# Pops brine recipe for Pork Belly



## aj neutzling (Sep 24, 2020)

Gonna try my first attempt at Bacon and am looking for a good brine. I am wondering if someone could send me Pops brine recipe or any others that you might have had luck with. 

Than you in advance...


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## foamheart (Sep 24, 2020)

If you still have questions and don't we all I would suggest you read either:

Bearcarvers Tutorial
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/108099/bacon-extra-smoky

Craigs Tutorial (Pops Brine)
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/124885/bacon-made-the-easy-way

These guys are ahead of the curve on makin bacon.

*Rub cure (Bearcarver)*





						Smoked Bacon ( step by step with Qview )
					

I was going to put this in "Cold-Smoking", but my smoker temp got up over 100˚.  I checked on my Bacon supply a couple weeks ago. It looked like I had quite a bit left, but I decided not to take a chance of running out of Bacon before Tomato season ends. Got a fresh belly from one of my...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com


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## SmokinAl (Sep 24, 2020)

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/pops6927s-curing-brines-regular-and-lo-salt
[h1]Pops6927's Curing Brines - Regular and Lo-Salt[/h1]






If your using cure #1 then go with Pops
If your using TQ then go with Bear.
Hope this helps!
Al


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## kilo charlie (Sep 24, 2020)

I've had a thousand successes with Pops Brine... I weigh my ingredients on a gram scale and keep on making delicious things.


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## kilo charlie (Sep 24, 2020)

I've had a thousand successes with Pops Brine... I weigh my ingredients on a gram scale and keep on making delicious things.


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## JC in GB (Sep 24, 2020)

I use a strict PPM method for my bacon and brine curing.  I call it the 10% brine method.  This method uses 10% of the meat green weight as water.

You can use as much water as you like, just make sure to account for the water weight.

This is considered an equilibrium brine as when the solution equalizes, salt, sugar, and cure #1 PPM concentrations will be the same in the meat as the solution.

1: Weight of meat plus water in kg

2: Calculate desired salt concentration %

3: Calculate desired sugar concentration %

Example:

4 kg pork belly

400 g water  (4000 * 0.10) = 4400 grams meat plus water

4.4 kg * 2.5 g cure #1 = 11 grams

Salt concentration: 1.85%  Pick this to suit your taste.

Salt = (4400 * 0 .0185) = 81.4 grams

Adjust salt for amount of cure used: (Salt - cure #1) = 70.4 grams

Sugar concentration: 2.2%

Sugar = 4400 * 0.022 = 96.8 grams

Mix the following in your 400 ml of water.  (Make the water hot first for easier mixing, then chill to below 40 F)

70.4 g salt
96.8 g sugar
11.0 g cure #1

Inject the meat with the brine.  Save any leftover brine or brine that comes back out of the meat.

Place meat and any remaining brine solution in a vac bag and seal.  You don't have to vac all the air out.

Place bag in fridge for 6 to 13 days flipping the package over daily.

Pull meat from bag and rinse.  Put on rack in fridge overnight to form a pellicle.

Hot smoke starting at 140 F and increasing temp every hour to 190 F

Pull at IT of 150.


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## daveomak (Sep 24, 2020)

Hey JC....   A 10% EQ brine is probably the best % for doing a brine....   Sometimes it's darn hard to find a container to make it work....


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## jcam222 (Sep 24, 2020)

I’ve done a lot of belly and buckboard using Pops brine. It’s always delicious. A lot of folks will pause for a moment to reflect on Pops in their next batch. I sure will.


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## indaswamp (Sep 25, 2020)

daveomak said:


> Hey JC....   A 10% EQ brine is probably the best % for doing a brine....   Sometimes it's darn hard to find a container to make it work....


That's how I cure 30# of Canadian Bacon in a 5 gallon bucket with about a gallon of water.... bucket won't fit anymore, and the bucket will fit in the frig....


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## sawhorseray (Sep 25, 2020)

Making bacon is like skinning a cat, lots of different ways to get it done. I make a maple bacon that gets brined in 2-gallon Ziploc freezer bags in the fridge for a week. Been making this for over 15 years now, happy every time. Check it out and see if it works for you. RAY






						Applewood Smoked Maple Bacon (illustrated)
					

Last week I went to Costco and found they had pork belly. I dug thru them all and found the biggest, thickest one.   When I got it home I cut the belly in half, knew then I'd picked a winner.   Made a mix of 18grams Cure#1, 4.6 ounces canning salt, two ounces maple sugar, 1 cup pure 100% maple...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com


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## JC in GB (Sep 25, 2020)

daveomak said:


> Hey JC....   A 10% EQ brine is probably the best % for doing a brine....   Sometimes it's darn hard to find a container to make it work....



That is why I use the vac bag.  It makes sure there is brine in contact with the meat at all times.  Also why it is important to flip the bag every day.

I have had great success using this method thus far.

Like 

 sawhorseray
 pointed out, there are many ways to get a good result.  Just make sure your method is within safety margins and you will be fine.

The challenge is to find which one you like best.  

 disco
 dry brine bacon recipe makes a great end product as well.


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## kilo charlie (Sep 25, 2020)

Look guys.. everyone has a way to do it..  too many opinions can confuse a fella when starting out. The original post was about Pops Brine. I can tell you when I started with it I had questions and I made the mistake of posting in an open forum and got so many off base answers it wasn't funny. 

Lucky for me I was able to communicate with Pops directly and got all my questions answered right away. Unfortunately now, that's not an option so it's up to the rest of us left to provide the BEST information to the original questions and not try to insert the 7800 other ways to skin a cat. 

Pops6927's Wet Curing Brine is THE resource to use and again, use a scale to weigh the ingredients per gallon of water.  Do NOT try to make a half batch or any other cutting down of the formula. The ingredients are cheap and available and making it in gallon batches with weighed ingredients is the only way to ensure consistent results.  If you need 1 1/2 gallons to cover your meats then make 2 gallons.  Respect the recipe and  you'll do fine.


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## JC in GB (Sep 25, 2020)

kilo charlie said:


> Look guys.. everyone has a way to do it..  too many opinions can confuse a fella when starting out. The original post was about Pops Brine. I can tell you when I started with it I had questions and I made the mistake of posting in an open forum and got so many off base answers it wasn't funny.
> 
> Lucky for me I was able to communicate with Pops directly and got all my questions answered right away. Unfortunately now, that's not an option so it's up to the rest of us left to provide the BEST information to the original questions and not try to insert the 7800 other ways to skin a cat.
> 
> Pops6927's Wet Curing Brine is THE resource to use and again, use a scale to weigh the ingredients per gallon of water.  Do NOT try to make a half batch or any other cutting down of the formula. The ingredients are cheap and available and making it in gallon batches with weighed ingredients is the only way to ensure consistent results.  If you need 1 1/2 gallons to cover your meats then make 2 gallons.  Respect the recipe and  you'll do fine.



He asked for Pops brine or any others we have had success with.  We provided exactly what he asked for.  He will get good results regardless of which one he uses.  Question answered.


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