Slight discoluration in Bacon ?

[sundodger]

I have been making dry cured bacon for a few months now (quite a lot of it) I have noted that on my last batch, after it had been sliced & packed, some has a slight green tinge to it ! the rashers are packed in opposite directions to each other & overlapping so that the bacon can be easily seen through the packaging. The green tinge occurs only where the meat of the loin passes over the fat of the rasher beneath it (Hope this makes sense?) I wonder if it is caused by a reaction between the meat lying over the fat or even as it is on the outermost area of the loin, if it could be a bit of nitrite burn ? No problem with it being öff"as far as I can tell, smells fresh & looks ok when cooked - Taste is good ! Your views would be valued.

[Wunderdave]

I have been making dry cured bacon for a few months now (quite a lot of it) I have noted that on my last batch, after it had been sliced & packed, some has a slight green tinge to it ! the rashers are packed in opposite directions to each other & overlapping so that the bacon can be easily seen through the packaging. The green tinge occurs only where the meat of the loin passes over the fat of the rasher beneath it (Hope this makes sense?) I wonder if it is caused by a reaction between the meat lying over the fat or even as it is on the outermost area of the loin, if it could be a bit of nitrite burn ? No problem with it being öff"as far as I can tell, smells fresh & looks ok when cooked - Taste is good ! Your views would be valued.

Sounds like you've identified it. I believe it is still safe to eat however.

[DaveOmak]

Sundodger, morning.... Here is one explanation.... Dave
++++++++++++
A greenish iridescent sheen is often found on foods containing traces of fat in water.

When it is cool this mix separates out microscopically into a film, like oil on a wet road.

In some types of cold meats, such as sliced silverside of beef or some hams, you may see a handsome opalescence.

The beauty of an opal results from light being refracted and diffracted by arrays of microscopic beads of glassy material in a matrix of a different refractive index.

In the meat, the effect is caused by microscopic spheres of fat dispersed in watery muscle tissue.

Heat up the meat and you destroy the droplets and change the optical character of the matrix so that the effect is spoiled.

The green color that is sometimes observed on bacon and ham is the result of the action of nonpathogenic bacteria which break down the oxygen transport protein myoglobin to produce porphyrin derivatives. These derivatives are large heterocyclic compounds which can have greenish colors.

When working alone in the Australian bush in the 1920s and 1930s, men ate meat either fresh, soon after it was killed, or after it had been hung in a tree long enough for it to turn a brilliant green.

The meat was put into a bag to keep the flies off it.

It was claimed that the green color showed that the meat was no longer dangerous to consume, and it certainly never killed anyone. However, there is little doubt that it did change the flavor considerably.

Iridescence is caused by light striking a surface and being scattered.

The scattered waves interfere to produce a spectrum of colors which changes depending on the position of the observer.

However, if you see a bright green color rather than a mere iridescent sheen then your meat may be only for the hardy stomachs of those who wander the Australian bush.

See also:http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/why-does-bacon-ham-or-pork-sometimes-have-a-greenish-color-when-stored-in-the-fridge-and-is-it-poisonous

[wheels]

I've always known it as nitrite or nitrate burn:

http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news ... trite-burn

HTH

Phil

[BriCan]

Being gun shy after my last outing I'm stepping lightly .....

Nitrite burn "usually" (not always) occurs while curing, if one has rinsed of said loins and hung to dry/mature before slicing then a nitrite burn will/could not/should not occur after the drying period and the bacon rashers shingled out for packaging/sale

I have deferred this to a higher authority but seeing our temperatures are above 30 I am assuming he is down on the beach watching the boats/ships travis Georgia Strait

[wheels]

I have deferred this to a higher authority but seeing our temperatures are above 30 I am assuming he is down on the beach watching the boats/ships travis Georgia Strait

Is that for me, or DaveOmak?

Really that doesn't matter anyway. Sundodger, who made the original post, wants to know why he's got a green tinge in his dry cured bacon (before cooking): what do you think it is?

Phil

[BriCan]

I have deferred this to a higher authority but seeing our temperatures are above 30 I am assuming he is down on the beach watching the boats/ships travis Georgia Strait

Is that for me, or DaveOmak?

Really that doesn't matter anyway. Sundodger, who made the original post, wants to know why he's got a green tinge in his dry cured bacon (before cooking): what do you think it is?

Sorry Phil it was actually for Sundodger, as mentioned if dry cured/rinsed/air dried (matured) which is what I do then there should be no nitrite burn as salt/cure has been rinsed off. If it is a fluorescent sheen we see sometimes in pork as well as beef (cured or not) I just cannot think of the technical name and my books are at home ~~ hence the higher authority" my buddy (CFIA)

[BriCan]

Really that doesn't matter anyway. Sundodger, who made the original post, wants to know why he's got a green tinge in his dry cured bacon (before cooking): what do you think it is?

Just checked my mail before out to a Scouting event (JOTT) and see I have a reply from my buddy, I copied and pasted Sundodgers original post so that there would be no mistake in translation.

The following is his reply;

Hi Robert. This is called irradescent meat colouring and you see it on both cured and fresh meat and is because of the make up of the the muscle ( compounds like fat and iron contribute to these sometimes lovely colours) it is caused mainly by the reflection of light off of the muscles, nothing to be allarmned at, store bought roast beef especially Montreal style smoked meat shows it a lot. It can happen on all types of meats, but especially beef and pork. hope that helps.It is awnatural , nothing you are doing wrong. Same kinda thing happens with water reflection in the light ( rainbows) remember meats has a whole lot of water in it to begin with. Al

it seems my initial hunch was right

HTH

[wheels]

That's most interesting.

I was working on the assumption that, if it was nitrite burn that occurred during curing, it wouldn't be seen until the product was sliced; however, your friends explanation sounds much more likely.

Phil

[BriCan]

Normally from my escapades nitrite burn occurs on the underside of the middles when they sit in the excess liquid pulled from them, on areas that are the fat is light the green tinge can and will occur into the meat. There has been times where I have been dry curing legs and they have been stacked three deep~~ in the area where the rinds come in contact with each other there has been signs of nitrite burn but that only occurs when I have left legs too long in cure and excessive salt/cure has been.

I have not seen nitrite burns occur on bacon (dry cured)that is elevated out of the liquid, if too much salt/cure mix is used between the loins it can occur, as I mentioned before if the loins are rinsed of all salt/cure after the curing time and hung to dry/mature nitrite burns will not occur when the bacon is sliced and shingled for sale.

Sundodger, hope this helps. I will keep an eye on my stuff and if I have problems (nitrite burns) I will post photos