Making Bacon
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HerefordSire
Well-known member
Looks good.
1982vett
Well-known member
It't been a decade or more since Dad buchered and cured hams and bacon. Best I recall he used a product called Mortons Sugar Cure or something like this. http://www.mortonsalt.com/products/meat ... lavor.html
This sounds close except for the smoke flavor part. He did that over real smoke.
This sounds close except for the smoke flavor part. He did that over real smoke.
MO_cows
Well-known member
You can still buy Mortons Sugar Cure, I saw it recently in small town grocery store. Also there's "Buckboard Bacon" cure made by Hi Mountain. www.himtnjerky.com. I have used it to cure bacon but it had already been sliced raw, so it didn't take long. A solid piece of meat like that is probably a 7-10 day cure?
MO_cows":1d9hh2mw said:
Yeah 7-10 days or till firm in the middle. I ordered the Morton's Tenderguick and Sugar cure but don't have them yet. Thinking about hot smoking 1/2 of it as a comparison.
Thanks for the link and Thanks Vette.
This was a 6# slab and I froze the other 25 till I get the stuff from Morton's. You can't seem to buy it around here. $50 for 31# of meat.
MO_cows
Well-known member
Wondering if the vacuum sealing might help it cure faster? Maybe a 5 day cure?
MO_cows":28atblub said:
Don't know. They say botulism doesn't like oxygen. I did a partial vacuum with a vacuum seal bag for the durability of the bag. I read that somewhere. I finally got the cure salts with the nitrates and nitrites. Might do some next weekend. The prepared bacon has browned but is firm. It should be ready this weekend.
Jogeephus
Well-known member
Wewild":2mhasour said:
Wewild I think you have this confused with pseudomonas bacteria cause this is not correct. Botulism LOVES anaerobic conditions for it is in these anearobic conditions that it produces the lethal spores. Botulism can grow in temps ranging from 40 - 140 F so simply chilling the meat is not enough. The best method to prevent botulism in bacon is to use nitrates or nitrites otherwise boiling the meat for 10 minutes is the only other way. Botulism is rare but you rarely get second chance with it so I'd be careful curing stuff without the nitrates/ites.
Here is some info. Read the introduction.
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArt ... ticleId=43
Thanks Jo. I appreciate the concern and have the same. Help me though I thought an anearobic condition is "the absence of oxygen, preventing normal life for organisms that depend on oxygen". The frig has been at 37 degrees this whole time so any presence of bot hasn't been able to grow since the animal was processed. I used a recipe from
http://www.legourmet.tv/cooking/homemadebacon.html
minus the molasses but who knows if he is still alive.
I am now thinking about scraping the batch. How could it be safely tested?
http://www.legourmet.tv/cooking/homemadebacon.html
minus the molasses but who knows if he is still alive.
I am now thinking about scraping the batch. How could it be safely tested?
cross_7
Well-known member
The bacon is excellent (in my mind of course since I made it). Cooked up good and the tasted great. It isn't like store bought and I couldn't slice it as thin as store bought. Slicing is going to need some work and I want to get a slicer next. I figure I got about $1.50 a pound in it not including my time and refrigeration.
hillsdown
Well-known member
Wewild":1s3t2x24 said:
Sounds like it turned out fab, btw thin sliced is overrated you just gave everyone a better serving. ;-)
Jogeephus
Well-known member
Wewild":20uxy7xg said:
Don't know how you can test it without a lot of trouble sounds like you already have eaten it so it really is a mute point and odds are in your favor. FYI, the 37 degrees only means the multiplication is slower. At 32 degrees it takes 38 hours to double. Where the trouble arises is when you hang it to dry and bring it to room temp then when you cold smoke it. At room temp it will double every hour and at a cold smoke temp it will double every 30 minutes. So like you said, can't be too careful.
I watched the video and the fella said he rubbed the belly in a cure. Based on the terminology I was taught a cure is a mixture that has a trate or trite salt in it whereas a rub is merely a salt and sugar mix. He called his a cure so I wonder if they didn't leave something out. I also looked at several bacon recipes and not one omitted the ite/ate.
I finished up some mollassis butt bacon today. Here is the finished product. Pretty good if you like honey baked hams and such.
That looks good Jo. I didn't intend to smoke this batch for the reason you described and the fact my wife isn't much on smoked meats. I am going to do it on a portion of the next batch which will be processed using a Morton's store bought cure.
Thanks for the thoughts.
Thanks for the thoughts.
Running Arrow Bill
Well-known member
Judging from the photo of the bacon, looks like it is probably 30% "fat back" with very little lean meat. Sorta like what we're finding in our area supermarkets. About 1 out of 100 packages I look at are like this or worse.
On a sidebar, won't frying bacon well-done ("crisp") kill any bugs or bacteria in the meat. If one doesn't cook their bacon well done, with visible "floppy fat" (LOL), then I suppose you could get sick if something had infected it...like all pork, poultry, ground beef, etc.
On a sidebar, won't frying bacon well-done ("crisp") kill any bugs or bacteria in the meat. If one doesn't cook their bacon well done, with visible "floppy fat" (LOL), then I suppose you could get sick if something had infected it...like all pork, poultry, ground beef, etc.
Running Arrow Bill":2fptlzmt said:
I don't know how to take the first statement but it tasted purty good. It is about what I expected from the meat to fat ratio from eating bacon so maybe I agree with you. I just can't tell what your getting at.
It might kill botulism then it might not. Not being an expert, I have decided not to chance it since it wasn't cured with nitrate/ites. Got another slab in the frig thawing that will be using Morton's tenderquick.
Jogeephus
Well-known member
Running Arrow Bill":3836irjv said:
I'm no expert either and only mess with this stuff as a hobby. Based on what I have read - or at least how I understand it - cooking bacon will kill most bacteria but botulism is heat tolerant and can withstand long durations (20 minutes) of extremely hot temperatures. It can form spores to protect itself from heat and its these spores which are so much danger to us. There some good reading on it if you study the The Wholesome Meat Act.
