Michael Ruhlman's Maple Cured Bacon from "Charcuterie"


 
It's not so much the weight as the thickness.

Still, though, how long depends on temps. Low tempsfor an extended time means it will take many hours; low temps that ramp up means that it will take less; higher temps from the get-go means it will take even less.
 
let me know if all of the following is normal please
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i visualized more volume of the cure going onto the 5 lb. cut of belly when I was applying it. It barely covered both sides, but it did cover.. to make me think twice was today after I fried up a piece before smoking. I got very little if any maple taste, but did taste what i felt was a fair amount of salt, and a little sweet. I still hoped for a bit more maple taste. perhaps I made a mistake somewhere but followed the recipie exactly.

2nd, mine didn't look as "red" as everyone's pics before, or currently (almost done smoking within next half hour)...not sure what that means, but it is starting to smell better.

and lastly, i thought it was a simple smoke.. 180-200 till around 240-250 internal, but mine dropped from 237 to 231 with a steady 180 temp. ( I brought the temp. up slow at start and pinned it dead on at 180 + or - 2 degrees) that confused me and i posted about it in the bbq section of forum. I was concerned with fat breaking down to much before it was done (which you don't want)
my thoughts are its going to be good, but have that feeling it could be better, but we'll fing out tonight. its the same feeling i had about briskit or ribs for the first time, they were good but you just KNOW they could be better. ...wander what all those issues mean or is it normal? I may have screwed up my buddies bacon a bit but no big deal this is very fun.
thanks.
 
As I just posted in the other thread, if the belly has been >130 for 90 mn or more pull it.

When curing, salt draws moisture out of the meat. This mixes with the other ingredients in the cure and slowly gets drawn back in. You're not really looking for the meat to absorb the cure like a sponge (this doesn't happen) but, rather, the soluble items and volatiles (especially, in the case of flavored cures, the flavor volatiles) to be carried into the meat via misture transfer or its fat.

What are you using for a therm to check internals and have you checked it for accuracy? Same question re the therm for the cooker.

The temp drop and times you note are making me question accuracy. Tbey are unexpected if your therms are accurate.
 
Ok guys, I'm looking for a place to order both the pink salt and maple sugar from. I tried penzeys and world spice, no dice... any suggestions?

A friend of mine just had a hog...done.. and I convinced him to leave the bellys fresh, not sure if its rine on or not but it will be my first belly bacon, I need to round up the ingredients asap..thanks guys


Also, another friend at work offered a pint of "overcooked" homemade maple syrup from his brother. It's probably very thick and sugary, perhaps this would be a good thing for this recipe?

Brandon
 
I buy pink salt from Butcher-Packer (I get dextrose and sausage casings from them too); maple sugar (and other specialty sugars, flours, chocolate, baking supplies) from King Arthur.

Consider cutting a belly slab into halves or thirds crosswise and making a couple or three kinds. (Mostly I make savory bacon--there is some sweetness to the cure but the flavor additions are savory--herbs, pepper and/or chilies, etc.) Gives you a variety from the get-go and requires less, say, maple sugar (or other expensive ingredients) as you're not making the whole slab one kind.

Taste the syrup from the friend and see. If just over-concentrated it would be fine. If there are burnt notes it wouldn't.
 
Thanks for the tip on halfing or quartering the belly. I was told it would be 6-7 lbs. Is there actualy two on a single hog? As in one belly portion from each side?

I ended up using The Spice House for the salt and sugar. I picked up a few other odds and ends to try to stuff into my cupboard also
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As for the syrup, I'll have him bring it in. If its not good I can always throw it away and tell him I used it
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Brandon
 
Yes, there are two, one from each side of the hog. I often do 2- or 3-lb cross-cuts so as to vary the cure.
 
Kevin - Have you ever used cane syrup as a sweetener in a bacon cure?

I like molasses a lot, but found it to be too strong when I tried it in bacon. Cane syrup has similar flavors and may provide a better balance.

I was thinking of using it one-for-one instead of maple syrup in this recipe and brown sugar instead of the maple sugar.

Jim
 
Yes I have. And cane juice too. (Cane juice is very light but sweet.)

Your thinking is correct, imo: switching to cane and brown gives a nice sweet balanced flavor with caramel-y tones--without any heaviness or bitter notes than molasses can skew toward.
 
I recieved two pork bellys today from my friend. It must have been a small pig because the two of them together only weigh 2.5 lbs. He was worried about the size, but I told him it should be fine...bellys belly right?

My questions,

1.) Do I just make the entire cure recipe, and only use aprox. 1/5th of it per belly? Is this kind of like rubbing butts/brisket? Or can you easily over do it?

2.) Beings the bellys are only a little over an inch thick, will they require a shorter cure time? 4-5 days instead of 7?

Any other advice, and or thoughts would be helpful, thanks.

Brandon
 
Belly's belly. It is quite possible that they are pieces of belly. How maany inches across (not length)?

The recipe is for a 5-lb piece. If you want to use the same cure for both pieces you have you can simply halve it.

Cure time depends on thickness and on temp. You could likely go 4-5 days but being that this is a flavored cure I would suggest going 6-7 if possible.
 
Beings it will be my first attempt at bacon, and there really isnt all that much, I think I'll do the same cure for both. The bellys, without measuring, I'd say are ~8" wide. I have no problem curing for 7 days, just thought being they were thin, they may go sooner. I should get the salt/sugar this afternoon, so after work I'll get started.

Brandon
 
Originally posted by K Kruger:
being that this is a flavored cure I would suggest going 6-7 if possible.
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I have the bellys curin in the lil dorm fridge,(started thursday) its ranging between 33-38 degrees. If I read you right, longer is better for flavor cures. I could go 10 days and smoke it on a Sunday. Is it possible to over cure? If not, I'd like it to have as much maple flavor as possible.

Brandon
 
It is not the longer the better--you can overcure--but stretching flavored cures a bit is often worthwhile.

Curing slows at <36 and stops as temps go lower. If your fridge is going that low you will need more time anyway. How much depends on how often and for how long it's lower than 36.
 
Originally posted by jjbates:
Took my 2nd batch of bacon out the other night after a brief smoke (only took an hour to get to temp, but it is plenty smokey.) Here are some photos pre-foodsaver packaging with some left out to be the final touch on a monster cheeseburger.
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Great pics and the bacon and burger look fantastic. Great job.
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