Mmmmmm Bacon

[Mercs Own]

Wolfman - I am not sure if the amount of salt used in a brine or dry rub and the forming of the pellicle are related? The pellicle is formed by drying the meat and then letting it sit in a fridge for a period of time whilst the pellicle forms. some people put fans on them to dry them out more/quicker.

How long did you let it sit/hang uncovered for?

Anyone got other thoughts on this? I assume a pellicle will form on any meat that you leave uncovered in the fridge brined or not?

cheers

 

[benno1973]

Yep, I had the same thoughts - not sure that they are related. It's a skin of proteins on the surface of the meat, which I would assume would form on any meat, given the right conditions (temperature and humidity). The bacon does need to be well dried off before you hang it - did you dry it off with paper towels first?

 

[Wolfman]

I rinsed and patted dry before putting in the fridge. It was dry enough that there was no moisture coming from the bacon. I had a tub underneath the bacon and there was not a drop in it.

Pretty sure I left it hang for 2 days. It was at between 2 an 5 degrees though. Closer to 2 for the whole time though. Had some drama with my fridge.

It still tastes the goods. I did over cook it. It go to an internal temp of 76c. When I sliced it a small portion looked like roast pork. So maybe my salt is a little to finely ground and I need to add more?

Cheers guys

 

[Wolfman]

I rinsed and patted dry before putting in the fridge. It was dry enough that there was no moisture coming from the bacon. I had a tub underneath the bacon and there was not a drop in it.

Pretty sure I left it hang for 2 days. It was at between 2 an 5 degrees though. Closer to 2 for the whole time though. Had some drama with my fridge.

It still tastes the goods. I did over cook it. It go to an internal temp of 76c. When I sliced it a small portion looked like roast pork. So maybe my salt is a little to finely ground and I need to add more?

Cheers guys

 

[benno1973]

Hey Wolfman, sounds like you did the correct thing for the pellicle to form, not sure why it didn't.

For me, the nitrites add the flavour that differentiates the ham/bacon taste from a roast pork taste. That's just personally, not everyone feels this way

 

[Mercs Own]

2 days hanging plenty of time for a pellicle to form. Why do you think one didnt form? Was the pork smokey enough?

If you dont use nitrites/nitrates/instacure then your meat will not have that rosey pink pork colour we are so used to seeing in bacon instead it will be grey like cooked meat - the amount of salt wont affect colour of the meat. So it is of no surprise when you cut a slice off it looked like it was cooked - that said you did over cook it also (for bacon). I smoke my bacon for about 4 hours in my webber at about 100degrees c. Once I am happy with the colour of the smoke on the outside of the bacon I stop cool it down and slice it all up and pack in portions for cooking later.

Lastly how did it taste in terms of saltiness?

 

[Wolfman]

I did get some pinkness, bacon looking. They grey pork looking colour was only in patches and closer to the middle of the belly. Wasn't to salty at all. Taste is great just a tad over cooked. The pellicle may have been there? I thought I was looking for like a crust to form on the outside. When I googled pellicle for a picture mine looked similar.

I might give nitrates a go next time. Yes there will be a next time. Where do you pick these up from?

Cheers for all the advise.

 

[benno1973]

Hey Wolfman, the pellicle is just a sticky layer. You won't see it like a crust at all, but you'll feel it in that it feels tacky, which is what allows the smoke to bond/bind with the bacon.

If it was slightly grey in patches towards the centre, you might want to leave it a little longer to cure next time. Most recipes for bacon and ham talk about days curing per weight of the meat, however the thickness of the meat is more important. Salt needs to penetrate the meat to the centre, so if you have a small but thick slab of belly, you'll need to leave it longer than a long thin slab, despite the fact that they may be the same weight.

I order nitrites/nitrates either from ebay, Misty Gully, Country Brewer, or any of the online curing/BBQing places. Or find a butchers wholesaler near you....

 

[Wolfman]

Ah now yes I did have a sticky layer on the outside. Thanks for clearing that up.

So if what you are saying I didn't cure it for long enough, how do you know when it's ready? I get what you mean about the thickness of the meat. Would using extra salt speed this process up? Do you have any good links to bacon curing?

Cheers for the links on the nitrates. I will get some an give it another go..

My bacon turned out fine. I also made Chinese BBQ pork that week. With a bit of confusion I thought my son was having Chinese BBQ pork for his school lunches, he was actually having bacon sandwiches!

 

[benno1973]

So if what you are saying I didn't cure it for long enough, how do you know when it's ready? I get what you mean about the thickness of the meat. Would using extra salt speed this process up? Do you have any good links to bacon curing?

All good questions.

1. How do you know when it's ready? That's a hard one to answer. The beauty of using a specific amount of salt (2.4-2.5% by weight) is that it's virtually impossible to overcure the meat. I leave 7 days for thin pieces, up to 10 days for thick pieces of belly. If in doubt, cure it longer. Given that there's a specific amount of salt there, if you cure too long, it won't be overly salty.

2. I guess it would, but you run the risk of over-salting the meat. I prefer to leave it longer, as per point 1.

3. Good links are Ruhlman and Molinari. That Molinari link is pancetta, but it's similar.

 

[punkin]

Ask your butcher to get the nitrates for you. I use the Lesnies Royal Ham Cure. It's well under twenty bucks for a 4.5kg bag that will last you many, many years.

Another cheap and really good investment is a brine injector. I have this one..

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-5011-Stainless-Steel-Seasoning/dp/B000KDZ1VA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375130072&sr=8-1&keywords=meat+injector

I use it for so many things besides bacon and hams, injecting Competition Brine to chickens before roasting for the juiciest bird you'll ever taste, injecting herbed butters into thick pork loin chops etc etc

The limit is imagination, did dome coca cola marylands with the grandkids a couple of months ago using soda stream syrup. :lol: B)

spelling edit

 

[TasChris]

Picked up a whole pork belly with loin attached for $12.99/kg. Butcher has let me know that I can get belly of baconers rather than porkers ( baconer a lot bigger in size so more bigger belly) for the same price if I give him notice.
Cut pork belly in four and cured as per Charcuterie book with some additional spices for 8 days.
Bellies then smoked over apple wood for 3 hours.
The smell in my kitchen is unbelievable.
I love bacon

1) Juniper and Thyme
2) Treacle (as had no maple)
3) Bay and Pepper
4) Garlic,Thyme, Juniper, Bay and Pepper







Cheers
Chris

 

[mwd]

Looks absolutely delicious. Love smoked bacon anything that tastes that good must be bad for you.

 

[surly]

Just bought some pork loin, brined and placed in the fridge.
This time next week, I hope to be in a smokey, bacony stupor

 

[jyo]

I did two pieces of belly today pretty much as Thirstyboy's first post in this thread. One with salt and honey, the other with salt, honey and pepper. I'll hit it with a few hours of hickory smoke in the Weber this weekend.

If this turns out as good as I think it will, I'll try the next with maple syrup.

So glad I found this thread! I'm pretty excited! :icon_drool2:

 

[shaunous]

Have 1kg of pork belly drying on its second day in the fridge. Will smoke today, can't wait


Some of you look to have kept the skin on in some of your pic's, how did that go? I removed it as I figured it would be terrible, like doing pulled pork with the skin on, something you'll only do once.

 

[djar007]

Are you guys using curing salt to brine your pork belly in. Or just normal salt.

 

[shaunous]

Holy crap this is awesome, will not be the first time I do this. Only had a little bit today, big test tomorrow morning. Mmmmmmm Bacon

 

[manticle]

I found shoulder made better bacon, belly was best for pancetta.
Never took skin off, nipples made for extra fun.

And quality sea salt for curing but if you want pink after cooking then curing salts are the thing for you.

 

[jyo]

I meant to update this. Mine was far too salty. It looks and tastes like bacon, but too much salt.

I have frozen it and can probably use it for cooking / seasoning in recipes, but as far as bacon goes, I can't eat very much of it. I will adjust salt ratio next time.