Pink salt, do I really need this,,,,,,,, DONE ;)))))))

[misfish]

Im doing the home made bacon thing. I cant find the pink cure salt. Do I really need it? Heard good bad, yaw and naw.

 

I have fine sea salt,smoke peperika and lots of fresh course gropund pepper. Am I good to go with just that ?

 

Stuff it in a zip lock, store for 5 days in fridge, turning each day.

 

 

Do I need that nitrite stuff???????????

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2016 by Brian B

[Fisherman]

No you don't, check the link here for the list of ingredients and how to: http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/how-to-cure-bacon

[misfish]

So Im good to go then Enrich with what I have.

 

Thanks bud.

[misfish]

Yes the salt will do the cure. I know I read about that some where, and like I said, have read that the pink salt, is not very good for you.

 

Im not making big batches here.

 

This is my first try.

 

Posting in the food thread.

 

I just needed a quick answer.

 

Thanks again for quick replies

[misfish]

Fine Sea salt is what I used. As long as the bag is sealed and refrigerated, I should be good to go. I watched a few vids of chefs and butchers , not all use the pink salt. One was just sea salt and brown sugar.

[Consigliere]

When served the bacon will need to be fully cooked to be safe if you are making it without pink salt. The nitrates will insure no health issues by eating it less than well done. There is more risk however much is hard to say.

 

The nitrates being bad for you is debatable and all store bought bacon will use it.

[misfish]

When served the bacon will need to be fully cooked to be safe if you are making it without pink salt. The nitrates will insure no health issues by eating it less than well done. There is more risk however much is hard to say.

 

The nitrates being bad for you is debatable and all store bought bacon will use it.

 

My plan is to fully cure,cook and fry cook.

 

Can anyone tell me where I can buy this nitrate ? I went to three different stores that I was sure would have it.

 

They use the nitrate due to laws supplying the public consumer?

Edited January 10, 2016 by Brian B

[OhioFisherman]

Pink salt is for girls! LOL

[leaf4]

Dunno if its the same stuff, but I use Himalayan rock salt, which is pink. I got a bag of it from winners of all places

[mr blizzard]

Brian

1/3 cup coarse salt

Same amount of maple syrup and same amount brown sugar

 

Put above and bacon in zip lock

1 week in fridge

Turn twice daily

Then remove rinse thoroughly

Back in fridge 4 hours

 

Smoke to your liking. Tried 1 1/2 hours

Found little to strong

 

Next batch did for 40 minutes much better

Then put back in fridge for one hour to firm up

 

Slice fry up enjoy?

[misfish]

Dunno if its the same stuff, but I use Himalayan rock salt, which is pink. I got a bag of it from winners of all places

 

I seen that stuff at the bulk barn today. I was wondering if it was the same.

[misfish]

Brian

1/3 cup coarse salt

Same amount of maple syrup and same amount brown sugar

 

Put above and bacon in zip lock

1 week in fridge

Turn twice daily

Then remove rinse thoroughly

Back in fridge 4 hours

 

Smoke to your liking. Tried 1 1/2 hours

Found little to strong

 

Next batch did for 40 minutes much better

Then put back in fridge for one hour to firm up

 

Slice fry up enjoy

 

Thanks John.

[mr blizzard]

Brian I got the recipe from Big Cliff. no nitrates, did it in True North smoker with maple chips, BUT I DID NOT HAVE THE ELEMET ON I BLEW SMOKE IN FROM AN OUTSIDE CHAMBER<<<COLD SMOKED

 

then fried it up at the end, bought a meat slicer to make uniform strips

[HTHM]

Brian

1/3 cup coarse salt

Same amount of maple syrup and same amount brown sugar

 

Put above and bacon in zip lock

1 week in fridge

Turn twice daily

Then remove rinse thoroughly

Back in fridge 4 hours

 

Smoke to your liking. Tried 1 1/2 hours

Found little to strong

 

Next batch did for 40 minutes much better

Then put back in fridge for one hour to firm up

 

Slice fry up enjoy

What this says, but smoke until center temp is 150 fahrenheit

I also add some rye of my choice, JD or CC.

You can also do it in a brine, I use a camping cooler for that.

 

 

real simple curing brine:

 

for every 1 gallon of water, add:

 

1/3 - 1 cup sea salt (depending if you're on a lo-salt diet)

1 cup granulated sugar or Splenda®

1 cup brown sugar or Splenda® brown sugar mix

1 tbsp cure no. 1 pink salt

 

stir thoroughly until clear amber color, pour over meat, inject if necessary to cure from inside-out as well as outside-in

 

weight down with a partially filled 1 qt or 1 gal. ziploc bag or bags to keep meat immersed

 

Curing times vary with meat, but generally overnight to 2-3 days for chickens and turkeys, 8-10 days buckboard bacon, 10-14 days belly bacon, pork shoulder, whole butts, 3-4 weeks whole hams, 10-20 days corned beef (fresh beef roasts, briskets, rolled rib roasts, etc.) If whole muscle is more than 2" thick, then inject so it can cure i/o as well as o/i, and/or in and around bone structures, etc.

 

You can add any other flavorings you'd like, this is just the basic curing brine. 1 heaping tablespoon of cure is about 1 ounce. The maximum concentration allowed safely is 3.84 ounces per 1 gallon of brine (24 lbs.per 100 gallons: 16 oz. x 24 = 384 ounces, 1/100th is 3.84 ounces). You can experiment with different concentrations as long as you keep it between those parameters:

[Consigliere]

Curing with plain salt is not the same as pink salt which is also called cure 1. Look up the differences and make your own choices based on what you know on how you will eat the bacon and what your comfortable with. I ordered my pink salt from the Internet. It is not Himalayan salt. It is salt with a component of nitrate 7.5 % I think.

[misfish]

Plain salt ( table salt ) is not the same as sea salt. I was aware not to use normal table salt. I have been looking at other ways of curing and I have to say, 30% use the nitrate. 70% use just sea salt and what ever they chose for flavor.

[wormdunker]

Good info here guys. Now you make me to want to try 1 of the above recipes. How big is the slab of bacon are you using? I have a wood fired smoker - rather old school lottsa firewood & various flavors of wood chips. I can also get all the fruitwood I want. The apple, peach, cherry & pear orchards are close by. Is it critical to bring the slab to 150 F? Comments are welcome as always.

[misfish]

Good info here guys. Now you make me to want to try 1 of the above recipes. How big is the slab of bacon are you using? I have a wood fired smoker - rather old school lottsa firewood & various flavors of wood chips. I can also get all the fruitwood I want. The apple, peach, cherry & pear orchards are close by. Is it critical to bring the slab to 150 F? Comments are welcome as always.

 

10"x16"x 2" thick.

[Big Cliff]

Brian

1/3 cup coarse salt

Same amount of maple syrup and same amount brown sugar

 

Put above and bacon in zip lock

1 week in fridge

Turn twice daily

Then remove rinse thoroughly

Back in fridge 4 hours

 

Smoke to your liking. Tried 1 1/2 hours

Found little to strong

 

Next batch did for 40 minutes much better

Then put back in fridge for one hour to firm up

 

Slice fry up enjoy

I have used this recipe several times now, it's a very basic one which is what I was looking for. I cold smoke mine (no heat) and have tried several different types of wood and different lengths of time, my favorite is maple for about an hour.

 

I wanted to stay away from the nitrates (pink salt /cure #1) because I'd heard a lot of bad things about them.

 

I use either coarse pickling salt or coarse sea salt to stay away from the iodine in table salt.

[misfish]

Good info here guys. Now you make me to want to try 1 of the above recipes. How big is the slab of bacon are you using? I have a wood fired smoker - rather old school lottsa firewood & various flavors of wood chips. I can also get all the fruitwood I want. The apple, peach, cherry & pear orchards are close by. Is it critical to bring the slab to 150 F? Comments are welcome as always.

 

page 94

 

http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/uploads/av-3.jpg?_r=1170297371

[misfish]

I have used this recipe several times now, it's a very basic one which is what I was looking for. I cold smoke mine (no heat) and have tried several different types of wood and different lengths of time, my favorite is maple for about an hour.

 

I wanted to stay away from the nitrates (pink salt /cure #1) because I'd heard a lot of bad things about them.

 

I use either coarse pickling salt or coarse sea salt to stay away from the iodine in table salt.

 

Hey Big. Your still alive to tell all about it, so I must be ok.

[FloatnFly]

pink salt is just regular curing salt dyed pink, it was done so people didn't confuse the curing salt for regular table salt in the cupboard. We sell both at the shop, 5oz is enough to do around 100lbs of meat so use it carefully

 

 

without the nitrates, you meat will go off a lot faster, say 2 weeks once opened from a vacuum sealed bag, we have tried to do the nitrate free hams for the deli counter, and the shelf life just wasn't worth it to please a few customers

[Big Cliff]

Once cured and sliced I freeze my bacon on a cookie sheet on parchment paper in individual strips. Once frozen I put it into a ziploc bag and remove as much air as I can. Then when I want bacon I can just remove as many strips as I need at a time.

[misfish]

That's my plan Cliff. I remember you saying that.

Thanks

[Roy]

Pink salt is not dyed. It's a naturally occurring salt from the Himalayas. Purest, best quality salt in the world. The only dyed pink salt that I know of is either dyed salt licks or the pink salt used by some merchants to make their meats appear fresher. This may or may not be good for your application but it is what it is. Happy brining brudder.