Bringing home the bacon!!!

[CloverKnollFarms]

It should reach an equilibrium, at some point not getting saltier. The sodium content of the cure should pretty directly affect the sodium content of the bacon. If you used the recipe for 5#, on 3#, it will be salty. You can't really just remove it from the cure early either, because the time in the cure is predicated on the cure going through the entire thickness of the pork belly. If it doesn't, it will taste like ham, not bacon.
I've left mine in the cure for almost two weeks, because of my schedule... It wasn't saltier... There is a finite amount of sodium in solution.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I learned that table salt can taste 2x saltier than Kosher or sea salt, partly due to the smaller size (greater surface area) of the crystals.

Yep, makes sense to me. Thanks for that info.

 

[gsganzer]

I pulled the bacon out of the cure this morning and rinsed it off. I then sprinkled coarse ground pepper on it, and it's been sitting on a wire rack in the fridge for the day. Tomorrow, I'll smoke it.

Fingers crossed.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

It's going to be a Christmas Miracle!!!!

 

[gsganzer]

I already bought another pork belly for the next attempt.

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

I already bought another pork belly for the next attempt.

we sell a boat load of pork belly burnt ends on our food trailer each week

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I bought 10lbs of pork belly this week!

 

[gsganzer]

I bought 10lbs of pork belly this week!

I'll need to find a meat market that has a better supply, or maybe it's because it was so close to the holiday, and they've sold out. They had (3) 2lb. packs and only one of those looked any good. I'll see if they'll let me place an order next time.

Meat markets are certainly a dying breed. I guess it's like a lot of things we grew up with, the milk man, fish monger, butcher, farm stand etc. Now you just go to the grocery store, and you're stuck with the mediocre product they have.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

We buy a pig every year from a local farm, and that produces the BEST pork belly. But now I have to settle for Costco

 

[gsganzer]

It's been 5 hours smoking at 165 degrees. The internal temp is at 135 degrees, probably another hour and it will hit the desired 150- 155 degrees. I can bump the temperature up a little, if I need to.