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[Bentley]

Thanks. But like you said, the amont...so 5.6g, which is what should be used for 5lbs of meat in a cure rub, not a brine.  I wish I had asked you to take a picture of it. So this is about 1/3 of a teaspoon, correct?  And you are going to mix that in with 62.79g of salt and sugar, and that is 2.2 oz or about 3-4 Tablespoons I think...and that is going to cover 5lbs of meat...evenly to cure?  Do you all see what I am talking about between wet and dry curing? 

[mowin]

My first method of weighing was to "eye" when a TBS was half full, so I weighed a full leveled TBS. That was 16.2, so half that would be 8.1. 

Realistically, the difference between 7.4g and 8.1g isn't much.

[Bentley]

Sorry for the screw up!

You are doing Tablespoon or teaspoon?...I was hoping to get what a 1/2 teaspoon was...

would you weigh a 1/2 table spoon of salt and tell me how many grams it is?

Nice to know how many grams in 1 TBS though!

[Ssteppe]

For the bellies that I currently have in the refrigerator, I used about 1/3 cup of sugar for 5 lbs., brown sugar for one and maple sugar for the other. I used the same cure #1 and pepper ratios that you listed. Today is the 6th day of cure for mine, I'll rinse and dry until tomorrow. I'm contemplating double smoking one of them, anyone else done this? If so, what was your process?

Since it's in the single digits outside, I plan on cold smoking first, then the next day hot smoking to 140-150 F.

Raichlen also uses 1/3 cup brown sugar. You don't mention salt - did you include salt in your rub, and how much? (Raichlen uses 1/3 cup kosher salt).

[mowin]

I use the digging dog calc.  And YES it is going to evenly cure and cover the meat.

I've cured this way many times, so ,no, I'm not getting what your talking about, just like your not getting what I'm talking about.  Lol

It's not like this method hasn't been used and proven to be a safe and effective way to cure meats.

Like mentioned earlier, the wet cure does change the taste a texture of bacon compared to a dry cure.
And a dry cure does draw a few TBS of moisture from the meat, making it very easy to get even coverage.

Yes, I'll agree, wet cure is "easy". Toss in a TBS of cure to each gal of water, add the other dry ingredients, and done. But, unless you have a spare fridge or walk in cooler, it's takes up a lot of space.

[mowin]

Ok.  1/2 ts was 3.9g.  [ Invalid Attachment ]

I weighed out the proper amounts for a 5lb belly.
Cure#1 5.56g
Salt( course sea salt) 40.05
Brown sugar 22.68
The 1/2 ts is there for reference. Remember, your not seasoning a rack of ribs.  There's more than plenty in that bowl to "lightly" cover booth sides of a belly.
 [ Invalid Attachment ]

[bregent]

Thanks. But like you said, the amont...so 5.6g, which is what should be used for 5lbs of meat in a cure rub, not a brine.  I wish I had asked you to take a picture of it. So this is about 1/3 of a teaspoon, correct?  And you are going to mix that in with 62.79g of salt and sugar, and that is 2.2 oz or about 3-4 Tablespoons I think...and that is going to cover 5lbs of meat...evenly to cure?  Do you all see what I am talking about between wet and dry curing?

Bentley, if you're talking about the weight of Cure #1, last time I weighed it was 1tsp = 6.5 grams.  And yes, as mowin stated, dry rub cure coats evenly. It doesn't have to be perfect - moisture comes out of the belly and dissolves it anyway. Just flip the bag over every day or two.

[Bentley]

Just never got a good a result with rub as I have with wet and the taste is not the same, so it is strictly a personal preference.  I did not mean to imply it was not safe.

[Bentley]

Thanks for the measurements!

[Clonesmoker]

I use the iSmokeHog's app and got a scale that weighs up to 20 lbs and does liter, ml, fl oz, milk ml, grams, and oz. Just need to get some pork loin to do some Canadian bacon.

[mowin]

I use the iSmokeHog's app and got a scale that weighs up to 20 lbs and does liter, ml, fl oz, milk ml, grams, and oz. Just need to get some pork loin to do some Canadian bacon.

That's the one thing I've never made, Canadian bacon. Why? Well I'll tell ya., I LOVE smoked, braised loin.  Yummm

[jstrand]

Not to highjack the thread but....
Does anyone know what the sodium content is for a slice of home cured bacon vs. Store bought? 

[Bentley]

I hijacked this thread long before you were here...

I know this will sound like a smart xxx, but how much salt is the home cured guy using?  That will help me tell you...

[hughver]

I used 2.75% salt or about 1/3 cup for 5 lbs. The bellies that I just finished cured for 6+ days and were a tad salty for my taste. I soaked them in fresh water for about 6 hours before I smoked them and they turned out perfect. Next time I'll reduce cure time to 5 days.

[mowin]

I used 2.75% salt or about 1/3 cup for 5 lbs. The bellies that I just finished cured for 6+ days and were a tad salty for my taste. I soaked them in fresh water for about 6 hours before I smoked them and they turned out perfect. Next time I'll reduce cure time to 5 days.

Assuming your cure has sugar in it?  If so don't reduce cure time. You risk the thickest parts won't be cured. Meat absorbs salt quicker than sugar. The sugar is there to reduce the saltiness. So leave your meat to brine longer to give the sugar time to do it's job.

I'd reduce my salt before I'd shorten my brine time.