# Question on liquid during cursing period



## carlbq (Dec 6, 2016)

I am two days into a cure period and little liquid / brine has formed. I also had little liquid / brine formation during my very first batch a few weeks ago.  Is this normal? Is my refrigerator too cold? Should I be concerned? I plan on curing for 10 days in refer them two and a half day in refer to form pellicle before smoking.


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## pc farmer (Dec 6, 2016)

Perfectly normal.  The salts pull moisture out of the meat and than when reabsorbed pull the salts and sugars back in to the meat.

What dry cure recipe did you use?


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## carlbq (Dec 6, 2016)

The issue is I am not getting much liquid...therefore there is little to pull back in.


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## smokin218r (Dec 6, 2016)

Your not going to get a ton of liquid. 
Wouldn't hurt to check the fridge temp and make sure you are not on the edge of freezing....


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## dirtsailor2003 (Dec 6, 2016)

When Cursing, it can be normal to spit, foam at the mouth, maybe even drool! 

With that said during the curing process, if using a dry rub cure, minimal liquid is formed and what does usually absorbs back into the meat.


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## smokin218r (Dec 6, 2016)

Might even get a ruler on the back of the hand during that time.....:icon_lol:


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## carlbq (Dec 6, 2016)

It is a dry rub cure. I am getting some liquids, not much. I split the belly in two sections, both just under 5 pounds. One has roughly 4 ounces of liquid, the other maybe 2.

And yes, I do curse but I do not foam at the mouth or drool as I am practiced and accomplished at cursing.


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## wade (Dec 7, 2016)

There could be a several of reasons for the lack of liquid
 
Firstly it will depend on the meat and how it has been handled/treated before you received it. With fresh pork that I get straight from the butcher there is usually very little liquid produced however when I have cured some supermarket pork or pork that has been previously frozen it can sometimes produce a lot.
Your packaging will also have an effect. If you are curing in a loosely sealed bag then you often get more visible brine produced. If you vac pack your meat while it is curing you will usually see very little
If you are curing it in loose wrapping like clingfilm or Saran wrap then it could be being lost through leakage.
 
Providing the dry brining is done in a sealed package preventing the liquid from being lost then you are fine - you will get variation in the amount of liquid produced. Losing the brine through leakage is obviously not good.
 
I usually vac pack mine and I end up with a piece of damp looking bacon when it is opened as much of the liquid produced is reabsorbed by the meat (similar to what you described). I can be curing 3 or 4 different pieces of pork at the same time and can get differing amounts of liquid produced in each pack.


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