Bacon cure time?

Dry cure? 7 - 10 days should do it

I went a week on mine, but I decided that I would go at least 10 days on my next one.

at 2" thick, I would go 7 days minimum. You can cure longer if you use an Equilibrium cure. Its pretty simple. Weigh the pork belly, after trimming... You want to weigh what piece is going in the bag, so if you're doing 2 bags, do each separately.

Then you determine how much Salt, sugar, pepper, etc you are going to add by adding a % of that weight...

So for example, 3% salt is pretty standard.. So if your belly weighed 1000 grams,

3% Salt = 30 grams
1% Sugar = 10 Grams
.5% Pepper = 5 Grams
.5% Garlic = 5 Grams
.25% Cure #1 = 2.5 grams

You can set your % preferences based on the flavor profile you want. I usually go heavy on the sugar (2-2.5%) and heavier on the pepper (1.5) ish but you reallycan't go wrong.. add whatever you like to it! As long as you add .25% Pink salt and 2-4% salt, you'll get bacon. @ 2%, you will not taste any salt, at 4% it will be pretty salty, you decide how you want it...

Anyway, by using this method, you can let this cure in your fridge for a month or longer... It will never go past where it should be, flavor wise..

Both pieces were equal weight? Were each in seperate bags or all in one bag? What was the belly weight? By my calcs, that rub would cure 1600g of belly. If that's how much got the above amt of cure, you're golden

Ten days would be adequate cure time for a two inch thick belly, unless you leave the skin on. The cure does not penetrate the skin in the same manner as the exposed flesh, therefore bellies with the skin left on will take a few days longer to cure.

I usually go 8-10. If you go on the longer end, do a good rinse after you are done curing before smoking.

Minimum four, maximum twelve days for my bacon.

yep.. you're fine.

Shagdog is pretty much echoing what I have said for years, that is... follow an established recipe or at least follow the recommended amounts of curing agent (which can be a pink salt + salt mix, or a given amount of TenderQuick) per pound of trimmed meat. In other words, the amount of curing agent is based on weight. Signature spices can be varied to fit your personal tastes. Some additional tips would be:

Curing time is based on thickness.

Overhaul your bellies (turn them), at least every two days. I cure mine in large zipper bags and overhaul them every day.

Don't drain off liquid in the bag. It will get re-absorbed during the cure cycle.

Following the cure cycle, consider a soak-out step - I usually do an overnight soak-out, but this is a personal choice. If you are doing two belly pieces... experiment.

Following my soak-out, I do an overnight equalization (rest) in the fridge overnight. This lets any liquids within the belly to settle down, and it gives me a nice pellicle.