# First stab at bacon



## fatboyz (Sep 30, 2015)

Well, I'm trying this out. Bacon is my favorite vegetable and favorite meat so I have wanted to try this for a long time.

I have 2 slabs of PB, one is 2lb the other 1.5lb. I removed the skin and purchased a cure at the local meat market where I got the PB. I hope I used the cure correctly, because it looked like so little for the meat. I trusted my wife's calculations because she is much better at math than I.

So they are wrapped and in the fridge as we start the 7 day flip period.

Here are starter photos. I have the rub on the third photo.

This is 1 ounce of cure, and the label says 1 ounce per 25 lbs of meat.













DSCF5607.JPG



__ fatboyz
__ Sep 30, 2015


















DSCF5605.JPG



__ fatboyz
__ Sep 30, 2015


















DSCF5606.JPG



__ fatboyz
__ Sep 30, 2015


----------



## pc farmer (Sep 30, 2015)

Bacon it good.  Could you show a pic of the cure or label?


----------



## fatboyz (Sep 30, 2015)

C Farmer,

Sure I will edit the post and add the cure at the bottom of the meat pics.


----------



## pc farmer (Sep 30, 2015)

Just womdering what cure it is ( my guess is #1 ) and how you came up with the calculation.


----------



## fatboyz (Sep 30, 2015)

My wife took the 1 ounce per 25 lbs (based on the label) and then she measured out 1/4 an 1/8 teaspoon for the 2 lb slab and then 1/4 teaspoon for the 1.5lb.

It is supposed to be #1 cure, based on the shop owner.

I wish I had seen pops liquid brine, I would have done that one. Seems much easier.


----------



## fatboyz (Sep 30, 2015)

I just read pops brine post, and I am thinking that I should rinse my PB and try his brine. I will need to get a food safe container tomorrow....


----------



## pc farmer (Sep 30, 2015)

You can if your not sure about the cure you are using.   Pops is good.


----------



## daveomak (Oct 1, 2015)

That is cure #1 he sold you....  The pink color and the amounts are right on....    
The belly will be fine with the amount of cure used...     
Continue on for 7-10 days with the cure you used..    It will make amazing bacon...  
I make my bacon the way you are making yours....  

Dave


----------



## wade (Oct 1, 2015)

DaveOmak said:


> That is cure #1 he sold you.... The pink color and the amounts are right on....
> The belly will be fine with the amount of cure used...
> Continue on for 7-10 days with the cure you used.. It will make amazing bacon...
> I make my bacon the way you are making yours....
> ...


Hmmm - It may well be a version of Cure #1, but from experience I would not trust something that does not have the ingredients clearly detailed on the label.


----------



## hoity toit (Oct 1, 2015)

DaveOmak said:


> That is cure #1 he sold you.... The pink color and the amounts are right on....
> The belly will be fine with the amount of cure used...
> Continue on for 7-10 days with the cure you used.. It will make amazing bacon...
> I make my bacon the way you are making yours....
> ...


Dave is right. His dry rub method is what I use and i can attest that it is a home run.


----------



## daveomak (Oct 1, 2015)

_I have 2 slabs of PB, one is 2lb the other 1.5lb. I removed the skin and purchased a cure at the local meat market where I got the PB.
This is 1 ounce of cure, and the label says 1 ounce per 25 lbs of meat._

Wade, you could be right....   but...... what that OP's statement tells me is the owner of the market divided up a larger bag of cure #1 to sell to patrons....    There's no way in heck you can buy a 1 oz. package of cure #1 unless it is divided on premise...  and the proper ratios are listed on the packet.. 1 oz. per 25#'s....  and the color is pink....   and the markets logo is on the bag......   
I ain't Sherlock but this seems fairly evident...

It's obvious I would trust it.......    Dave


----------



## daveomak (Oct 1, 2015)

fatboys, morning....   If I may suggest you purchase a small electronic scale for measuring spices and cure for future curing endeavors....
One possibly like this one....  

This one is 100 grams maximum.... great for spices and cures..... 
 Most curing you will be doing uses from 0.9 grams to 1.5 grams per pound of meat...













100 gram scale.jpg



__ daveomak
__ Oct 1, 2015


----------



## fatboyz (Oct 1, 2015)

Wow, thanks gentlemen for all of the responses.

I hade a restless night, (is that normal? haha) but when I woke up this morning and there is already a fair amount of liquid in the bags, so I decided to leave it alone and trust the math.

I'm really excited about this process, I have wanted to try this for awhile and finally decided to go for it.

I currently have a digital scale, but I am considering another one so I will check that one out.

I forgot to mention this but the ingredients are on the back of the package and they are: "Salt, Sodium Nitrite, Propylene Glycol, FD&C Red #40, Less than 2% Tricalcium Phosphate.

The meat store has really good quality meat and they have been in business for a long long time so I kinda trust they know what they are doing.

So long story short, I'm going for it.


----------



## fatboyz (Oct 8, 2015)

How do I know how long to cure the meat? I've read anywhere from 7 - 10 days. I'm on day 7 now, so I'm not sure if I need to go all the way to 10...hmmmm


----------



## wade (Oct 8, 2015)

If you are using the dry rub where the cure ingredients have been weighed for the specific weight of meat that you are curing then, within reason, you cannot over cure. Unless it is very thick then you will usually find that it is cured within 10 days. I usually leave mine foe 14 days bit I usually cure pork loin. I leave the belly in for 14 fays too - but that is because I usually produce them at the same time.

Looking at your photo, 10 days will be more than sufficient.


----------



## wade (Oct 8, 2015)

DaveOmak said:


> Wade, you could be right.... but...... what that OP's statement tells me is the owner of the market divided up a larger bag of cure #1 to sell to patrons.... There's no way in heck you can buy a 1 oz. package of cure #1 unless it is divided on premise... and the proper ratios are listed on the packet.. 1 oz. per 25#'s.... and the color is pink.... and the markets logo is on the bag......
> I ain't Sherlock but this seems fairly evident...
> 
> It's obvious I would trust it....... Dave


Having been badly bitten on 3 occasions by buying bags that have not been fully labeled from vendors of unknown providence, I am now just naturally skeptical. The fact that it is just called "Cure Modern House" and has no indication of either the contents or component concentrations anywhere on the label I certainly would not use it. Being pink and having a recommended usage rate that is similar to Cure #1 does not confirm that it is in fact cure #1. Maybe us Brits are just naturally less trusting than you Americans.


----------



## daveomak (Oct 8, 2015)

fatboyz said:


> Wow, thanks gentlemen for all of the responses.
> 
> 
> I forgot to mention this but the ingredients are on the back of the package and they are: "Salt, Sodium Nitrite, Propylene Glycol, FD&C Red #40, Less than 2% Tricalcium Phosphate.
> ...






Wade said:


> DaveOmak said:
> 
> 
> > Wade, you could be right.... but...... what that OP's statement tells me is the owner of the market divided up a larger bag of cure #1 to sell to patrons.... There's no way in heck you can buy a 1 oz. package of cure #1 unless it is divided on premise... and the proper ratios are listed on the packet.. 1 oz. per 25#'s.... and the color is pink.... and the markets logo is on the bag......
> ...




Wade, morning.....   From looking at your posts, and the OP's posts, It looks as if you have a problem with me........


..Dave..


----------



## wade (Oct 8, 2015)

DaveOmak said:


> Wade, morning..... From looking at your posts, and the OP's posts, It looks as if you have a problem with me........
> 
> ..Dave..


Hi Dave - ??? Not at all - I love you to bits 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






. I was looking at the label photo and not the subsequent post. My oversight. Still no %ages though so it is still a case of use-at-your-own-risk. I would not - but others might.

Wade


----------



## fatboyz (Oct 8, 2015)

Thanks Wade, I was leaning towards 10 days to be sure. It is firming up nicely. My plan is to smoke it on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for the advice, and I love the Brits! Spent a lot of time with Brit Sailors through my Naval Career. Love you guys! I missing drinking tea with the sailors when we were in port together.


----------



## smokin phil (Oct 8, 2015)

.


----------



## smokewood (Oct 9, 2015)

Go for it, I can't wait to see the end result


----------



## fatboyz (Oct 9, 2015)

I am rinsing it tomorrow and start the 24 hour wait before I smoke it....pics to follow as I go through the steps.


----------



## fatboyz (Oct 11, 2015)

Well, the bacon is off the smoker. Here are a couple of pics of the progress. It is cooling now, then in the fridge overnight before slicing tomorrow.

Pre-smoke













pellicle bacon.JPG



__ fatboyz
__ Oct 11, 2015






Finished (Applewood smoked)













DSCF5708.JPG



__ fatboyz
__ Oct 11, 2015


















DSCF5709.JPG



__ fatboyz
__ Oct 11, 2015


















DSCF5710.JPG



__ fatboyz
__ Oct 11, 2015


----------



## wade (Oct 12, 2015)

That bacon looks good 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Like the cure, the smoke takes a little time to fully penetrate the meat so I would recommend letting it rest longer than overnight. I normally leave it about a week before slicing. This is not critical though and is only really to maximise the flavour throughout the meat.


----------



## fatboyz (Oct 14, 2015)

DSCF5711.JPG



__ fatboyz
__ Oct 14, 2015


















DSCF5712.JPG



__ fatboyz
__ Oct 14, 2015






Very disappointed in the bacon, it looks good but it doesn't taste like bacon at all. I will try it again but I need to find a better tasting end results. I love the way bacon taste, so if I make it I want it to taste like the bacon I have always eaten.


----------



## fatboyz (Oct 14, 2015)

oops, Wade I didn't see your post until after I sliced it. It looked great, so I got that part down, now if I can just get that traditional bacon taste.​


----------



## pc farmer (Oct 14, 2015)

Did it have a ham flavor?



I have found if i want a bacon taste use Tender Quick.   If i want a ham taste use cure #1.


----------



## fatboyz (Oct 14, 2015)

C Farmer, yes it did. It seemed to have a little bit of an aftertaste, I figured that may be from the cure also. I will try the Tender Quick, where is the best place to get it?


----------



## pc farmer (Oct 14, 2015)

Not sure where you are located.

Wegmans has is, also amish markets has it.

They have a locator on the website.


----------



## daveomak (Oct 15, 2015)

[quote name="fatboyz" url="/t/235804/first-stab-at-bacon/20#post_1473617

Very disappointed in the bacon, it looks good but it doesn't taste like bacon at all. I will try it again but I need to find a better tasting end results. I love the way bacon taste, so if I make it I want it to taste like the bacon I have always eaten.
[/quote]



Store bought bacon is usually cooked with steam and smoked with liquid smoke and cured for about 24 hours using "speed" curing techniques...   You can't duplicate that stuff....


----------



## oregon smoker (Oct 20, 2015)

c farmer said:


> Not sure where you are located.
> 
> Wegmans has is, also amish markets has it.
> 
> They have a locator on the website.









  you might try a resteraunt suppy house as well.

Tom


----------



## duecerider14 (Oct 29, 2015)

I have  4 slabs of bacon in cure now for a few days ...my  ?   is we mixed up all the salt and honey and prague power  1 teaspoon per 5 lbs of meatbut we rubbed all the slabs down on butcher paper,should I be worried  that some of the salts stuck to the paper as we went on with the rub till all the slabs were done ....we did measure for each slab....plz let me know if I'm wrong


----------



## daveomak (Oct 29, 2015)

duecerider14 said:


> I have  4 slabs of bacon in cure now for a few days ...my  ?   is we mixed up all the salt and honey and prague power  1 teaspoon per 5 lbs of meatbut we rubbed all the slabs down on butcher paper,should I be worried  that some of the salts stuck to the paper as we went on with the rub till all the slabs were done ....we did measure for each slab....plz let me know if I'm wrong




You did good....   It will be fine....


----------



## wade (Oct 30, 2015)

As Dave says you should not have a problem.

How much of the cure was left sticking to the kitchen paper though? You mention that there was honey in the cure mix so was it a paste when it was applied? If it was then you may have lost quite a lot of the cure on the paper. It is hard to know for sure without seeing photos.

If you are in doubt, make sure that you keep it cool and you may want to either eat it fairly quickly or freeze it.


----------

