Bacon Cure Time Limit - what is it?

Ken:

I don't know if you can over cure buckboard bacon. I believe that BB calls for ten days with the cure. And because this is just a half a butt, it probably doesn't need that long. The big thing when curing is to make sure the frig. is in the 36-40 degree range. I disagree with the High Mountain people of a range of I believe 40-45 degrees that they recommend. Ninety eight percent of the literature calls for the 36-40 degree range in meat curing. If your temp is significantly below 36, it is not curing enough. I believe I've read something that at 32 degrees it is practically not curing at all. Above 40 degrees, it is in the bacterica danger range. I have ruined a few pieces of meat when I thought the frig. was in the 36-40 range and it was closer to 32. As a result, it was not cured at the end of 10 days and when I cooked/smoked it in the CS, it was not a cured product and didn't taste normal. So I thru it away.

If you had had it in the frig. truely within the 36-40 range, it should be well cured. You could take it out and soak it (to get rid of the salt and curing agents) and then put it in the frig. again at a temp. under 40 degrees and it should be ok for a few days.

But I'm not sure why you would not want to smoke/cook it even when it is cold out (assuming you are using a CS). I've cooked in temperatures well below zero (in Minnesota here) and have had no problems. Remember, the box is insulated and the temp. inside is kept in a relatively constant range by the thermostat. The heating element may be on slightly more of the time, but the only issue with that is that it takes slightly more electricity.

Now if you don't want to do it just because it is cold loading it and watching it, that's another story.

You may also want to contact the folks at High Mountain-they are very nice and courteous to talk to.

Just my two cents.

MN.....thanks. I'm gonna soak it, then smoke it over the weekend.

I wish I had a CS smoker...I hope to have one this summer....but I'm using a Brinkmann gas fired water smoker.

With temps in the single digits to just above 10 deg for highs...along with a nice breeze...you can understand my reluctance.

I've read alot about the CS units...and I'm definitely convinced that is what my next smoker will be. If I had one now...we wouldn't be having this discussion..

Thanks again for the tips..

Ken

Ken,

Okay, so call me confused

You didn't outline the conditions you're storing it and MNQue did an excellent job covering that point.

By use of the term "cure" I'm lead to believe that there is some sort of cure such as a nitrate/nitrite in there.

In the old days, uh, actually even now, you can cure a ham, outside a fridge (just see our post on Prosciutto ham) and a cure is added to protect the meat. Nitrates/nitrites protect meats when they're in the danger zone as well as do what they're supposed to do, cure. Tenderquick, Prague Powder, etc.

I'm not a HiMountain person, does the ingredient list anything that could be a cure. If so, this will help understand how long is too long, etc.

Smokin'

Smokin and Ken:

The buckboard bacon cure mix has sodium nitrite in it already. This is in essence a dry cure. But you still have to keep the meat out of the danger zone (40-140) until the cure has completely penetrated the entire portion of the meat. Otherwise that "yet to be cured" portion will spoil. The ability of the cure to penetrate the meat is directly related to the thickness of the meat. That is why it takes about 10 days to cure (dry curing)this type of meat. You are actually curing the meat from the outside in. So you always have uncured portions until the cure has completely penetrated the meat.

I am currently dry curing a 24 lb. ham (Country style) which is about 8 inches thick. This will take approximately 56 days or 7 days per inch of thickness. In addition, with a ham of this size you also let it sit in the refrig. for another 20-25 days for the salt equalization phase (after letting it soak to wash some of the excess salt off). So after about 76 or so days, yes you can just keep it at room temperature (this is called the "aging phase") because it is in fact fully cured. But up until it is fully cured, it still must be stored in the 36-40 degree range.

In the old days, my folks, my relatives and others butchered hogs and cured the hams just in salt. But it was outside and in the middle of winter in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota with temp. ranges from 25-40 degrees (that is with heavy blankets around them to prevent the extremes in temp). You actually don't need cure (nitrates or nitrites) to cure a ham or any other kind of meat. It's just a little bit of extra insurance that the cure goes correctly and produces a slightly less salty tasting product.

So Smokin, you can age in the danger zone but you must cure in the safe zone (36-40). This the case for any meat including Prosciutto Ham.

Just thought I'd bring this to your attention!

I have went as far as 15 days and it was great. I do not know what my fridge temps are, but I will start to watch this as I want consistency of the first batch, ummm, um.