# Quick help?  First time bacon with Prague powder #1



## aneura (Jan 9, 2021)

Hello,

Been making bacon for years using TQ, but ran out during the last batch so i decided to try some Prague powder I'd bought but not tried yet... welp, after curing, the ones with the Prague powder have a green-is color...  so 2 question:

1. Shall I toss them?
2. With such a small ratio of Prague powder, how do you get it to cover the entire piece of belly correctly?

thanks!


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## thirdeye (Jan 9, 2021)

I can't really see the 'green' you mentioned, why don't you post your recipe so we can check out the percentages of ingredients you used. 

Prague powder #1 is mixed into salt and sugar (and sometimes other seasonings like pepper or garlic powder) and the ingredients mixed very well so the Cure #1 is blended very well.   I divide my mixture in half.... one half goes on the fat side + all 4 edges.  The other half goes on the meat side.


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## aneura (Jan 9, 2021)

well, i guess I f*cked that up, lol... I only used the Prague powder (1 teaspoon for 5 pounds)


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## sawhorseray (Jan 9, 2021)

I've been making bacon for around 20 years now Eric and I've always mixed the Cure #1, salt, and sugar into a slurry with maple syrup and or honey to rub into the belly. It covers adequately, prived some flavor, and when the belly is placed in 2-gallon Ziploc bags in the fridge I massage them once or twice a day while curing. I can see the green tint, I'm sorry, I have no idea what that's about. As 

 thirdeye
 recommended, post up your cure recipe. RAY


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## aneura (Jan 9, 2021)

sawhorseray said:


> I've been making bacon for around 20 years now Eric and I've always mixed the Cure #1, salt, and sugar into a slurry with maple syrup and or honey to rub into the belly. It covers adequately, prived some flavor, and when the belly is placed in 2-gallon Ziploc bags in the fridge I massage them once or twice a day while curing. I can see the green tint, I'm sorry, I have no idea what that's about. As
> 
> thirdeye
> recommended, post up your cure recipe. RAY



Thanks for the quick reply, I screwed up the cure... oh well, no I know!  Thanks for the suggestion of the slurry, I'd like to get away from the TQ


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## sawhorseray (Jan 9, 2021)

aneura said:


> well, i guess I f*cked that up, lol... I only used the Prague powder (1 teaspoon for 5 pounds)



Check out this site for bacon curing Eric, it'll give you what you need to find out.

Bacon Cure Calculator - Local Food Heroes


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## aneura (Jan 9, 2021)

sawhorseray said:


> Check out this site for bacon curing Eric, it'll give you what you need to find out.
> 
> Bacon Cure Calculator - Local Food Heroes


thank you!  As i said, it was a last minute ordeal, i'm normally a thorough researcher.  Quick question, does the sugar give it any sweetness?   I'm not a fan of sweet bacon.


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## sawhorseray (Jan 9, 2021)

aneura said:


> thank you!  As i said, it was a last minute ordeal, i'm normally a thorough researcher.  Quick question, does the sugar give it any sweetness?   I'm not a fan of sweet bacon.



Not really Eric, it's more for the curing process. I do like the sweet flavor which is why I always use the pure maple syrup. It's not a over-powering sweet flavor tho it does help get the cure distributed evenly. Now that you've stated you used only the Cure #1 it's most likely concentrated in the area that has turned green. RAY


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## thirdeye (Jan 9, 2021)

aneura said:


> well, i guess I f*cked that up, lol... I only used the Prague powder (1 teaspoon for 5 pounds)



I was afraid this would be your reply.  So, we can assume your bacon was 5# right?  Here is the deal, sodium nitrite is a salt and it has a consistent diffusion rate into the belly.  Here is what happens with the additional salt and sugar you did not use:  1. the additional salt (sodium chloride) also diffuses into the meat and brings a little more salty flavor to the party.  2. the sugar helps to offset the saltiness, but it does not diffuse as easily as the salts so some remains on the surface.

Greg Blonder wrote an article that focused on dry curing a pastrami, and this method used 0.25% Cure #1 (based on meat weight), and a very small volume of additional salt.  The total amount of curing mix was so small he goes into great detail on applying the cure .... like taking small amounts and bouncing it out of a spoon on one side, then flipping the meat, repeating, then turning again, and again.  I tried this and the cure #1 did do it's job, but the small amount of additional salt was so small, the flavor was bland.

As long as the 'green' is not a souring or mold issue I bet your bacon is cured, but it will be blander than you expect.  I would go a little longer on cure time, say 12 to 14 days, then test fry a couple of slices.  The product you have at this point is salt pork, or Streak-O-Lean (which ironically I recently posted here about).  After the taste test.... you can add some cracked pepper before smoking, and after smoking  fry some other test strips.  I think you could always add a pinch of salt to the slices when you fry them.  This might save your bacon so to speak.

Here is that link to the salt pork post:





						Streak O' Lean  ~aka~  Side Meat ~aka~ Salt Pork
					

It goes by several names, and if you come from the South you may have had it (if you're old enough).... or if your kinfolk still cook with the old ways.  With me it's definitely a Grandpa thing.  Streak O' Lean is cured but un-smoked pork belly, in other words, think fresh side pork that has...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com


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## olaf (Jan 9, 2021)

aneura said:


> thank you!  As i said, it was a last minute ordeal, i'm normally a thorough researcher.  Quick question, does the sugar give it any sweetness?   I'm not a fan of sweet bacon.


I'm not a fan of sugar to the point of sweet on my meat either. Just keep the sugar under 2% with bacon and you should be happy with the level of sweetness.


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## bill ace 350 (Jan 24, 2021)

aneura said:


> Thanks for the quick reply, I screwed up the cure... oh well, no I know!  Thanks for the suggestion of the slurry, I'd like to get away from the TQ


Hope you have better results next time.

Curious, why do you want to get away from TQ?

I use TQ and cure #1 in my bacon, depending on what recipe i use. Excellent results with both.


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## hoity toit (Jan 24, 2021)

sawhorseray said:


> Check out this site for bacon curing Eric, it'll give you what you need to find out.
> 
> Bacon Cure Calculator - Local Food Heroes


Thanks for posting the cure calculator. As for the process ditto what was said about the salt and sugar, salt draws the moisture and proteins to the surface and the sugar offsets the salt. I also massage and turn the belly each day .


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