Did I mess up my bacon?

[sambal badjak]

OK, I am confused.

I have a slab of belly pork lying in the fridge in a cure of pink salt, sugar, salt, juniper, black pepper and bay leaves.
BUT I have made a mistake in measuring out the amounts.
I am roughly using Ruhlmans dry cure mixture and I didn`t see the fact that the amount he states is for 2.25 kg (as I only ever work with amounts per kg) and as a result the nitrites are sitting at 267 ppm

Anyway, his recipes confuse me as the dry cure for bacon works out at 119 ppm nitrite if all nitirite is absorbed by the meat, but his pancetta works out at 388 ppm?

According to Marianski (I lend out my book, stupid mistake) it should be a maximum of 180 ppm (rind removed).

Anyway, I was going to write this post asking for advice on smoking temperatures as I don`t really have a temperature regulator on my smoker, but I guess the question now is:
Should I toss my well looked after pork belly or can I soak it in water for a certain amount of time to leach out cure and water? Or is there anything else I can do?

[ssorllih]

It is my understanding that the nitrites are broken down and dissipated by the time we have finished the curing and smoking. I don't have temperature control either so I tend to smoke cold and finish in the oven. I can set my oven at 170°F.

[el Ducko]

Digging around in my files, I found a 200 ppm maximum level for nitrites in bacon, which is close to what Marianski's book says. I agree with Ross, though- - the nitrites will break down during the process.

You may have a problem with saltiness, instead. Soaking the pork belly in water should help that, plus it will pull out some of whatever nitrite is left over. Don't throw it out! ...or if you do, throw it in my direction! (...although you'd need a powerful throwing arm to get it here from where you are! Perhaps the next new Olympic event should be the "bacon toss".)

[sambal badjak]

Thanks guys!
Would I be better off soaking before smoking or the other way around?
The salt percentage is about 3.5 percent,. I suppose a couple of refreshings of water would be a good plan?

[sambal badjak]

I soaked the belly pork in water for about 10 hours, changing the water once.
Then hung the belly out to dry for about 2 hours and smoked overnight.
I had some problems keeping the csg running. In the end the belly pork was smoked for about 5-6 hours in a 12 hour period.
Part of it has gone into the deep freezer and part is in the fridge wrapped in a tea towel for usage in the next couple of weeks.
All in all, I am quite happy with the way it worked out

[Chuckwagon]

Sambal, you wrote:

OK, I am confused. I have made a mistake in measuring out the amounts. I am roughly using Ruhlmans dry cure mixture and I didn`t see the fact that the amount he states is for 2.25 kg.
Anyway, his recipes confuse me as the dry cure for bacon works out at 119 ppm nitrite if all nitirite is absorbed by the meat, but his pancetta works out at 388 ppm?

Sambal, Ruhlman and Polcyn are both great chefs! On the other hand, Stan Marianski and Rytek Kutas are (and were) the finest meat preserving and smoking specialists in the world. Stan has a vast background in microbiology and understands how microorganisms affect meat. I knew Rytek in the old days in Las Vegas. (He passed away in the 90's). He was also a walking information resource! The recipe below was developed from his method and notes and they've sure worked for me.
Stan Marianski is a fellow-moderator (Seminole) of this forum. He's one of the finest gentlemen I've ever known... and I believe he is some kind of meat-smoking guru! He has shared all his secrets with us and they are available in his book OR you can get them (with his recipes too!) for FREE right here on this forum. Here is a link for his conversion page. http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage ... calculator
At the top of the page you can click on all sorts of information. You really ought to explore this goldmine of recipes and techniques. His bacon recipes are listed under "Hams And Meats" recipes.
You loaned your book out! No problem. It's all right here on this site. Best of luck in your endeavors. Here is a recipe for bacon Eastern Utah style. We prefer to rub it with honey, but it is simple enough to omit if you desire to do so. Shucks, this stuff is even "Duk approved"!

Sons Of Bees Bacon
Honey Rubbed, Maple Flavored, Dry-Cured Bacon

All along the upper Green River in eastern Utah, we see beehives and of course the best honey comes from the little "sons of bees" found near the shorelines of clover meadows near Vernal. Cowboys hand-rub fresh honey into ham as it cures for even more sweet flavor. Here`s the recipe that works for us - I stole it from Rytek Kutas way back when.

25 lbs. pork belly @38°F.
1-cup kosher (non-iodized) salt
1/4 cup Prague Powder #1
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tspn. freshly cracked black pepper

Cut and square belly slabs into a convenient size for hanging in your smoker. Good bacon should have equal proportions of fat and meat. Stir the ingredients together until they are well combined and the mixture is smooth. Be sure to use only real maple syrup. Don`t even think about the imitation stuff! Place the bellies into a shallow, lipped, non-reactive pan and hand rub the cure well into the meat. Keep the meat cold as possible while you distribute the cure evenly. Continue rubbing the cure-mixture into the meat and fat of the belly for a few minutes. Next, allow the bellies to cure in the pan, refrigerated, or in convenient, large, 2-gallon, Ziploc plastic bags. Place the slabs belly-side up for two days while the salt draws moisture from the meat and a brine develops. By the third day, if the brine has not quite covered the meat, add a little water - up to two quarts if necessary. It is important to allow this brine to remain in contact with the bacon as it cures. Inspect the progress daily and re-distribute the cure by turning the bellies over. The cure rate is one day per pound - up to 12 days. In other words, a ten pound bacon is removed on the tenth day, while a 14 lb. bacon should be removed on the twelfth day. Next, wash the bacon well and scrub away all the surface salt and sticky maple or honey residue. It is important NOT to soak the bacon at this point. Pat it dry and hang it up to dry completely while you pre-heat your smokehouse to 140° F. Smoke the bacon over a drip pan in hickory smudge until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 130 °F. Finally, lower the smokehouse temperature to 115° F. and continue to smoke the bacon until it blooms.
Now is the time to remove the skin if so desired. Simply slide a long knife blade beneath the skin and draw it slowly, leaving as much fat on the bacon as possible. Use the cured, salted, smoked skin to flavor stews, soups, beans, etc. Wrapped in plastic, refrigerate the bacon 24 hours then cut slices extra thick! Cooked outdoors on a griddle, it is pretty hard to beat. If you MUST eat inside, remember that professional chefs often use a hot oven to cook bacon evenly, preventing it from curling.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

[sambal badjak]

Thanks CW
I am aware of the book on the internet, just didn't think about it.
I will try the bacon recipe that you posted pretty soon. At the moment I am more after a UK style streaky bacon as that is something I really miss.
Everything we get here is vacuum packed and very watery.

I am pretty happy with my first attemp and I definitely lesrned loads!
It all sounds pretty straight forward when you read the process, but in practise it is all different.

I will use a similar recipe for my next attemp (but with the right amount of cure and salt this time. As an aside, I see I didn't state the ingredients (salt, sugar, bay leaves, pepper and juniper).
I will get the csg working properly and cold smoke in intervals till smoky enough to my likinh:-)

Again thanks all for all help and info!