Another Buckboard/Canadian Bacon question


 

Steve Johns

New member
I'm planning on curing some pork butt or pork loin this weekend using the Hi Mountain cure. A couple of questions - Is the curing time the same for both cuts of meat (10 days)? Also, I won't be able to smoke until day 14 - can the meat stay in the cure that long or can I rinse it off on day 10 and hold in the fridge until day 14? Or should I wait until I my schedule allows me to time the curing and the smoking per the recipe? Thanks for your suggestions
 
I only cure loins for 5 days (using Tender Quick), not once had partial cure problem.

Cure time is more a function of thickness of the meat when applying the cure to the surface. I think 5 days per inch of thickness is a rule of thumb (read it somewhere). 14 days for a shoulder butt sounds about right.

I don't think I'd worry about a butt being cured for 14 days, but I sure wouldn't leave a loin for even 10 days.

If you do leave it make sure to at least leave some water in the container and flip it once or twice a day so the exposed surface doesn't dry out.
 
The rules of thumb (for dry cures) are suppose to be 7 days per inch of thickness or 2 days per pound. (Some say 3 days per pound for especially thick items; some say 4 days per inch for thinner items.) (Brine cures usually take less time; much less if injected.)

I don't find that either of these rules work out across the board at all. I think it's best to go with the recommended time per the recipe you are using, or from advice from others who have done what you are wanting to do, or, if creating something new, then going with a time based on a successful recipe that uses a similar cut of similar thickness and make-up, and similar curing agent quantity.

I wouldn't have a problem with extending a butt cure--though you could go 10 days, rinse, and hold in the fridge. For loin I wouldn't go 14 days either. I might see 10 if the cure was a dry one and the loin was not just the typical eye (as for Canadian bacon), but also had the other muscles still attached; for the eye alone, no. I also do not think that lean cuts (like loin eye; maybe even whole loin) do well cured, rinsed, then held. I think it is better to cure then smoke pretty much immediately.
 
Thanks for the prompt replies, sounds like I would be ok if I am just curing the pork butt. One other wrinkle to add - I was planning on curing Sat - and then I'm off on vacation for a week. Can I leave the pork butt unattended for a week, or does it need to be flipped periodically? (once again I am dry curing using the Hi Mountain buckboard bacon cure)
 
Since you are dry curing, yes, it needs to be overhauled (flipped) periodically. Are you planning on rubbing, fridging, then dashing out the door? Or is there (or can you create) some lag time--like a couple or three days between the time you start the cure and the time you leave?

If not, can someone stop by (or can you leave the butt in someone else's fridge)? If so, and you can overhaul a couple times before you leave, then once more after you return, so much the better.
 
Steve maybe a month ago I was asking myself the same questions about curing a butt with the timing and such. I cured for five days, flipped and cured for another 5 days = 10 days. I then soaked in water for about 3 hrs, vac sealed and left to smoke on my next available day. Smoke the bacon to an internal temp of 140. I loosly wrapped in foil for the cool down. ***HINT*** keep your bacon in the fridge over night before slicing. With a cooler temps you will be able to get nice even slice.
 
I'll have someone whose stopping by turn the meat in the fridge a couple of times while I am away. Thanks again for all the tips!
 

 

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