Bacon Question
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Good evening all,
I am getting ready to cure and smoke a side of bacon using the Blue Ribbon Maple Cure and the suggested method provided in Meatgistics.
My question is: How long will this keep in the fridge?
I know that back in the day, the country bacon (assumed to be dry rubbed) was hung in the store without being refrigerated and lasted a long while. I am just not sure about the injection/brining method and want to be safe when trying this. I plan to remove the bacon from the brine, rinse it and coat with maple syrup but would like to allow it to remain in the fridge with the syrup on it for several days before smoking, slicing and packing.
Thanks for any help!
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wvhunter1965 That’s a really good question, so the plan is to cure it (assume either injected or just brined for a few days?) and then wash it off and let it sit in the fridge, covered in maple syrup to allow the maple syrup flavor to seep into the meat? I’d say 12 hours would be fine but I wouldn’t go for a few days. When you remove it from the brine you lose the protection from the surface of the meat, which is where the vast majority of the bacteria would grow. This is just my initial thought though, I am going to ask our application specialist and I will update this post when I have an answer from them.
Really good question, lots going on here. Hopefully I will be able to say go ahead and do it!
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wvhunter1965 I spoke with Austin and we believe that a day or two extra in the fridge covered with maple syrup won’t be an issue.
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Jonathon,
Thanks for the info. I will give it a try and see how it goes.
Would it be a different scenario if I used the dry rub and method suggested for that? I am never opposed to trying new things!
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wvhunter1965 Personally, I’d use maple sugar in a rub before pouring maple syrup over a belly. I feel like there would be excess waste and increased costs with the syrup approach. I am kind of curious though on how the syrup approach would turn out.
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wvhunter1965 No, I’d think that the method of curing isn’t all that important the nitrites have already pnetrated the meat and rendered it safe for at least a few days. I think skibumben brings up a good point though, sugar might give you a better result?
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Well, we will know soon enough how the method above works. I cured my bacon over the weekend, rubbed it with the maple syrup and vacuum sealed it in bags. It is now in the fridge until tomorrow at which point I will smoke, slice and pack it. Oh yeah, and probably fry some!
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wvhunter1965 I inject maple syrup into pork butt when making buckboard bacon, seems to work for that!
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s.a.m , good to know. Does it add much maple flavor. I have tried different things and it seems that adding maple flavor is not as easy as it sounds.
I know it can be done but not sure how much maple can be added with home equipment. We used to buy a maple bacon from Costco (before they stopped selling it) and it was incredibly good. It is what got me interested in making my own because I have not found anything that even comes close to what that bacon tasted like, but, I’m still working on it.
I love the Blue Ribbon Maple Bacon Cure but want to add more maple so continue to try new things. One day…
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Just a side note, can someone tell me how to attach pictures to a post such as this one. I was going to attach pics of the bacon sides vacuum sealed in the fridge but could not figure out how to do it.
Sometimes, (and i mean very few times) it sucks being a dumb old country boy!
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wvhunter1965 When you post the Post quick reply button in the bottom right won’t let you attach. You have to click on “Reply” underneath, right next to the post and view count. Then that opens a new window and it is the last icon on the right. Click that, navigate to the picture and select it. It might be too big so look for an option on your phone that will allow you to post a different sized image, medium is usually small enough but that option is only available on the iPhone as far as I know. I will play with our pixel and see if I can come up with an easy way to do that from there.
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wvhunter1965 yes I think so, I use 1 tablespoon per pound injected every inch and the best syrup you can find, not the cheap stuff.
When I make the buckboard bacon it’s maple chipotle and I can still taste the maple, I also dry brine/rub, not soak -
Jonathon, I got it as you can see. 1st image is in the fridge vacuum sealed. 2nd is on the grill smoking. This was a full side that I split 3 ways. All were cured with Blue Ribbon Maple Bacon cure, coated with maple syrup and vacuum sealed, one went on the grill like that, one had black pepper added on the outside and one was injected with maple syrup. If it tastes as good as it smells, it will be wonderful!
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wvhunter1965 looks good! Did you inject before curing?
That’s what I do with the buckboard, forgot to put that in there. -
wvhunter1965 good fridge, beer, bacon and electrolytes for the next day!
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Good morning all,
s.a.m - I injected after curing. Will have to try your method next time. Although all three came out great, I am one of those people that will never be satisfied and will always try to improve. I don’t think I got a good injection with the syrup as there was not much of a difference in flavor between the one I injected and the one that I didn’t.
Jonathon - I couldn’t agree more and I make good use of them all!
