# Buckboard: Rinse or no Rinse?



## Sven Svensson (Jan 30, 2022)

Tomorrow I hit the 8 day mark on dry brining my first Buckboard bacon. I’ve been a belly man for the last decade. I’m also new to the dry brine weighing method. I made one with just salt, cure, and brown sugar. I also made one with Capicola spices. My method of belly bacon included rinsing and even soaking.

So do I rinse these? Do I soak them? I’m very happy about the color on these. They are both most certainly cured.






And 

 GrumpyGriller
 , I think your buckboard is also approaching cured status, right?


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## indaswamp (Jan 30, 2022)

No rinse or soak necessary. The amount of salt you added is the right amount of salt. no need to rinse it off.


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## indaswamp (Jan 30, 2022)

How thick is the slab? always good to let them go 3-4 days extra for better color and flavor as the sugar migrates slower into the meat than the salts.


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## Sven Svensson (Jan 30, 2022)

I had a feeling you were going to say that 

 indaswamp
. I was also hoping you were going to say that because I don’t want to lose those spices.


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## Sven Svensson (Jan 30, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> How thick is the slab? always good to let them go 3-4 days extra for better color and flavor as the sugar migrates slower into the meat than the salts.


They are not real thick. Maybe an inch and a half at most. I’m a patient man and I’m not in any rush. I can easily let them go a few more days. That’s good advice. Thanks.


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## SmokinEdge (Jan 30, 2022)

Sven Svensson said:


> Tomorrow I hit the 8 day mark on dry brining my first Buckboard bacon. I’ve been a belly man for the last decade. I’m also new to the dry brine weighing method. I made one with just salt, cure, and brown sugar. I also made one with Capicola spices. My method of belly bacon included rinsing and even soaking.
> 
> So do I rinse these? Do I soak them? I’m very happy about the color on these. They are both most certainly cured.
> View attachment 524009
> ...


I agree with 

 indaswamp

Just because they are “cured” don’t mean they are done. To a point, the more time the better. Go 10 to 14 days, just for flavor development. Smoke it, then give another couple days in the fridge to equalize. Time in rest here is your friend.


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## Sven Svensson (Jan 30, 2022)

Sounds like Friday is the day. Looks like I’m smoking this coming weekend.


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## DougE (Jan 30, 2022)

I rinse mine, possibly unnecessary, but that's how I have been doing it.  At 1.5% salt, I haven't needed to get rid of any of it, for my tastes, so no on the soaking. I'm not a heavy salt user, so if anything, mine might not be salty enough for some. And, yea, go the 2 weeks. I did 11, or 12 days on the first one, cause I was impatient, and even 2 or 3 extra days does make a difference.


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## SmokinAl (Jan 31, 2022)

We soak our’s for a couple of hours in ice water after removing from the cure. Then a 4 day dry in the fridge on a cooling rack, then 10-12 hours of cold smoke, then another 4 day dry in the fridge. Finally 2-3 hours in the freezer, then slice on the meat slicer. Good luck with yours. We like the flavor of BBB, over belly bacon. It’s just leaner with more flavor.
h





Al


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## chopsaw (Jan 31, 2022)

I rinse when it comes out of the cure , dry , then back in the fridge overnight on a rack . No soak . Smoke the next day .


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## Fueling Around (Jan 31, 2022)

I do the same as 

 chopsaw
 on my dry cures.


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## Winterrider (Jan 31, 2022)

Do a fry test. If to your liking, no need to rinse..if a bit to salty, like Al said soak in ice water for  couple hrs.


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## DougE (Jan 31, 2022)

Winterrider said:


> Do a fry test. If to your liking, no need to rinse..if a bit to salty, like Al said soak in ice water for couple hrs.


I see rinsing and soaking as 2 different things. Rinsing just removes stuff from the surface, but will not remove excess salt absorbed by the meat during curing; that's what soaking does. At any rate, if you get the numbers dialed in with a dry cure, your salt level will be spot on with boring repeatability.


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## Sven Svensson (Jan 31, 2022)

Thanks for all the great advice everyone. That shot of your buckboard 

 SmokinAl
 looks incredible! I’m hoping mine turns out half that good. I’m very anxious to see how this measure method works for me.


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## DougE (Jan 31, 2022)

Sven Svensson said:


> Thanks for all the great advice everyone. That shot of your buckboard
> 
> SmokinAl
> looks incredible! I’m hoping mine turns out half that good. I’m very anxious to see how this measure method works for me.


Once you get it dialed in to your preferences, each slab will pretty much come out like the last one did.


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## thirdeye (Jan 31, 2022)

When I got into the Buckboard method, Hi Mountain cure was my starting point, it's a Wyoming product and I can get it just about anywhere.  Although marketed as a 'pioneer' cure for boneless butts... I used their cure on a number of items from chops, tenderloins, loins, butts and picnics. When shipping costs rose, a lot of my online friends and blog readers stopped ordering it, so I switched to a Tender Quick based cure and posted that as an alternate.  I rinsed and suggested several different times for a 'soak-out' as both dry cures benefited from it. 

Using a universal curing brine like Pop's Brine, or an equilibrium curing method does allow you to rinse, rest, and smoke.... but I still do a short soak-out.


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## Sven Svensson (Jan 31, 2022)

DougE said:


> Once you get it dialed in to your preferences, each slab will pretty much come out like the last one did.


Thanks 

 DougE
 . I look forward to the mundane and predictable. Bacon is the best gift, especially to your boss. My neighbor, who has to put up with smell of me smoking bacon, needs something more lean so I’m hoping this keeps him happy.


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## Sven Svensson (Jan 31, 2022)

thirdeye said:


> When I got into the Buckboard method, Hi Mountain cure was my starting point, it's a Wyoming product and I can get it just about anywhere.  Although marketed as a 'pioneer' cure for boneless butts... I used their cure on a number of items from chops, tenderloins, loins, butts and picnics. When shipping costs rose, a lot of my online friends and blog readers stopped ordering it, so I switched to a Tender Quick based cure and posted that as an alternate.  I rinsed and suggested several different times for a 'soak-out' as both dry cures benefited from it.
> 
> Using a universal curing brine like Pop's Brine, or an equilibrium curing method does allow you to rinse, rest, and smoke.... but I still do a short soak-out.


One of my slabs I put some seasonings on. I’m not sure how a soak will effect that. I may just leave two alone and see what happens. I’m not a guy who likes salty bacon so this should be a fun experiment.


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## DougE (Jan 31, 2022)

thirdeye said:


> When I got into the Buckboard method, Hi Mountain cure was my starting point, it's a Wyoming product and I can get it just about anywhere.  Although marketed as a 'pioneer' cure for boneless butts... I used their cure on a number of items from chops, tenderloins, loins, butts and picnics. When shipping costs rose, a lot of my online friends and blog readers stopped ordering it, so I switched to a Tender Quick based cure and posted that as an alternate.  I rinsed and suggested several different times for a 'soak-out' as both dry cures benefited from it.
> 
> Using a universal curing brine like Pop's Brine, or an equilibrium curing method does allow you to rinse, rest, and smoke.... but I still do a short soak-out.


I went straight to using cure#1, salt, and sugar, with some guidance from 

 SmokinEdge
 , and the results are some really good bacon, confirmed by independent testers (tasters), and with the formula I use, it always comes out about the same.


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## thirdeye (Jan 31, 2022)

Sven Svensson said:


> One of my slabs I put some seasonings on. I’m not sure how a soak will effect that. I may just leave two alone and see what happens. I’m not a guy who likes salty bacon so this should be a fun experiment.


My main additional seasoning I use during the curing process is cracked pepper. A lot of it will remain after a rinse or soak-out, but I always hit it again before the refrigerated rest.  The pellicle really anchors it.


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## DougE (Jan 31, 2022)

Sven Svensson said:


> One of my slabs I put some seasonings on. I’m not sure how a soak will effect that. I may just leave two alone and see what happens. I’m not a guy who likes salty bacon so this should be a fun experiment.


Some of mine, I season with granulated garlic and coarse black pepper, but I give them a quick rinse after they come out of the cure, pat dry with paper towels, and place on a rack in the fridge, uncovered, for a day or so to let it dry out before smoking. If you really want to, you can always apply rubs or spices to the meat prior to smoking.


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## DougE (Jan 31, 2022)

Sven Svensson said:


> I’m not a guy who likes salty bacon so this should be a fun experiment.


I'm not, either. mine comes out less salty than store bacon.


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## SmokinEdge (Jan 31, 2022)

thirdeye said:


> My main additional seasoning I use during the curing process is cracked pepper. A lot of it will remain after a rinse or soak-out, but I always hit it again before the refrigerated rest.  The pellicle really anchors it.


White pepper is now my secret ingredient. Nothing wrong with the black pepper and still use it, but the white fine ground plays well all by itself.


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## thirdeye (Jan 31, 2022)

DougE said:


> I went straight to using cure#1, salt, and sugar, with some guidance from
> 
> SmokinEdge
> , and the results are some really good bacon, confirmed by independent testers (tasters), and with the formula I use, it always comes out about the same.


I guess for me, the main reason I endorsed Hi Mountain cures, and Tender Quick Cures for so long online.... was all about food safety.  Twenty or thirty years ago it was rare for home meat processors to be as well informed and as cautious with nitrates and nitrites as many are today. Morton Salt designed Tender Quick with home use in mind. Not only was everything you need in the bag, but measuring was simple.  And if you happened to be a little generous, you were not in the danger zone.  Heck, they even sold their curing/recipe guide for $1 or so.  I've taken a lot of cured loins to Sunday pot lucks, they resemble Canadian bacon more than ham.  Very mild. Great for sandwiches.


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## DougE (Jan 31, 2022)

thirdeye said:


> I guess for me, the main reason I endorsed Hi Mountain cures, and Tender Quick Cures for so long online.... was all about food safety.  Twenty or thirty years ago it was rare for home meat processors to be as well informed and as cautious with nitrates and nitrites as many are today. Morton Salt designed Tender Quick with home use in mind. Not only was everything you need in the bag, but measuring was simple.  And if you happened to be a little generous, you were not in the danger zone.  Heck, they even sold their curing/recipe guide for $1 or so.  I've taken a lot of cured loins to Sunday pot lucks, they resemble Canadian bacon more than ham.  Very mild. Great for sandwiches.
> 
> View attachment 524092


They look delicious. One certainly doesn't want to be cavalier when it comes to safety with using nitrates, but as long as you have proper guidance, as can be easily had here on SMF, curing is a fairly straightforward process. I can tell you that I was once intimidated enough by the whole process as not to attempt it, but once it was all spelled out for me, along with reading Marianski, I know what I'm doing is both safe and effective.


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## G8trwood (Mar 26, 2022)

SmokinAl said:


> We soak our’s for a couple of hours in ice water after removing from the cure. Then a 4 day dry in the fridge on a cooling rack, then 10-12 hours of cold smoke, then another 4 day dry in the fridge. Finally 2-3 hours in the freezer, then slice on the meat slicer. Good luck with yours. We like the flavor of BBB, over belly bacon. It’s just leaner with more flavor.
> h
> View attachment 524012
> 
> Al


Wow!
Going to try BBB soon, now I have a goal to shoot for. Simply stellar.


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