting a balance to weigh things but I made do with what I had. How precise do the salt and sugar #s need to be?

Pretty sure it comes out correct but I'd like a double check from the Pro's :)

Lastly, how long to leave in? It's about 3" wide and 2" thick at the big end. It's been in ~4days so far.

Thanks much,
Aaron  aka WR


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## daveomak (Oct 1, 2019)

Needs to be in the brine, refrigerated at 38F, for at least 2 weeks...


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## disco (Oct 1, 2019)

WaterRat said:


> Hey All,
> 
> So I've been planning for a while and finally got around to doing a cure. First attempt is Canadian bacon made with a pork tenderloin (not loin) that I bought on sale. Cure is a wet cure using cure #1 and following
> 
> ...


Sounds good for the ingredients but I am interested to hear how tenderloin turns out for a bacon. It is pretty soft meat but I wait the result with interest.


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## WaterRat (Oct 1, 2019)

daveomak said:


> Needs to be in the brine, refrigerated at 38F, for at least 2 weeks...



Thanks Dave!



disco said:


> Sounds good for the ingredients but I am interested to hear how tenderloin turns out for a bacon. It is pretty soft meat but I wait the result with interest.



Thanks disco, I wanted to start small, I'll post an update when done ;)


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## Jcarter93 (May 8, 2021)

daveomak said:


> Needs to be in the brine, refrigerated at 38F, for at least 2 weeks...


Wouldn't it be 3"÷1/2"=6 days
Then add 2 days for good measure to be 8 days?

Or is there something im missing? I'm starting my first cure tomorrow so any advice is appreciated.


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## indaswamp (May 8, 2021)

Jcarter93 said:


> Wouldn't it be 3"÷1/2"=6 days
> Then add 2 days for good measure to be 8 days?
> 
> Or is there something im missing? I'm starting my first cure tomorrow so any advice is appreciated.


plus add 2 days for every inch....so that would be another 6 days. After that,  few extra days...or 10...does not matter.


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## Mmmm Meat (May 8, 2021)

I agree - 10 is good.  I didn't check the numbers - just a guess.  Maybe as low as eight or nine days.  I recently did a pork tenderloin that might have been 2.5 lbs.   I went ten days which was a day or two more than suggested.  No worries with the equilibrium method - I could have left it for three weeks without a problem.   I used this calculator which factors in the shape of the meat:

https://genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/saltbrinecalculator.html

There is a tab for brine time that allows you to use your specific numbers.


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## daveomak (May 9, 2021)

Jcarter93 said:


> Wouldn't it be 3"÷1/2"=6 days
> Then add 2 days for good measure to be 8 days?
> 
> Or is there something im missing? I'm starting my first cure tomorrow so any advice is appreciated.



I've cured a bit of meat and it seems 2 weeks gives the best flavor....


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## Jcarter93 (May 9, 2021)

daveomak said:


> I've cured a bit of meat and it seems 2 weeks gives the best flavor....


Right on, cant beat experience. Would 3 weeks too much? Say I put in a loin and they plans came up for the weekend I planned to smoke it and had to postpone...


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## daveomak (May 10, 2021)

I, as a rule, don't wet brine longer than 2 weeks...  Just seems like there's too much of a chance for bacterial growth...  
Bacteria can and will grow in a refer...


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## Jcarter93 (May 10, 2021)

daveomak said:


> I, as a rule, don't wet brine longer than 2 weeks...  Just seems like there's too much of a chance for bacterial growth...
> Bacteria can and will grow in a refer...


On a whole muscle that will be hot smoked wouldn't rinsing and cooking make it safe?


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