belly not firming up much


 
M

Mike_L (Big Mike)

TVWBB Fan
So this is my 2nd attempt. First attempt was great. 2nd attempt has me thinking.

I had a 7.5 lb pork belly. I used 8 tablespoons of Tender quick. I rubbed it on the Fat side and then picked up the belly and let the meat side grab all the salt that didn't stick. I then rubbed brown sugar on the fat side. At this point i decided to cut the belly in half. I put both in their own bag and into the fridge. That was Saturday Night. Tonight will be day 5. One of the bellies doesn't feel very firm and it was slow to give off liquid. The liquid has increased some but not a ton. The other bag has a good amount of liquid and fills firm.

Should i be concerned? Maybe not enough Tender quick got on the one side. In hindsight i should have cut it first weighed it and then distributed the tender quick per slab.

Just don't know what i need to do or if there is anything to be done or if i'm worrying for nothing.

I plan on smoking it to 150 degrees on Sunday and then try to slice by hand.
 
But this is directly from "Bacon Made Easy"

"Add 1 Tablespoon of TQ for each pound of meat.
Rub it on the meat.
Add brown sugar, and/or spices, if you would like."

So i followed those directions.
 
Mike,
No need to mix the brown sugar with the TQ before applying.
I rub with TQ first, then brown sugar, if using it.

I don't have an answer for one half firming up more, other than to say that the TQ is best applied evenly to both sides, and maybe one piece didn't get enough by flipping it over.
With no cure at all, it's not going to spoil, and I'm sure it did get enough.
I say don't worry, proceed as planned.
And keep us informed.
 
The amount of liquid in the bag is really no sign for anything at all.
If you think that "lots of dropped liquid= good cure, no liquid=bad cure", it's not that simple.
Some slabs drops a lot of liquid, others releases next to nothing. Now, when you have cut a slab in half, and they release different amounts, I understand that you have questions..
The fact that the directions might have been a bit more precise, does not solve your problem. The slab with less liquid, does it smell right? I suggest you do the following:

Smell. If both slabs smells OK, cut a piece of each slab, rinse it under cold water and fry them. Taste. Is the salt taste the same? If it's the same, no problem. If it is different, combine the pieces and the liquid into one bag, and leave it for a couple more days, turn the bag twice a day, and try to get as much air out of the bag as possible. Submerging the bag into cold water is one technique, using a drinking straw is another one, providing you are using ziplocks.

For more accurate instructions on the air removal methods, take a look at youtube.
 
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Excellent advice Geir!
Think it's possible that one half is more lean than the other, and therefore is more firm?
 
That might be an answer. It does not necessarily have anything to do with an uneven distribution of salt. Meat from animals is not the same, even in the same cut.

Now, I might upset someone here, but I'd rather be worried about the "measure" tablespoon than the distribution of the salt.
But now we are way into the finer details of bacon making that there is no reason to worry about healthwise.
 
ok,

I wasn't as concerned with the liquid as i was with the firmness. The first time i made bacon i applied the tender quick on the meat side. I wish i would have done that this time so i wouldn't be second guessing myself. Also its not like the bacon is going to last long either so i shouldn't have to worry about it needing to last long.

One thing i might not have gotten enough air out of the bag. I wonder if that is what is going on.
 
Now, I did not mention that, but the whole point of getting air out of the bag is just to make sure that the salts in the liquid/brine gets contact with the meat, to even out any differences. It is not critical at all, one method of curing where I live is to bury the meats i large amounts of course sea salt, letting the liquids drain to the bottom of the container, not touching the meat at all. But in case you managed to apply different amounts of salt to the two slabs, it might be an idea to remove the air just to even out the levels.
 
Mike, you posted today... you will be smoking today... and I will join you, My belly starts about 8am CST ;)
Good luck with yours Mike!
 
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