Curing pork belly

[imjim1]

I have a 9lb belly curing in the fridge and I forgot to flip it yesterday, do I need to add another day to cure schedule or can I still pull and rinse after seven days?

[Jonathon]

imjim1 You can still pull and rinse at 7, the osmosis is still occurring and the cure will continue to penetrate. Good question!

[imjim1]

Jonathon Thanks!

[gunny169]

I have smoking question? I’m currently curing some pork belly. The mix I used has pink salt in the mix. Question is can I cold smoke the belly or do I need to hot smoke? If I have to hot smoke what temperature do I smoke at and what temperature does the bacon internal temperature need to be at?

[knifemaker3]

rule of thumb when using cure #1 or Morton Tender Quick is cure for 1 day per 1/4" meat thickness plus 2 days for added insurance. Minimum of 8 days. That’s dry cure using EQ method.

[Jonathon]

gunny169 What type of temp control do you have? Even if it is cured you dont really want it in the danger zone 40-140 (or so) for a huge long amount of time. Now, if you have a way to keep it colder and still smoke it then go ahead!

[gunny169]

Jonathon I have a Bradley smoker so the temperature can be adjusted but also I have the cold smoking box that Bradley smoker makes.

[Jonathon]

gunny169 If it is under 40 degrees wherevere you are and you can do it oustide, go for it!

[gunny169]

Jonathon unfortunately I live in eastern North Carolina so the temperature outside is warm. Since we don’t have the cold temps here what temperature would you recommend for the internal temperature of the bellies? From what I have been researching 145° to 150° is the average temperature.

[knifemaker3]

As long as the meat has been cured you can cold smoke at temps under 80 degrees. I smoke my bacon at 120 degrees for 2-3 hours with an amazin tube smoker and applewood pellets. IT of meat I never allow to get past 125 dgree and only get a small amount or rendering. Of course this is still raw and must be cooked b4 eating.
I use salt, cure#1, and brown sugar dry cure at 1 day per 1/4" meat thickness plus 2 days extra. I calculate cure , salt, and sugar amount usimg diggingdogfarms calculator.
Works every time

[gunny169]

knifemaker3 Thank you for that info it helps a lot.