Wheels,
I'm sorry about my very late response. I have been occupied by my work these past few months.
I managed to solve the problem with the shrinkage of my bacon during cooking. After raiding the grocery stores for competition products and comparing them with mine, I have come to the conclusion that the problem lays with the thickness of my bacon slice. All of the other competitions slices their bacon around 3mm (1/9"). After slicing my bacon to the same thickness, I can't see any significant difference in shrinkage after cooking.
Wheels wrote:...You correctly state that it will give 180ppm nitrite at equilibrium. Also, around 2% salt and sugar (2.15% and 1.91%). But that's at equilibrium, which will be quite a way off for 18lb cured for 7 days. As the brine is weak, it only contributes 1% salt and 85ppm nitrite from your 16% injection.
The brine is also only 26°, around 7%, safe-ish but higher would be better.
I am interested in your formula on calculating the brine strength, and why you consider the brine I use weak and would only contribute 1% salt and 85ppm nitrite. I use 33% injection, not 16%. I would also like to correct you on the weight of the pork, it is 18 Kilograms, which is around 40# instead of 18#.
Wheels wrote:...For injection, I'd be tempted to use a brine calculated to give the final result you want from the injection alone...
Can you please explain the reason why you prefer this?
Wheels wrote:...Do you know about PSE pork?...But it's not poor pork, but poor handling of the pork (during? and) post slaughter that means it only keeps two days. Is there a way you can get the pork direct from slaughter?...
I agree with you completely, that was a poor choice of words I used. Yes, I am aware of PSE and have seen quite often coming with the stock I ordered. As I have mentioned the slaughter house in my country still slaughter animal traditionally. When I visited the slaughter house, eventhough I didn't see the killing personally, I suspect they still kill hog by bleeding them without incapacitating them first, because I heard the squeals constantly from the slaughter room while I was there. I am aware that high stress might contribute to PSE.
In the beginning I was complaining and returning shipments when I get mishandled pork, but with time I started to realize that it is impossible for me to be too picky, because in the end I won't get enough pork for my company to function if I keep doing that. There would also no benefit of getting the ire of these butchers by constantly complaining and returning items. They have a lot of customers who won't complain, but I only have them as my source of pork. I have already been refused service by some of these butchers, and can't afford to loose more vendors. So I learned to compromise.
Sorry for turning this forum into an outlet to my work problem.
Sincerely,
BeardedCook