# BACON



## JohniusMaximus (Apr 30, 2008)

I stared with a 2 pound boneless pork butt that looked like this:
















Then I mixed some cure with dark brown sugar and coated the roast. The roast then went into a plastic bag.














This sat in the refrigerator for 10 days so the meat could cure properly. After ten days I cut the roast down the center and soaked one half in an apple cider/maple syrup mixture and rubbed the other half with clover honey. They got a 4 hour smoke with apple wood until the internal temperature was right around 140. Then they looked like this.














Fries up like bacon.


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## Clay-Doh (Oct 2, 2007)

Oh man that looks so good!

When you say cure....the sodium nitrate, or whatever that is for sasuage and meat curing??


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## JohniusMaximus (Apr 30, 2008)

Yep. In this case I used Morton's Tender Quick because I was out of the Cure #1 that I usually use for bacon and sausage.


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## jigslinger (Sep 30, 2007)

That does look good. What is the sugar to cure ratio? I want to try this one. You don't inject it or anything?


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## JohniusMaximus (Apr 30, 2008)

I used equal amounts of Morton's Tender Quick and dark brown sugar. If I were using Insta-Cure #1 I'd have to do some more calculations. You have to measure the cure out due to the weight of the meat to get the right amounts. That roast was about 2 pounds and Morton's calls for 1 tablespoon per pound. So 2 tablespoons of cure and 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar for this particular roast. It took 10 days to cure.


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## jigslinger (Sep 30, 2007)

Thanks!


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## IAMHOOKED (Oct 1, 2007)

LOOKS GOOOOOOD GOING TO START SOME THIS WEEKEND AND DONT KNOW IF I CAN WAIT THE 10 DAYS!!!


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## Ithaca37 (Nov 23, 2007)

That looks great. What kind of cure did you use?


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## Ithaca37 (Nov 23, 2007)

Never mind. Should have read further.


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## Ithaca37 (Nov 23, 2007)

Where do you get Morton's Tender Quick or Insta-Cure #1? I looked at Walmart and couldn't find it.


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## JohniusMaximus (Apr 30, 2008)

I get Morton from a little local store here. However both Morton and Insta-Cure 1 are readily available for ordering online. 



Check out www.sausagemaker.com or www.butcher-packer.com. They should have them.


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## jigslinger (Sep 30, 2007)

Some grocery stores handle it too. Check next to the salt. If they have it it should be there.


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## gmblnfool (Jun 10, 2008)

Does it always take 10 days or do you look at the meat or from the texture and know when it is ready?


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## JohniusMaximus (Apr 30, 2008)

My basic rule is 3 days per inch thickness of meat. For a roast that size 9 to 10 days is the typical time.


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## Ithaca37 (Nov 23, 2007)

Been curing one for a week now and I have two questions:



1.How much of the meat do you have to cover with the cure, because I used the recommended amount and it did not cover much?



2.How can you tell when it is cured, because it looks the same as when I put it in the fridge?



I also screwed up and bought a pork shoulder arm, but I am going to try it anyway.


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## JohniusMaximus (Apr 30, 2008)

> *Ithaca37 (12/3/2008)*Been curing one for a week now and I have two questions:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




The amount of cure will not be much but it should be distributed all over the meat. The whole cut should be covered as evenly as possible. Use all of the cure measured out. The length of time depends upon thickness. Like I said, 3 days per inch is the rule I use. If the cure was not distributed evenly over all of the meat you might get uneven curing. Rubbing the roast daily helps push the cure around and promotes even curing.


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