Wow....I ran across a pork belly a couple of weeks ago and did your cure....then onto a rack in the fridge....for a week now....still haven't been in the smoker....but I find myself taking some thin slices off in the morning and putting them in the air fryer....best tasting bacon ever....and the bacon fat is so clear.
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Struggling to buy British style bacon in the USA, I decided to use this recipe on a pork loin. The results are excellent. Just need to get a meat slicer for uniform thickness.
Excellent series. I really like your style, with the accurate measurement and experimental attitude. This is just what I was looking for. I've made bacon before, using the "excess salt method" it didn't make sense to me either. I'm looking forward to trying your method.
I have a question: I am dry curing my pork belly as we speak. But I don't have a smoker. I also don't like smoked meats. If I don't do the smoker what do I do after it's cured. Air dry for 12 to 24 hours and slice? Do I have to bake it before slicing?
I've tried several other UA-cam methods from well known chefs. This one is the only one that worked for me. I thought I'd failed and put in a vacuum pack and then in the freezer. Took it out recently. It was delicious
I just did a whole pork belly and it turned out very good. I will be making it again. SO much better than store bought bacon. The only thing I changed was the spices a little bit. Thanks for the video.
My first after school job was in a locker plant back in the 60's. We had over 350 lockers that were rented to about 200 to 250 farm families. In the fall they all had pigs to butcher. So with 400 to 500 sides of bacon to keep track of, We used indelible pencils to write the farmers name on the skin of the pig. Because the pencil was indelible it would soak into the skin and was permanent.
The first time i tried to make bacon i used the excess salt method. Since then i tried others, but it was by far the most simple and i think the one with best results regarding texture. Thank you for doing the math and calculate the percentages of equilibrium cure, it certainly is very helpful!
Makes my mouth water. I wonder if it's possible to shear off the skin instead of discarding it. If that's possible, I'd dehydrate the skin and then deep fry the skin to make chicharrones. Or if it's not dehydrated, I could wipe tallow over the skin to seal the skin, and then broil /bake it in a convection oven/turbo broiler/air fryer, first medium heat then on heat heat to make the skin pop (from moisture being released yet having to break through the tallow layer). I can chop this up afterwards and add it to chopped bacon, fry with chili pepper and onions, and then add an egg and scramble the egg over it.
Thank you so much for this scientific and informative video! I will definitely be using this method to make my own bacon for the first time! Thanks again!
I feel the same! I will as taught in the for mentioned method . I have been experimenting with that and came up with an amount that is much less salty and still cured. Much, much better. But I still want to try your method. Already , you've taught me a few awesome tricks I never knew . Thanks
Struggling with availability of anything even resembling bacon in my neighborhood...but pork belly is easy to get. Really like the dry cure which I had not seen besides in your channel. Sounds like thyme 😮 to give it a try. I am not in North America...
I have received many bottles of rum in the last few years and I think I will try boiling the alcool and reducing a cup of it to flavor my dry brine, sort of make a paste of it and see what comes out.
Excellent, actual percentages by weights and not volume. All other recipes deal with a cup here or ounces which are not accurate giving too sweet or salty products. Cheers and thanks. Great video.
Hi glen I have done your bacon using the dry cure method by just using the salt method, I also used pork loin, it tasted really good, how long would this keep for and should I be leaving it longer as it’s a thicker cut, thanks
Made this and it’s perfect. I might even reduce the salt a tiny bit. 1.75%. But I will always equilibrium brine from now on. I will try this rock sugar
Hi Glenn, i forgot and let my bacon air dried in the fridge for 8 days...😅 is there a way to rehydrate the outside meat that's dried out or do i have to just cut that part out.
Hi Glen. I'm new at this and am inspired by your method. I tried out your recommended measurements on my pork belly. Unfortunately I couldn't get anything over around 3/4 of an inch and the thin part is really thin. Will the thickness of the belly affect the saltiness of the bacon? I read somewhere that if the belly is very thin you should cure for around 3 days only so it doesn't get too salty? This doesn't make sense to me because I'm measuring the salt against the weight of the belly and not the thickness. However after just one day I cut off a piece from the really thin part of the belly and fried it and it was already in fact quite salty. I really need your input on this as from where I'm from looks like I'll be getting a lot of the skinny bellies. Thank you and I hope to hear from you.
Wouldn't pouring of the liquid also be loosing cure? I would assume as the water comes out it mixes with the cure and ends up in the bottom of the tray
A lot of these aromatic flavours are fats right? So if you start by removing the skin anyway and rub the flavours into the fat side, would that make a difference?
Quick question, if you wanted, could you skip the smoking step and eat as is? Or is smoking necessary and would it still be shelf stable or freezer stable if no smoke
So I tried both styles of curing that you did, but at the time I only could get straight Sodium Nitrate (salt petere), I’m in the UK. I only added a minuscule amount and eventually looked up a bacon Recipe in the UK Daily Telegraph newspaper for reference. Both turned out fine and I definitely recommend air drying after smoking or vice versa. Do you have a slant on just using salt petere Glen? Today I will be transforming through the magic of time and minerals two pork loins (about 1kg each) in to back bacon, wish me luck!
Glen: "Here we are about to test this thing I have spent the last week preparing..." Jules: "Ah man, do you know how much I am craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead....?"
We've been using Glen's method for a little over a year now. Never have had a bad batch! However, here in the US they encourage bringing the bacon to 150 F internal temp. You do not. Differences? (And pecan is our wood of choice).
This is a dry cure, where the bacon loses around 30% water weight - that level of drying inhibits any bacterial growth. The need for hot smoking to 150ºF is for wet cured or brine cured bacon where the belly doesn't dry out, but rather takes on some water.
Just curious what's your reason for keeping it out of the liquid? I've always just put in gallon zip lock bags and it seems fine but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks your math has made it really easy for me.
Thanks for the great video. Is the percentage of sodium nitrite in pink salt standard? I've found one with 6.25%, is that normal or should I adjust the amount of pink salt? This will be my first attempt at curing!
Been getting back into making mt own bacon of late and i'm using something similar to your ratios (i'm using 2.5 salt 1.25 sugar and still 0.25% pink salt) but I managed to accidentally discover (pork with stuffing in the wrong place at the supermarket :D) that the addition of 1 tablespoon of sage and 1 teaspoon each of rosemary and thyme (for a 1.2-1.5kg piece of pork) results in a very nice sage bacon that I've now made a few times :)
I certainly enjoy these videos. I am a home bacon maker that has been using a dry cure method in zip-lock bags and have been plagued by excess salt in my finished bacon, despite aggressive rinsing. What is the brand of kitchen containers with drains? That said, I am not sure why you use pork bellies with the skin still attached???? What's that abooot?
The containers with drains are made by Cambro - you can only get them at commercial kitchen supply places (maybe Amazon too?). Skin on is just the way my grandfather did it - so it's just wired into my brain.
I'm slightly confused as I've seen quite a few other dry brine recipes that after checking each day, pour off any liquid and then add more brine, whereas you brine just the once and leave it in the fridge for the week, only pouring of any liquid at the end of the curing time. I am using your method which means only 31g of salt and 12g of sugar for the small piece of pork belly I am using as it's my first attempt, and after two days it still seems rather wet and doesn't look as if the amount of brine I have used will draw enough of the moisture out. However, I will persevere and hope by day 7 it looks as dry as yours.
Because this is a measured dry cure - and you are leaving it open and allowing air to circulate - you won't get as much moisture pooling underneath. Nor will you end up with too much salt on the outside that you need to rinse away, or in the meat which you often then have to soak out.
Hi Glen! Quick question: In your Non-smoked Bacon group, did you hold them at the same temp as the "cold smoke" just without smoke. OR were those pieces straight out of the fridge without an additional thermal step?
In the first minute you talk about the salting process. I think the soaking process is more than just diluting the salt. I think it's a way to moisturize and tenderize the pork, like when they make traditional asian pork belly.
Someone may have asked this already, but... Can you use the same ratios to make back bacon (Canadian bacon to you)? Here in Finland it's near impossible to get.
We have back bacon curing / filming right now - the recipe video will be out in a few weeks. Here in Canada it’s called Back Bacon or Peameal - pretty much only the Americans call it Canadian bacon.
Some feel that Prague powder is necessary, others feel that it isn’t... The fact that you are asking tells me that you are probably ‘new’ to curing meat; and it will give you an added level of safety if you make a mistake.
What are the 5 books? I can spot river cottage, I have it. Great videos. Your cola has inspired me to buy a co2 setup and start making cordials. I've been making bacon for a decade and have all the best books but here I am watching yours ;)
I bought my pork belly 'skin off'. I placed it in a Ziploc bag and flipped it daily for 6 days. There was absolutely no liquid in the bag. This leads me to believe I can lay it in a pan next time and just flip it daily and not sit it on a rack. My question is this - If this is truly an equilibrium brine, why do you have to rinse it off? I would think a simple hand brushing off over the sink would do, no? My next attempt will be a 'skin on' belly and laying it on the skin and not flipping it at all, but don't brine the skin as nothing is going to penetrate it anyway. Hand brush the brine off after a week in the fridge and cook for 2 hours at 250F. I do thank you for the equilibrium percentages though. I'll probably try a wet brine soon. Again, I see no reason to flip it if I soak it skin side up. By the way, you cut the skin off after you cook or smoke the pork belly. Let it cool but do it while it's warm and it practically peels off.
Definitely leave the skin on during the curing and smoking process - and then just peel it off the entire belly after smoking. It's a lot easier to peel off after curing/smoking anyway.
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking What if skin on is not an option. A friend of mine raises and butchers his own pork and he gives me huge slab of belly every year without the skin on it.
Dry Curing (what I did here) is the traditional way that curing has been done since the dawn of time. harmful / bad bacteria needs water to survive, so drying makes the process safer. The wet cure in a bag is a more recent type of curing that is faster and needs more salt to work.
Great method, I had seen this video before but could not quite remember the right percentages and ended up using only 2 percent salt and 2 percent sugar. Now I thinking that my bacon will not cure properly. What do you think, should I be worried about my bacon not having enough salt? If so should I hot smoke instead of cold smoking.
13:37 Ingredient list with percentages tells the whole story. I normally run my Cure #1 at 200ppm, Sugar at 2.5%, Salt at 2%. How's this sound to you ?
enjoyed your presentation. I too, prefer the accurate method. One question. I have seen many other methods for curing pork, but usually, after the cure, the internal temperature is raised to 150 deg F to further add to the safety factor. Is that step optional?
It's all debatable based on your risk limits. We prefer the texture of a cold smoked bacon, and since this bacon had curing pink salt and a dry curing environment - the risks for us a very small. If you were doing a wetter cure, or without curing pink salt a hot smoke would be better for food safety.. Take a look at the smoking / how to build a smoker video that we did.
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking oh. Where I live I can only get pork belly with the skin off. I get them at costco or samsclub usually. Do you think this recipe will work with skin off? Or might be too salty or something
Most times I take the skin off, I use this cure calculator that has an option for the skin on or off. You will notice that there's very little change in the amount of salt for either method. www.localfoodheroes.co.uk/calculator/dry_cure_bacon/
I was watching Glen's bacon video that he made about ten years ago. Interesting the difference in technique: no Prague pink, no other flavourants other than maple syrup. And much less precise with the quantities.
Can you give me a quick layman's recipe for bacon. Curing and smoking. Without pink salt. Simple and easy but tasty. Just like the days when it was invented.
Wow....I ran across a pork belly a couple of weeks ago and did your cure....then onto a rack in the fridge....for a week now....still haven't been in the smoker....but I find myself taking some thin slices off in the morning and putting them in the air fryer....best tasting bacon ever....and the bacon fat is so clear.
Thanks for watching. If you liked it - subscribe, give us a thumbs up, comment, and check out our channel for more great recipes. Please share with your friends. Even if you didn't like it - subscribe and hit that bell button so you'll never miss a chance to leave a comment and give a thumbs down! ^^^^Full recipe in the info section below the video.^^^^ Our full Bacon Making Project Playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLgOb3zseg1hSprAShI1pRsRqvYFEAtGm7.html
Struggling to buy British style bacon in the USA, I decided to use this recipe on a pork loin. The results are excellent. Just need to get a meat slicer for uniform thickness.
Excellent series. I really like your style, with the accurate measurement and experimental attitude. This is just what I was looking for. I've made bacon before, using the "excess salt method" it didn't make sense to me either. I'm looking forward to trying your method.
Thanks for watching!
I have a question: I am dry curing my pork belly as we speak. But I don't have a smoker. I also don't like smoked meats. If I don't do the smoker what do I do after it's cured. Air dry for 12 to 24 hours and slice? Do I have to bake it before slicing?
I have used this recipe for dry cure made roughly 50 lbs and I am here to tell you. This is the boss recipe
Re-visiting this video as pork belly has been procured. Eager to get curing!
I just started making some bacon today because of this video and video series! Hopefully it goes well!! Thank you for the great channel and content
Update: I have now made 3 batches of bacon and I love it!!
I've tried several other UA-cam methods from well known chefs. This one is the only one that worked for me. I thought I'd failed and put in a vacuum pack and then in the freezer. Took it out recently. It was delicious
I just did a whole pork belly and it turned out very good. I will be making it again. SO much better than store bought bacon. The only thing I changed was the spices a little bit. Thanks for the video.
Six chunks of bacon in the fridge? That sounds like happiness to me!! 😋
One of the best I have seen for simple curing.
Great video and your delivery is very appealing. Also your use of weights for curing is more precise. Cheers
Thanks, Glen! 2nd time making this (just picked up a whole hog from the butcher) following your recipe. First time was fantastic.
My first after school job was in a locker plant back in the 60's. We had over 350 lockers that were rented to about 200 to 250 farm families. In the fall they all had pigs to butcher. So with 400 to 500 sides of bacon to keep track of, We used indelible pencils to write the farmers name on the skin of the pig. Because the pencil was indelible it would soak into the skin and was permanent.
The first time i tried to make bacon i used the excess salt method. Since then i tried others, but it was by far the most simple and i think the one with best results regarding texture. Thank you for doing the math and calculate the percentages of equilibrium cure, it certainly is very helpful!
Makes my mouth water. I wonder if it's possible to shear off the skin instead of discarding it. If that's possible, I'd dehydrate the skin and then deep fry the skin to make chicharrones. Or if it's not dehydrated, I could wipe tallow over the skin to seal the skin, and then broil /bake it in a convection oven/turbo broiler/air fryer, first medium heat then on heat heat to make the skin pop (from moisture being released yet having to break through the tallow layer). I can chop this up afterwards and add it to chopped bacon, fry with chili pepper and onions, and then add an egg and scramble the egg over it.
Use the skin fried to make cracklin cornbread
looks delicious.... so why would you wet cure? Dry seems much better for texture and flavour??
Thank you so much for this scientific and informative video! I will definitely be using this method to make my own bacon for the first time! Thanks again!
Great video 👍 the bacon looks amazing 👏👏👏👏👏. That lady has a beautiful smile!
I feel the same! I will as taught in the for mentioned method . I have been experimenting with that and came up with an amount that is much less salty and still cured. Much, much better. But I still want to try your method.
Already , you've taught me a few awesome tricks I never knew . Thanks
I've got two batches on day two of the cure right now. Thanks for the detailed information and video.
Struggling with availability of anything even resembling bacon in my neighborhood...but pork belly is easy to get. Really like the dry cure which I had not seen besides in your channel. Sounds like thyme 😮 to give it a try. I am not in North America...
If I don't like smoked meat....
Can I bake it, if so how and for how long?
Help much appreciated 😀😀😀😀
If I have a belly without skin should I adjust the percentages in the cure? If so how?
I wouldn't think so because it's all based on weight
there's no need to change the percentages.
Great video. Very informative!
I have received many bottles of rum in the last few years and I think I will try boiling the alcool and reducing a cup of it to flavor my dry brine, sort of make a paste of it and see what comes out.
Excellent, actual percentages by weights and not volume. All other recipes deal with a cup here or ounces which are not accurate giving too sweet or salty products. Cheers and thanks. Great video.
Hi glen
I have done your bacon using the dry cure method by just using the salt method, I also used pork loin, it tasted really good, how long would this keep for and should I be leaving it longer as it’s a thicker cut, thanks
very good explanation
and will this recipe work on beef naval to make beef bacon. and what temp should the fridge set at when dry aging? PS: thanks
Made this and it’s perfect. I might even reduce the salt a tiny bit. 1.75%. But I will always equilibrium brine from now on. I will try this rock sugar
Hi Glenn, i forgot and let my bacon air dried in the fridge for 8 days...😅 is there a way to rehydrate the outside meat that's dried out or do i have to just cut that part out.
I know sugar is only 1% of the total weight but can you add more sugar for flavoring (brown sugar ie) ? Does it hurt the whole curing process?
Can I add maple syrup? At which stage and do I need to reduce the sugar then? Thanks. Great videos btw.
Hi Glen. I'm new at this and am inspired by your method. I tried out your recommended measurements on my pork belly. Unfortunately I couldn't get anything over around 3/4 of an inch and the thin part is really thin. Will the thickness of the belly affect the saltiness of the bacon? I read somewhere that if the belly is very thin you should cure for around 3 days only so it doesn't get too salty? This doesn't make sense to me because I'm measuring the salt against the weight of the belly and not the thickness. However after just one day I cut off a piece from the really thin part of the belly and fried it and it was already in fact quite salty. I really need your input on this as from where I'm from looks like I'll be getting a lot of the skinny bellies. Thank you and I hope to hear from you.
Wouldn't pouring of the liquid also be loosing cure? I would assume as the water comes out it mixes with the cure and ends up in the bottom of the tray
A lot of these aromatic flavours are fats right? So if you start by removing the skin anyway and rub the flavours into the fat side, would that make a difference?
very good Glen , you are 100 right. please make a video about the right way of
smoking
Hi Glen, I can't find Pink Salt here . Can I oit it or replace with some other ingredients ? Thank you
Do you have the measurements for the add spices or are they a trade secret? Getting ready for my first attempt! Thanks
All of the information is in the description box.
Newton bless you for using grammes ! You got my like
Do you think the measured dry cure process would on a pork loin for "Canadian Bacon"? It works great for regular bacon
Quick question, if you wanted, could you skip the smoking step and eat as is? Or is smoking necessary and would it still be shelf stable or freezer stable if no smoke
Of course you can. 1/2 of the bacons they made are not smoked
So I tried both styles of curing that you did, but at the time I only could get straight Sodium Nitrate (salt petere), I’m in the UK. I only added a minuscule amount and eventually looked up a bacon Recipe in the UK Daily Telegraph newspaper for reference. Both turned out fine and I definitely recommend air drying after smoking or vice versa. Do you have a slant on just using salt petere Glen? Today I will be transforming through the magic of time and minerals two pork loins (about 1kg each) in to back bacon, wish me luck!
Is the non-smoked bacon baked or just cured then fried? Love the measuring and not the excess salt and will do this next time. Thanks!
It looks like they fry it after it has just been cured
Glen: "Here we are about to test this thing I have spent the last week preparing..."
Jules: "Ah man, do you know how much I am craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead....?"
Can you recommend a good accurate scale for measuring the powder. Can’t get my scale to be accurate enough for the curing salt. Thanks!
I had same problem, I bought a scale from Amazon that goes down to 0.01 grams for less than $15.00. AMIR digital scale, max weight 500g
We've been using Glen's method for a little over a year now. Never have had a bad batch!
However, here in the US they encourage bringing the bacon to 150 F internal temp. You do not.
Differences? (And pecan is our wood of choice).
This is a dry cure, where the bacon loses around 30% water weight - that level of drying inhibits any bacterial growth. The need for hot smoking to 150ºF is for wet cured or brine cured bacon where the belly doesn't dry out, but rather takes on some water.
Can you eat it raw after the cured ( how days of curing preferable before eating raw) or after you smoked it? Or you must cook it before eating it?
Just curious what's your reason for keeping it out of the liquid? I've always just put in gallon zip lock bags and it seems fine but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks your math has made it really easy for me.
Cuz it's a dry cure
Well what about the dry age bags? Seems like that may be a decent compromise
Funny as cold smoking differs. In Denmark we typically smoke bacon 36 hours at 20-22 deg c.
Curing about the same.
Thanks for the great video. Is the percentage of sodium nitrite in pink salt standard? I've found one with 6.25%, is that normal or should I adjust the amount of pink salt? This will be my first attempt at curing!
The simplest method is 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat.
Yo Glen I appreciate this. Thanks
Dry cured bacon gives better flavor, easier handling and less waste.
I can eat it as is when properly cured. Also, it lasts longer.
Been getting back into making mt own bacon of late and i'm using something similar to your ratios (i'm using 2.5 salt 1.25 sugar and still 0.25% pink salt) but I managed to accidentally discover (pork with stuffing in the wrong place at the supermarket :D) that the addition of 1 tablespoon of sage and 1 teaspoon each of rosemary and thyme (for a 1.2-1.5kg piece of pork) results in a very nice sage bacon that I've now made a few times :)
So. What i get from this is bacon is good. No bad way to make bacon
Bacon - the candy of meat!
Prague powder number 1 or 2? Thank you
As it says in the written recipe in the Description Box and on screen in the video: #1
I certainly enjoy these videos. I am a home bacon maker that has been using a dry cure method in zip-lock bags and have been plagued by excess salt in my finished bacon, despite aggressive rinsing. What is the brand of kitchen containers with drains? That said, I am not sure why you use pork bellies with the skin still attached???? What's that abooot?
The containers with drains are made by Cambro - you can only get them at commercial kitchen supply places (maybe Amazon too?). Skin on is just the way my grandfather did it - so it's just wired into my brain.
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking Please do check the labels with Cambro products, some still contain BPA.
Tablecraft DBF55 5" Drain Box google that at webstaurant hope that helps
@@darrenmclaren3760 Thanks, very helpful. Looking at those now. Albeit just did some wet brining for bacon.....and that is delicious.
@@dannegley5575 Your welcome I want to try this method instead of the vaccum sealed bag. May save a little money in the long run also.
I'm slightly confused as I've seen quite a few other dry brine recipes that after checking each day, pour off any liquid and then add more brine, whereas you brine just the once and leave it in the fridge for the week, only pouring of any liquid at the end of the curing time. I am using your method which means only 31g of salt and 12g of sugar for the small piece of pork belly I am using as it's my first attempt, and after two days it still seems rather wet and doesn't look as if the amount of brine I have used will draw enough of the moisture out. However, I will persevere and hope by day 7 it looks as dry as yours.
Because this is a measured dry cure - and you are leaving it open and allowing air to circulate - you won't get as much moisture pooling underneath. Nor will you end up with too much salt on the outside that you need to rinse away, or in the meat which you often then have to soak out.
Ahh, I get it, the pennie's finally dropped. Thanks Glen.
What would be the percentage with out skin?
same as with the skin.
Hi Glen! Quick question: In your Non-smoked Bacon group, did you hold them at the same temp as the "cold smoke" just without smoke. OR were those pieces straight out of the fridge without an additional thermal step?
The "Thermal Step" Was the Fry Pan - you must always "Cook" your bacon prior to eating regardless of cure methodology
Is there an official answer on this?
glen where are you getting your pork bellies at the ones i have been getting are all fat in western sk
In the first minute you talk about the salting process. I think the soaking process is more than just diluting the salt. I think it's a way to moisturize and tenderize the pork, like when they make traditional asian pork belly.
How necessary is Prague powder? Is it absolutely needed?
If you want the distinct flavor and look of bacon, then yes.
You could also use celery powder or juice to get the same effect as Prague powder.
if its not nitrate cured, it isn't "bacon", its just "salt pork"
Someone may have asked this already, but... Can you use the same ratios to make back bacon (Canadian bacon to you)? Here in Finland it's near impossible to get.
We have back bacon curing / filming right now - the recipe video will be out in a few weeks. Here in Canada it’s called Back Bacon or Peameal - pretty much only the Americans call it Canadian bacon.
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking Epic! Thanks Glen. 👍🏻
You should be able to eat the bacon not cooked. I’m I right?
What purpose the pink stuff? When I looked in amazon it is described as Kosher salt and nitrite and colouring. So is it necessary?
Some feel that Prague powder is necessary, others feel that it isn’t... The fact that you are asking tells me that you are probably ‘new’ to curing meat; and it will give you an added level of safety if you make a mistake.
What are the 5 books? I can spot river cottage, I have it.
Great videos. Your cola has inspired me to buy a co2 setup and start making cordials. I've been making bacon for a decade and have all the best books but here I am watching yours ;)
why do you recommend using non-iodine salt?
The iodine can give an off flavour to the finished bacon.
I bought my pork belly 'skin off'. I placed it in a Ziploc bag and flipped it daily for 6 days. There was absolutely no liquid in the bag. This leads me to believe I can lay it in a pan next time and just flip it daily and not sit it on a rack.
My question is this -
If this is truly an equilibrium brine, why do you have to rinse it off? I would think a simple hand brushing off over the sink would do, no?
My next attempt will be a 'skin on' belly and laying it on the skin and not flipping it at all, but don't brine the skin as nothing is going to penetrate it anyway. Hand brush the brine off after a week in the fridge and cook for 2 hours at 250F.
I do thank you for the equilibrium percentages though.
I'll probably try a wet brine soon. Again, I see no reason to flip it if I soak it skin side up.
By the way, you cut the skin off after you cook or smoke the pork belly. Let it cool but do it while it's warm and it practically peels off.
Thinking about testing 7 day vs 14 day vs 21 day
Papa Boris would be proud, you didn't forget the bay leaf.
I have some picky eaters at home who don't like the skin on when making the bacon. How do the measurements change when doing a skin off preperation?
Definitely leave the skin on during the curing and smoking process - and then just peel it off the entire belly after smoking. It's a lot easier to peel off after curing/smoking anyway.
the percentages don't change at all.
When doing measured cur on a bone in cut how do you adjust the amount of cure to suit? Does the bone volume throw out the amount of cure used?
Why don't you remove the skins from the pork belly?
Can i do it to skinless pork belly and without the curing salt?
yes, and no, respectively.
but what if I want to make skinless dry cured bacon, you said the measure was for skin on?
It's best to make it with the skin on, and remove the skin after curing.
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking oki thank you :)
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking What if skin on is not an option. A friend of mine raises and butchers his own pork and he gives me huge slab of belly every year without the skin on it.
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking why do you say it is best to leave the skin on?
@@billoliver2251 use the same percentage measurements - 2.5% salt, 0.25% cure #1, 1% sugar. doesn't matter if the bacon's skin-on, or circumcised.
Most people put in plastic bags to keep liquid in cure so meat doesn't get dry. Is that true?
Dry Curing (what I did here) is the traditional way that curing has been done since the dawn of time.
harmful / bad bacteria needs water to survive, so drying makes the process safer. The wet cure in a bag is a more recent type of curing that is faster and needs more salt to work.
@GlenAndFriendsCooking watched your wet cure. Thanks for exactness of Prague cure salt. I'll use your recipe. Ty
Is it possible to cure without pink salt?
no. the "pink salt" is the CURE. if you just use regular table salt, you have "salt pork", which is a different thing.
Great method, I had seen this video before but could not quite remember the right percentages and ended up using only 2 percent salt and 2 percent sugar. Now I thinking that my bacon will not cure properly. What do you think, should I be worried about my bacon not having enough salt? If so should I hot smoke instead of cold smoking.
It should be OK. Did you use pink cure? Hot smoking would be a good idea anyway.
Yes I did use pink cure
can i cure it but not smoke it? i dont really have a way to smoke it and the humidity in my place is high with constant raining any other day
did you not watch the video?
13:37 Ingredient list with percentages tells the whole story.
I normally run my Cure #1 at 200ppm, Sugar at 2.5%, Salt at 2%. How's this sound to you ?
Can I do this without curing it for the carbonara?
Try our guanciale recipe instead for carbonara: ua-cam.com/video/v4E_WW1EazI/v-deo.html
Man the look on his face when he eats the smoked bacon 🥓 he’s thinking damn that’s good bacon
enjoyed your presentation. I too, prefer the accurate method. One question. I have seen many other methods for curing pork, but usually, after the cure, the internal temperature is raised to 150 deg F to further add to the safety factor. Is that step optional?
It's all debatable based on your risk limits. We prefer the texture of a cold smoked bacon, and since this bacon had curing pink salt and a dry curing environment - the risks for us a very small. If you were doing a wetter cure, or without curing pink salt a hot smoke would be better for food safety.. Take a look at the smoking / how to build a smoker video that we did.
Awesome video, I need to look into the measured cure method more 👍. Looks like an awesome option! Sub from me
"That doesn't make sense to me." That is enough for me to do it different.
Does anyone know what temp and time suggestions for hot smoking?
"until its done" - 150-160F internal temperature. buy a thermometer.
Why not iodized salt ?
iodine can give the finished product a displeasing metallic taste and a bit of discoloration. just use canning/pickling salt.
Followed your recipe. Light years ahead of other recipes. The soaking never made sense to me.
Any one know where I can find a container with a rack such as this?
buy 2 plastic containers and drill holes in bottom of one then stack them, liquid will drain to bottom one. use spacer if needed.
I tried smoking bacon before but....couldn't keep it lit. 🚬 (so sorry) Makin' Bacon at home.....sounds like a good T-shirt idea!?
How much cure do you use with no skin on the pork belly?
We've never done it without the skin.
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking oh. Where I live I can only get pork belly with the skin off. I get them at costco or samsclub usually. Do you think this recipe will work with skin off? Or might be too salty or something
I asked around and it will work - and it shouldn't be too salty.
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking Thanks!
Most times I take the skin off, I use this cure calculator that has an option for the skin on or off. You will notice that there's very little change in the amount of salt for either method. www.localfoodheroes.co.uk/calculator/dry_cure_bacon/
Be careful with the racks you use. I just found out the chaina made stainless rack is actually copper.
Do you really need the pink salt??
Why not say what the "enormous amount " of flavouring is?
I was watching Glen's bacon video that he made about ten years ago. Interesting the difference in technique: no Prague pink, no other flavourants other than maple syrup. And much less precise with the quantities.
Can you give me a quick layman's recipe for bacon. Curing and smoking. Without pink salt. Simple and easy but tasty. Just like the days when it was invented.
Search up country style bacon recipes.
Now you’ve got me thinking smoked fried chicken that is fried in bacon grease..