# Going to try bacon, is this right?



## delarosa74868 (Dec 30, 2011)

I have read a ton of posts and im pretty much confused now.  Here's what I think is what I need to do for a dry cure.

   for every pound of each chunk of belly I add one tablespoon of Tender Quick and one tablespoon of brown sugar. Put in individual ziplocks, put in fridge and flip/massage every day for nine days.  Rinse, dry and smoke.

 Is that right?  Also, I see alot of you cold smoke.  My smoker only goes down to 150, how would that affect my smoking time?


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## SmokinAl (Dec 30, 2011)

I can't comment on the amount of TQ to use, because I use cure#1. As for cold smoking most of us use an A-MAZE-N pellet or sawdust smoker with no heat. Here's the web site. http://www.amazenproducts.com/


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## alblancher (Dec 30, 2011)

If you can get some Cure1 I can be helpful but I don't use TQ for bacon


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## delarosa74868 (Dec 30, 2011)

alblancher said:


> If you can get some Cure1 I can be helpful but I don't use TQ for bacon




I found some sugar cure at the place I found the pork belly.  The butcher told me sugar cure is what I needed. Is he right?


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## big casino (Dec 30, 2011)

Yes he is right, BUT you HAVE to follow the directions for each particular cure, all cures ARE NOT interchangeable,  I think there are a few guys that use TQ who will probably be around to help you but like the other fellas b4 me I also use cure#1

it seems there are a few different ways to cure bacon, and a ton of different recipes, you should follow the recipe and use what the cure it says or find a recipe that fits your curing salts

hope this has helped


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## alblancher (Dec 30, 2011)

+1 Big Casino

If you have a cure mix use the instructions provided.


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## mballi3011 (Dec 30, 2011)

I like to use tender quick myself for I think that I get better flavors with it. Now you should go by what the product's bag says to do. I have both cures and they are as differnet as the color of the two. I do just as you want to also. I wrap each bellie in it's own bag and let it set messagingit and maoving it around everyday. Now I let mine go for 10-14 days depending on how thinck the bellie is. Now alot of folks her use the AMNS smoking thingie I just use a hot plate and it works just fine for me.


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## delarosa74868 (Dec 30, 2011)

The TQ's directions says put it in a plastic bag, which is the way I was leaning towards rather than a wet cure.  The sugar cure's directions says nothing about a bag.  It just says to apply to meat and put it in the fridge. Do I put it in a bag if I use the sugar cure?  Also, do I mix brown sugar with the cure then add it to the meat? I know Im making this more difficult than it really is.


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## alblancher (Dec 30, 2011)

With the sugar cure I am going to guess that the cure is complete.  You can get some idea of that by the amount of cure mix you have for the amount of meat it is for.  I hope it tells you how much to use per lb of meat.  I would dust the belly with the amount of cure recommended then  loosly wrapped in plastic wrap and lay in a tray .  The cure mix should give you a complete set of directions.  If it doesn't but it gives you amounts of each ingredient in the cure mix we may be able to help you. 

Get with mballi3011 about how he does his TQ cures.


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## stubshaft (Dec 31, 2011)

I use 1 Tbsp TQ and 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar per pound of meat, place it into bags and refridgerate and massage daily for 5 days per inch of thickness.


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## delarosa74868 (Jan 8, 2012)

Well, got my bacon done!  Cured for 8 days,then rinsed and dried in fridge for one.  Smoked at 150 for about four hours.  Turned out fantastic! Didn't get a pic of a cooked piece though.  Thanks for all the advice! Now that I have done it by the book, its time to start playing with different seasonings. I know one thing, I will NEVER buy bacon from the grocery store ever again!

After curing







Smoked







First one sliced


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## alblancher (Jan 8, 2012)

Looks delicious, congratulations on your first bacon!  Thanks for the Qview


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## rdknb (Jan 8, 2012)

That does look so good. well done


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## michael ark (Jan 8, 2012)




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## big casino (Jan 9, 2012)




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## stubshaft (Jan 10, 2012)




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