Need to leave my bacon home alone

[Mark R-S]

I've got some back backon curing curing in the fridge at the moment. Going by the thickness it should take 6 days, which would mean that it would be ready on Wednesday, but I've just found that I need to go to Italy for a couple of days and will return home on Friday night. My wife will be at home, and she'll be able to turn it every day, but will it be a problem if it's left to cure for an additional couple of days?

-Mark.

 

[Bruce McLeod]

Hey Mark,
I don't think dry brining it for 8 days should hurt it.

I just finished a batch of Buckboard Bacon that I left in the fridge for 9 days.

I rinsed it really well, soaked it in two changes of fresh water for about 4 hours, then let it dry to form a pellicle.

Loaded it on the WSM and smoked it (using alder with a touch of apple) at ~180? for ~7 hrs until it reached 158?.

At that point I put it in cold water until it reached 100?.

My son said it was, " The best bacon flavored ham I've ever had".

So I guess a couple of extra days won't hurt.

HTH, Bruce