EDITED..
Looking to know how do I know my bacon cure is done.
Here's what I did:
5lb pork belly
1/2 cup kosher salt
4 tsp pink salt
put it in the fridge last Tuesday 8/16/16. I have been flipping it nightly.
Please give me some feedback on the recipe and how I know when it's done.
Thanks a lot.
Sorry I am late to the party, I had a long day at work, but here are my two cents.....
Let me start by saying that measuring pink salt / prague powder with a teaspoon is really a bad practice, you should be using a scale in metric mode to accurately measure the cure properly. Not weighing the ingredients can cause inconsistent and incomplete curing from not using enough, or nitrite burn (overcuring) from using too much.
The same holds true for measuring the salt. A cup of Morton’s kosher Salt weighs 250 grams (8 3/4 ounces), whereas a cup of Diamond Kosher Salt weighs 135 grams (4 3/4 ounces). Yes, there is a difference among other brands as well. A cup is not an equal or accurate form of measure for salt.... See -
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/warning-measure-your-salt/?_r=0
I also agree with MisterChister that the amount of pink salt in that recipe is by far too much. While it may not harm a normal individual, but maybe someone with a pulmonary or cardiac condition or even young children could suffer ill effects from that amount.
There are many stories on the internet where have people confused pink salt with regular table salt and have wound up in the emergency room suffering from nitrite poisoning. Nitrates can change normal hemoglobin (the chemical in the blood responsible for oxygen transport) to methemoglobin. Nitrates increase the methemoglobin count, thus reducing the ability of the blood to transport oxygen to cells and organs. Oxygen starvation can lead to a bluish tint of the lips, ears, and nose in slight cases, and severe cases can lead to respiratory problems and heart problems.
As far as your curing time, a tested and proven recipe using
accurate measures will also provide you with the proper curing times. Safe dry curing times are calculated according to the thickest part of your meat. Standard curing time is one day for every 1/4" of meat measured from the center. So a two inch thick pork belly would measure one inch from the center, thus taking four full days to cure, not including the day you start the process. The only exception to this is if you are using pork belly with the skin still attached. The cure does not easily penetrate the skin, so you have to calculate the curing time based on the total thickness of the meat. So if you had a two inch thick belly with the skin on, it would take eight day to cure the pork belly for bacon. If you properly weighed the ingredients and accidentally left it in the refrigerator because you were away, everything would be fine because it would not get nitrite burn. But the same cannot be said for using more than an accurate measure.
If you are serious about curing meat or making sausage, I would suggest you purchase one or more of the books listed below from those who pioneered the home curing of meats and sausage..
Meat curing for bacon is the application of salt, Sodium Nitrite, and seasoning in order to impart unique properties to the end product while preventing bacterial growth. Meat is cured for one basic purpose: To prolong spoilage and to preserve in some manner to use at some time in the near future. The cure also prevents illness or death from deadly bacteria due to prolonged exposure at low temperatures which could result in food-borne illnesses. Although people cure for other secondary reasons, like to create a completely different food product like ham, bacon, or sausage, the primary purpose of the cure is to prevent botulism and other food-borne illnesses. The prolonged time in the cure is what gives the foods their tell-tale color, textures, and flavors. Without the use of a curing agent present in these processes, the bacteria are free to grow possibly causing severe illness and even rancidity.
There has been and always will be debate on the use of nitrites and nitrates in curing meat. Some will argue that only salt it is needed as a curing agent. They argue that "mankind has cured meats for centuries without the use of these additives." This statement is only partially true, because mankind did not intentionally add the nitrites when curing, they were natural formations of Nitrites. It is also impossible to tell how many people in these centuries actually died from food poisoning because of the extended incubation time of these lethal bacteria. Today we have the medical technology to diagnose and treat food-borne illnesses, as unpleasant and painful as they may be, I personally feel it is necessary to take precautions to avoid and prevent these food-borne illnesses. But as individuals we are free to do as we please. I can tell you that my brother-in-law felt curing meat for jerky was unnecessary, he wound up with a $13,000.00 hospital bill to treat food-borne bacteria. Through the pain of the illness and the expense of treatment, he admits it was an expensive lesson in food safety.
I would suggest doing some reading before you make the leap so you have an understanding of some of the processes...... Keep in mind there are many different types of sausages; some are made and cooked fresh, some contain a cure so they can be safely smoked, while others are cured and dried. It is important that you follow the recipe using exact amounts as well as the proper procedures to maintain a safe meat product. When in doubt read and read again, and ask questions if you need to.
There are many great books and guides on curing and sausage making. I am sure almost everyone who posts may have a few recommendations for books on sausage making. These are by far the best books for basic and advanced sausage making. They start with the basics and move forward to help you master the craft of sausage making. Contains true recipes before the use of chemical enhancers/additives, and fillers were added to stretch the amount of commercial production.
While there are many books out there that all contain enough information to get you off to a good start, there are a few books that I would highly recommend.
First Recommendation..
Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages by Stanley Marianski and Adam Marianski
This is a book that covers everything from making a smokehouse, to curing meats, and making sausage. Very easy to read with a great collection of recipes and techniques for the beginner. This book is actually two other books ("Meat Smoking And Smokehouse Design" and "Polish Sausages, Authentic Recipes And Instructions") combined into one single book plus more on making sausage and curing meats. Most are simple one Kilogram recipes, so you can make a small batch of the product before deciding to make a large batch. This also makes it easier to make a larger batches with easy multiples. The use of a metric scale in sausage making and curing makes the process much more accurate and provides a consistent product time after time.
Second Recommendation..
Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas and Ben Kutas
This is often called the definitive book on sausage making. The explanation of how cures work, and what they are for, just this understanding to a beginner is worth the price of the book. However the smallest quantity the recipes is for ten pounds, so a beginner will have to properly calculate and scale down the recipes. The book is equally helpful to the beginner or the advanced. Some of the recipes are a little too salty for my taste, but I just make a note and reduce the salt in the next batch. The book also contains a some stories that are entertaining. *** DO NOT BUY THE BOOK / DVD COMBO, in my opinion the DVD is worthless even to a beginner, but that's just my personal opinion.
Third Recommendation..
Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn
This is a great book, although it lightly touches the basics, I feel the book is more for an intermediate or advanced sausage maker. Most recipes are in five pound batches, but I suggest you scale them down to try them before making a large batch. You'll find that you will have to tweak a lot of the recipes to your individual liking / tastes. This book takes sausage to the next level with using some top shelf ingredients as well as some hard to find ingredients to make sausages that could be considered in the "gourmet" classification. Michael Ruhlman has many proven recipes, but you must have an understanding of the basics before you try to get into the gourmet type recipes contained herein.
Also keep in mind that there are many great resources on the World-Wide-Web (Internet), but reference books are always good for checking factual information when in doubt.
I would stress to all beginners to use only a tested and proven recipe from a reliable source, there are many recipes I have found on the Internet that I would have concerns about. Just because it's out there doesn't mean it is correct. Also the use of an electronic scale that also has a metric mode is an invaluable must have. The weighing of the cure is critical to food safety, so if everything is properly weighed and not measured, you will have a great product in the end.
Here is a brief guide to what basics are needed to make your own sausage.
http://www.lets-make-sausage.com/Sausage-making-equipment.html
Resources for tested recipes:
The Marianskis have a website which is another great resource:
http://www.meatsandsausages.com/
Len Paoli's Recipe site
http://lpoli.50webs.com/Sausage recipes.htm
The Spicy Sausage
http://thespicysausage.com/sausagemakingrecipes.htm
Sausage Mania
http://www.sausagemania.com/tutorial.html
Lets Make Sausage
http://www.lets-make-sausage.com/Sausage-making-equipment.html
Sausage Making Org
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/
Northwest Smoking
http://web.archive.org/web/20010214020112/http:/home.att.net/~g.m.fowler/frame/Sausage1.htm
and so many more....
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