Bacon first timer - anyone have a good brine calculator?

[wishiniwasfishin1]

You guys are the pros so thought I would ask here. The Information I see online seems off. The salt I get at 2.25% for sea salt and .25 for the Prague #1 for a total of 2.5% salts.

The sugar is mostly 1% that I am seeing. Is that correct? 2.5 x sugar to salt?

My belly is 2.3 kg and I hope to get it curing today so I can smoke next Sunday. Any help appreciated!

Also - do I rub on maple syrup or honey before I rub in the cure? Seems like the maple / honey would make the cure clump up if I did that.

dry brine recipe - Prague #1, sea salt and dark brown sugar.
Thanks and Happy Easter!

 

[Local Hali Hunter]

You guys are the pros so thought I would ask here. The Information I see online seems off. The salt I get at 2.25% for sea salt and .25 for the Prague #1 for a total of 2.5% salts.

The sugar is mostly 1% that I am seeing. Is that correct? 2.5 x sugar to salt?

My belly is 2.3 kg and I hope to get it curing today so I can smoke next Sunday. Any help appreciated!

Also - do I rub on maple syrup or honey before I rub in the cure? Seems like the maple / honey would make the cure clump up if I did that.

dry brine recipe - Prague #1, sea salt and dark brown sugar.
Thanks and Happy Easter!

I've made bacon so many times, here is what I can offer to you....

For every 5 lbs of pork belly I use a tsp of Prague Powder as well as 1/2 cup of Kosher salt. I also slather it with liquid honey before the dry brine is added. after 5 to 12 days I take it out and air dry it for about a day in the fridge. Then smoke it not cook it. Make sure your temp is 150 F or less. Write everything you do down so you can adjust for the next batch.

I hope this helps, check out ilovemeat.com, it's quite helpful.

 

[wishiniwasfishin1]

I've made bacon so many times, here is what I can offer to you....

For every 5 lbs of pork belly I use a tsp of Prague Powder as well as 1/2 cup of Kosher salt. I also slather it with liquid honey before the dry brine is added. after 5 to 12 days I take it out and air dry it for about a day in the fridge. Then smoke it not cook it. Make sure your temp is 150 F or less. Write everything you do down so you can adjust for the next batch.

I hope this helps, check out ilovemeat.com, it's quite helpful.View attachment 78245

Ok thanks. I ended up doing something pretty close. Do you leave the fat cap on during cure? Do you remove it? I left it on and not sure what to do there…

Yours looks delicious by the way!

 

[triplenickel]

Not sure if you’ve seen this site or not but it’s my go to for everything smoked and cured. He’s gives some pretty good explanations on more than just ribs as the name implies.

The Ultimate Destination For BBQ And Grilling Recipes, Science, And Product Reviews

Meathead's AmazingRibs.com is the leading BBQ and grilling website, featuring 2100+ pages of recipes, techniques, cooking science, myth-busting, and hands-on reviews.

amazingribs.com

 

[Seasalt]

I use this equilibrium calculator based on the weight and cure for 10 days either vacuum sealed or in a ziploc. I generally do 1.8% salt and it’s always great, never too salty.

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www.diggingdogfarm.com

 

[Copper Moon]

I use this equilibrium calculator based on the weight and cure for 10 days either vacuum sealed or in a ziploc. I generally do 1.8% salt and it’s always great, never too salty.

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Thanks for this. I'll give it a try next batch

 

[wishiniwasfishin1]

I use this equilibrium calculator based on the weight and cure for 10 days either vacuum sealed or in a ziploc. I generally do 1.8% salt and it’s always great, never too salty.

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Small business web hosting offering additional business services such as: domain name registrations, email accounts, web services, FrontPage help, online community resources and various small business solutions.

www.diggingdogfarm.com

Thanks, that’s a handy calc. What do you use for desired sugar %?
And do you just leave the fet cap? Remove after smoking?
Cheers

 

[Local Hali Hunter]

Ok thanks. I ended up doing something pretty close. Do you leave the fat cap on during cure? Do you remove it? I left it on and not sure what to do there…

Yours looks delicious by the way!

I leave the fat on as it absorbs the smoke flavour, I just get the butcher to take the skin off but leave the fat. But I'm sure it would dry out a bit more with the fat removed.

 

[wishiniwasfishin1]

I leave the fat on as it absorbs the smoke flavour, I just get the butcher to take the skin off but leave the fat. But I'm sure it would dry out a bit more with the fat removed.

So the fat never gets removed then even after smoking?
Just render it in the oven or whatever?

 

[tinboatrobb]

So the fat never gets removed then even after smoking?
Just render it in the oven or whatever

I will remove some of the fat after it is smoked. Some bellies have too much fat for us.

 

[wolf]

FAT stays on skin off cmon bacon is fat the best part!!!! LOL
I use a 2 to 1 ratio brown sugar to salt As I hate salty bacon if you want it saltier you can add later , you cant take salt out of the product. I make about 100 plus sides a year from the local farmers and they keep coming back

 

[wishiniwasfishin1]

FAT stays on skin off cmon bacon is fat the best part!!!! LOL
I use a 2 to 1 ratio brown sugar to salt As I hate salty bacon if you want it saltier you can add later , you cant take salt out of the product. I make about 100 plus sides a year from the local farmers and they keep coming back
View attachment 78276

Ok good call. No diet bacon for me. Looks amazing!

 

[wishiniwasfishin1]

Made the bacon and some queso yesterday and it turned out great. Thanks for the help!

 

[fish brain]

It's way easier to slice if it's really cold/almost frozen. But if you need to try some fresh out of the smoker I understand