Dry-curing pork belly with Prague Powder #1

[lhommedieu]

First time for me.

I'm using a combination of Prague Powder #1, kosher salt, and brown sugar, in a large plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Proportions are as follows:

Prague Powder #1 Curing Salt = N x .0025
Kosher Salt= N x.03
Brown Sugar= N x .0125
Where N= weight of belly

I'll double-check, but I believe that these units are grams.

My directions are as follows:

"Cure for 7 to 9 days, flipping the bag over once per day. At the end of the curing period remove the belly from the bag and rinse off the cure in cold water."

But is rubbing the cure into the pork belly a one-time process, or should it be repeated at regular intervals during the 7-9 days?

 

[LYU370]

Just the initial time.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Just flipping the bag is all you need to do, I even forget to flip here and there.
What's the plan after the cure? Cold smoke? Hot Smoke?

 

[thirdeye]

Rubbing the cure "mixture" onto the meat is a one time task. Turning the bag daily will allow any liquid that accumulates in the bag to re-distribute across the surface of the meat, so sort of massage the bag. And yes, the units are in grams.

Some quick observations: Even though your 3% salt is higher than I like, you are making an equilibrium cure, which means you can increase the cure time without worrying about the bacon being too salty. If you like peppered bacon, you can add some before applying the cure, then add more following the rinse/soak step. You didn't mention resting following the rinse, but this can be from 12 to 36 hours in the fridge prior to smoking. After smoking you can also mellow the bacon for several days in the fridge.

Here is a recent article on dry cured bacon from my Cookin' Site: BACON

 

[lhommedieu]

"You didn't mention resting following the rinse, but this can be from 12 to 36 hours in the fridge prior to smoking."

Yes: 24hrs. or however long it takes to dry the surface and develop a pellicle for smoking.

 

[lhommedieu]

"What's the plan after the cure? Cold smoke? Hot Smoke?"

Cold smoke, followed by a warm smoke to render some of the fat from the bacon. First time for me, so even following a "recipe" has a learning curve...

 

[SmokinAussie]

Salt is just a tad high for me. .025 to .028 at the most.

 

[lhommedieu]

Here is a recent article on dry cured bacon from my Cookin' Site: BACON

Thank you. I found your article informative and useful and will incorporate your observations into my cold smoke.

 

[lhommedieu]

Salt is just a tad high for me. .025 to .028 at the most.

Noted.

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.
I've cured a lot of meat but not yet bacon.

Two Duroc skinless belly hunks in the freezer with cold smoke being the plan.

 

[larry4406]

I want to try this one day!


Thirdeye - good read on your site! Thanks for the information.



Following along!

 

[edmonds]

Is beef belly treated the same way to make beef bacon?

 

[lhommedieu]

Some quick observations: Even though your 3% salt is higher than I like, you are making an equilibrium cure, which means you can increase the cure time without worrying about the bacon being too salty. If you like peppered bacon, you can add some before applying the cure, then add more following the rinse/soak step. You didn't mention resting following the rinse, but this can be from 12 to 36 hours in the fridge prior to smoking. After smoking you can also mellow the bacon for several days in the fridge.

Here is a recent article on dry cured bacon from my Cookin' Site: BACON

If I decrease the salt to .025 can I do still do a cure from 7-9 days?

(NM: you site says to do a 12-14 day cure if I'm using an equilibrium cure. Is that correct?)

 

[lhommedieu]

One more question

My pork bellies are on the small side. Based on the following, is my math correct for a small piece (565g)?

For 1 KG of pork belly:

• 20 grams of salt
• 15 grams of sugar
• 2.5 grams of Cure #1

Therefore:

20 *.565 = 11.3g of salt
15 *.565 = 8.4g of sugar
2.5 *.565 = 1.4g of Cure

 

[lhommedieu]

I second-guessed myself and now I'm really confused because if I multiply 565g * 0.025 (the number given in the source below, that I assumed I could trust) then I get 14g of cure.

"...multiply the weight of the belly in ounces or grams by .025 and that’s how many ounces or grams of salt you should use."

I think that the author actually means ".025%" which would mean multiply by .0025, which gives you 1.4g of cure as a result.


I think that 1.4g is correct, based on a couple of internet calculators that also give the same number, as well the original equilibrium cure formula in the OP.

Just makin' sure...

 

[JRDINCC]

.0025

 

[thirdeye]

You are getting confused between a multiplier and using a percentage, and then kilograms and grams come into play. And like my Grandpa would say, there is more than one way to fall off a horse. See if this makes sense:


Curing Mathematics - I strongly suggest buying a gram scale and weighing the Cure #1 in grams, and it's just as easy to weigh the salt and sugar because grams and kilograms work hand in hand with percentages.

For example let's say you have a 5.29 pound (2.4 kilogram) pork belly and decide on a formulation that is 2% salt, 1.5% sugar and 0.25% Cure #1:

For every kilogram (1000 grams) of meat you will need:
20 grams of salt
15 grams of sugar
2.5 grams of Cure #1

Here is a sample calculation if you have a 2.4 kilogram pork belly. You multiply the grams needed per kilo times the weight in kilos of your pork belly:
20g X 2.4kg = 48g of salt
15g X 2.4kg = 36g of sugar
2.5g X 2.4kg = 6g of Cure #1

 

[thirdeye]

Here is one more method to calculate the proper amount of Cure #1:

If you are not comfortable with working in percentages, Cure #1 can be weighed at 1.13 grams per pound of meat whole muscle or ground), or 1.13 grams per pound of meat + water weight when brine curing or combination curing.

The problem here is that ounces and pounds are not as easy to work with as grams and kilograms.

 

[lhommedieu]

You are getting confused between a multiplier and using a percentage, and then kilograms and grams come into play. And like my Grandpa would say, there is more than one way to fall off a horse. See if this makes sense:


Curing Mathematics - I strongly suggest buying a gram scale and weighing the Cure #1 in grams, and it's just as easy to weigh the salt and sugar because grams and kilograms work hand in hand with percentages.

For example let's say you have a 5.29 pound (2.4 kilogram) pork belly and decide on a formulation that is 2% salt, 1.5% sugar and 0.25% Cure #1:

For every kilogram (1000 grams) of meat you will need:
20 grams of salt
15 grams of sugar
2.5 grams of Cure #1

Here is a sample calculation if you have a 2.4 kilogram pork belly. You multiply the grams needed per kilo times the weight in kilos of your pork belly:
20g X 2.4kg = 48g of salt
15g X 2.4kg = 36g of sugar
2.5g X 2.4kg = 6g of Cure #1

Yes, I got it...eventually. .25% = .0025. 565g*.0025=1.4g of cure.

Actually easier to use your kilogram numbers as a baseline, and multiply by how many kilograms I have. In this case: 2.5 * .565= 1.4125.

And I have a scale that goes down to 100ths of a gram...

Thanks very much.

 

[seattlepitboss]

Wouldn't matter if you weighed it out in tons.