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Bacon Cure Question

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 23:55
by STICKSTRING
Hello all, I have a quick Bacon Curing question for you all if you do not mind. I will be starting Len Poli's, Honey Cured Bacon, this weekend if all goes well. His recipe calls for 10lbs of pork belly. It does not give percentages, just specific amounts as follows:

4540 grams Pork Belly

360 grams Honey (7.93%)
200 grams Salt (4.41%)
200 grams Brown Sugar (4.41%)
45 grams Liquid Smoke (1.0%)
21 grams Cure #1 (.47%)

I did the math and came up with the percentages above (please correct me if my math is wrong). My pork belly is 14 lbs. My question: Can I use the above percentages and adjust this recipe for my 14lb slab?

Thank you very much!

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 02:16
by Gray Goat
If your numbers are correct it should work fine. I prefer using percentages in recipes as it takes out any guess work.

Good luck and post some pics :grin:

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 02:55
by ssorllih
The percentages are about twice what I use but I don't drain the exudate.

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 03:50
by STICKSTRING
ssorllih wrote:The percentages are about twice what I use but I don't drain the exudate.
Thank you, for everyone's response. I also agree, I thought the numbers seemed high as well. Although being that I've never made Bacon before, I figured Mr. Poli knows better then I do!

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 07:05
by STICKSTRING
Just wanted to add a couple questions:

Can I use the percentages I came up with to increase the cure for my 14lb slab?

Does the large amount of cure, salt, and sugar seem ok in this recipe? A lot higher then in all of my books...

Len poli calls for 7 days of curing time. That is also much different then in all the books I own. His recipe calls for 7 days for a 10lb slab. If I increase the cure ingredients for a 14lb slab, should I still cure for 7 days?

Thank you,

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 13:24
by ssorllih
The longer the bacon sits in the cure the more salt it absorbs. I have never had access to such large amounts of bacon so I usually cure 3 to 4 pound pieces in individual zipper bags and allow about 10 to 14 days with 2%salt .25% cure #1 and about 1.5 % sugar and molasses combined.

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 15:48
by Bob K
Most of the time its best to follow a recipe/method as spelled out by the Author....if you don't trust them, try another that you do.

Lots of tried and true recipes for Bacon in the members recipe section in Hyde Park. I can vouch for Sons Of Bees...best bacon EVER.

Mixing and matching usually results in less than desirable results.

It is fine to adjust to the amount of product you are making. i.e. 13 lbs vs 10 lbs just keep the % as calculated the same.

Tweak a recipe after some success to fit personal tastes.

Or learn from Will Rogers-

"There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn from readin'. The few that learn from observation. The rest have to Pee on the electric fence for themselves."

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 18:15
by STICKSTRING
Bob K wrote:Most of the time its best to follow a recipe/method as spelled out by the Author....if you don't trust them, try another that you do.

Lots of tried and true recipes for Bacon in the members recipe section in Hyde Park. I can vouch for Sons Of Bees...best bacon EVER.

Mixing and matching usually results in less than desirable results.

It is fine to adjust to the amount of product you are making. i.e. 13 lbs vs 10 lbs just keep the % as calculated the same.

Tweak a recipe after some success to fit personal tastes.

Or learn from Will Rogers-

"There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn from readin'. The few that learn from observation. The rest have to Pee on the electric fence for themselves."

Yes I agree, Thank you very much for your post. I do truck Mr.Poli, as so far, everything I have made using one of his recipes has turned out great. I guess my only question left is, should I stick to the 7 day cure as stated in his recipe? Or do I need to increase the cure time due to increasing the meat weight by 4 lbs?

OR does increasing all of the curing ingredients level out the playing field and make the 7 day mark good to go?

Thank you all again for all of your help!

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 19:34
by Bob K
Here is a good rule of thumb from CW in the Sons of Bees Recipe:

The cure rate is one day per pound - up to 12 days. In other words, a ten pound bacon is removed on the tenth day, while a 14 lb. bacon should be removed on the twelfth day.


Changing dry cure ingredients will not increase/decrease the cure time...thickness of the meat will.

I personally would err on the long side of cure time

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 02:24
by Baconologist
That's a VERY bad recipe!!!!
I wouldn't use it unless you like bacon that easily chars to a cinder, is EXTREMELY salty and is laden with excess nitrite beyond any well respected safe and practical standard.

What exactly are you looking for in a bacon recipe?
How do you prefer to prepare your finished bacon?

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 03:21
by STICKSTRING
Baconologist wrote:That's a VERY bad recipe!!!!
I wouldn't use it unless you like bacon that easily chars to a cinder, is EXTREMELY salty and is laden with excess nitrite beyond any well respected safe and practical standard.

What exactly are you looking for in a bacon recipe?
How do you prefer to prepare your finished bacon?

Thank you for your response! My wife and I love a honey cured bacon finished off with a pepper crust. My wife usually just fry's them up in a iron skillet.

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 03:31
by Krakowska
Question for Baconologist. Why would STICKSTRING'S recipe " Easily chars to a cinder"?

My vote is for "Sons of Bees" recipe :cool:

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 03:34
by STICKSTRING
The recipe is not mine. It actually came off of Len Poli's site. I believe it will char easily due to the amount of sugar. That is a guess , but I am assuming that is the reason.

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 03:42
by Baconologist
Yup, that's one heck of a lot of sugar.


Do you fry your bacon crispy or do you prefer it otherwise?

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 04:07
by ssorllih
That bacon will be difficult to fry without burning.