bacon brine recipe

[oakley]

I have made bacon with the dry method and would like to try the brine method. I have searched the site but have found no recipe.
I would appreciate the help as I have a nice belly of pork being delivered tommorow.
Thanks

[captain wassname]

Hi oakley
In the absence of any other replies I will do my best to help you.
We need to know the weight of the meat and what you intend to use as the curing agent.
I would reccomend Oddleys 2-1 brine.

Jim

[oakley]

It is half a belly rib end it weights about 4 kilo
I have found this basic recipe
8 lb Salt
2 lb Sugar
2 oz Saltpeter
5 gal Water, boiled but cooled

I am going to try this add some extra spices and fresh herbs leave the belly in the brine for approx 3 days .
I will then cut it in half and cold smoke one half and hang the other half for a 5 days ish
When you say 2 to 1 what do you mean exactly?
As the belly was deliverd today and I will start the brine when I come home from work tonight so I am still open to any addvise I can get
Thanks

[captain wassname]

Im not a brine curer myself but I do have some knowledge of the theory.

Oddleys 2-1 cure is an equillibrium cure that involves immersing the meat,in this case 4 kilos in half its weight of brine. and leaving for at least 10 days per kilo.
This is a safe and certain way of brining and would in this case involve using about 3 gms of salt petre.

In all concience I cant reccomend the reciepe you have found as there is no way of knowing how much or for that matter how little salt petre would be taken up.
Maybe a regular brine curer will be along to advise you further.If you want to go for the equillibrium cure post back with meat weight and I will calculate the brine for you.

Jim

[wheels]

The cure Oakley's posted is for 100lbs of meat.

Phil

[captain wassname]

Thank you Phil. I only got involved because oakley hadnt had a response.
I dont think I would have reccomended the brine even for 100 lbs. 3 days seems iffy to me regadless of cure levels.

Jim

[oakley]

Thank you both for your help
so I would need to divide that recipe by 25 to get the right amount?
And if I have a 4 kilo piece I would need to brine for 40 days?
Also for the bacon I would not need to inject but if i brought a ham would I have to?

[captain wassname]

oakley

If you have the means of injection this would be quicker. and leave you with more options.
At the risk of causing an uproar
When You cure a piece of pork (any piece) you have ham or bacon makes no difference.Its just how you cook it gives it its name
For instance a leg may be sliced for gammon rashers(bacon) or simmered whole(ham)
So any method will give you cured pork and you can call it what you like.
I wouldnt reccomend dividing the reciepe.
Im not too shure that it would do 100 lbs.
If you divided by 25 you would end up with less than 1 litre of water to cover 4 kilos pork.

If you were to use Oddleys cure you would have 4 kilos of pork (approx) immersed in 2 kilos(approx) of brine and you would need to cure for about 40 days.
The reason for the approx and about is because the brine needs to be calculated individualy to suit the exact wt.of meat.
You can use whatever you like(herbs spices) and boil them it water as you were proposing I should advise that you will end up with just over 3% salt in your meat.

You may find it difficult to find a suitable container.In which case I would suggest maybe you cut the meat in half. and make 2 lots of brine.

If you want to go this route if you let me know the weight and Ill work out the cure.
Conversley if you would prefer to inject(quicker and more flexible) Im shure I can help you

Jim

[oakley]

I dont have an ingector but I am going to get one if you have a recomendation. I want to make brined bacon and hams as i think i will like the taste better than dry curing. I am going to cut the piece in half and remove the bone so it weights 4.2 kg now so when I remove the bone I will have appprox 1.5 kg in two pieces . the belly of pork looks fantastic I brought from a new farmer but I am keen to get it into a brine tommorow I have 2 12 litres platic containers and an empty fridge.
So if you can formulate something for me I would really apprecitate it.
Oakley

[captain wassname]

OK oakley if you bone it cut in two then just post the weights of the two bits and Ill give you the brines. you probably need smaller containers as you are only going to have about 750mls in each container.
as were looking at 2 seperate cures of about 1.5kilos you should be done in about 15 days.

Jim

[oakley]

Sounds good I am going to weight them tommorow afternoon
Thanks again for your help

[captain wassname]

No worries Im in tomorrow afternoon (cant go far in this lot)

Jim

[saucisson]

You can brine many kilos of meat in a turkey roasting bag contained within a cardboard box just slightly larger than the meat. In fact you may need a bigger box to get the brine in as well My 8kg leg of pork easily fitted in one when I slow cooked it in the oven "in a bag".

Dave

[captain wassname]

Many thanks Dave.

Jim

[saucisson]

If the box is too big you can fill the corners with just about anything to get the brine nicely snuggled around the meat. I have used potatoes and bags of pasta before now. Making sure the bag doesn't get pierced is rather crucial so a good manicure of any protruding bone is recommended...

Dave