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anyone leave the skin on while curing bacon?

I have a nice slab of pork belly with the skin still on. Anyone ever cure a belly with the skin still on then remove it after smoking? Or should I just pull it off now?

Comments

  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    I always remove to ensure it gets fully cured. Easier to remove when partially frozen
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    +1 on this^^^^ what @Chubbs said. Penetration is important
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
    edited January 2016
    if/when i leave it on when curing, i make sure to take it off prior to smoking.  makes no sense to smoke it and then take off half the smoke (the skin).


    but typically i skin it (remove the skin) first, and cure the meat.  the day i start the cure, i roll the skin tightly, and slice it into ribbons.  then on to the egg for a number of hours (like, 3 to 4, maybe 5) with some rub until they crisp up

    not quite cracklins, but damn damn good.


    blurry pic, but roll tightly and slice



    this was in the oven, but i do it in the egg now.  otherwise the house smells like pork fat for a week.  say 225-250 until the fat renders and it crisps.  long time.  if you wanted, maybe parboiling before-hand would speed things, haven't tried it




    done.  good stuff.  the drier you get it the crisper it is and the longer it'll store.  fat can go rancid quickly stored at room temp. gets sorta soft when refrigerated

    i'm guessing @SGH might have a better/truer recipe.  this is just one man's half-adzed attempt

    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    Smoke penetration and cure penetration. :fearful: 
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • cure penetrates, smoke doesn't

    smoke covers things and the more surface you have, the better.  that's why activated charcoal is a filter, and regular charcoal isn't. surface area

    cure will zip thru skin easily.  no impedement to cure really.  but it is a barrier to smoke.

    bro-science will declare that smoke is absorbed.  nuh uh.  there are some chemicals which will make it through, absolutely (see: smoke ring formation).  but the residual sugars and particulates that comprise the majority of smoke smell and flavor are on the surface


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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    i'm guessing @SGH might have a better/truer recipe.  this is just one man's half-adzed attempt

    Darby that all looks mighty fine to me brother. 

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
    I've left skin on.  Trimmed off while very warm (easily done).  Has worked but a few times less smoke than I'd hoped for.  Will try skin off approach.
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    cure penetrates, smoke doesn't


    bro-science will declare that smoke is absorbed.  nuh uh.  there are some chemicals which will make it through, absolutely (see: smoke ring formation).  but the residual sugars and particulates that comprise the majority of smoke smell and flavor are on the surface


    Smarty pants :tongue: 
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • Wolfpack
    Wolfpack Posts: 3,551
    Question for you all- how long can you keep cured/smoked bacon in the fridge? Since it is cured I am assuming a decently long time. Haven't really been able to find much on the internet...
    Greensboro, NC
  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
    I go 3 months. @Darby_Crenshaw can provide accurate information.  
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    poster said:
    I have a nice slab of pork belly with the skin still on. Anyone ever cure a belly with the skin still on then remove it after smoking? Or should I just pull it off now?

    Done it both ways, it's easier to remove the skin after the cure but I think the flavouring ingredients are more pronounced if you remove it first.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • poster
    poster Posts: 1,167
    great, thanks for all the feedback
  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
    edited January 2016
    Take your cured bacon. Hang at room temperature for ten years

    still safe to eat

    In a fridge? the fridge will die before the bacon is unsafe.  Sure, mold maybe. USDA says to rinse or cut off mold. 

    If it were wet and somehow got warm, you could get some bacterial growth on the surface. But kept cold? Or dry?  Or cold and dry?

    heck, i have guanciale in there that's maybe nine months on, now. 

    People didn't cure because they liked the flavor. It ended up that way, tho
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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
    Take your cured bacon. Hang at room temperature for ten years

    still safe to eat

    In a fridge? the fridge will die before the bacon is unsafe.  Sure, mold maybe. USDA says to rinse or cut off mold. 

    If it were wet and somehow got warm, you could get some bacterial growth on the surface. But kept cold? Or dry?  Or cold and dry?

    heck, i have guanciale in there that's maybe nine months on, now. 

    People didn't cure because they liked the flavor. It ended up that way, tho
    Does this also apply to store bought injected bacon?  Still cold and cured I assume?
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
    edited January 2016
    Is it cured?
    Yes. 
    Though i guess it would depend on how cured it is. 

    But back way way out. Forget whather it is bacon or an eqyptian mummy

    if it has enough salt, and is kept either dry or cold, it's safe for your lifetime. 

    Will it be palatable? Eventually, maybe not. Maybe it gets too dry. Or picks up odors. 

    But it is safe. 

    An egyptian mummy is nothing more than human prosciutto. Safe to eat, but probably too dry and too many off flavors

    storage times for properly cured foods are re:quality, not safety




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  • poster
    poster Posts: 1,167
    bgebrent said:
    Take your cured bacon. Hang at room temperature for ten years

    still safe to eat

    In a fridge? the fridge will die before the bacon is unsafe.  Sure, mold maybe. USDA says to rinse or cut off mold. 

    If it were wet and somehow got warm, you could get some bacterial growth on the surface. But kept cold? Or dry?  Or cold and dry?

    heck, i have guanciale in there that's maybe nine months on, now. 

    People didn't cure because they liked the flavor. It ended up that way, tho
    Does this also apply to store bought injected bacon?  Still cold and cured I assume?

    I just found some off colored gray/brown store bacon in the back of the fridge long forgotten (maybe 3 weeks)  that I just tossed, smelled sour so obviously bad, but there is definitely a lot of moisture with the store bought stuff.
  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
    edited January 2016
    not necessarily "onbviously", actually.   the nose does NOT know.

    "bad" is relative.

    a hunk of beef that turns brown in your fridge after a month or so would be thrown out because it is brown and smells bad.

    at Morton's, you'd pay extra for it.

    it's a little hyperbole, but i'm basing this on the indistinct word "bad" that everyone uses.  "did it go bad?"

    if "bad"="unsafe", your bacon probably did not go bad

    i know people where after three days, everything in the frdige is considered "bad" where "bad" ="not exactly the same as when i bought it", then yeah, it's "gone bad".  but i think that is a wasteful and (dare i say it) sinful idea.  waste of food....

    in your case "bad" may mean "oxidized (brown), and "aged" (cured meat will age)".  aging smells different.  if you aren't familiar with it, it smells not-fresh, and for lack of a better word, people will assume it is bad. it may also have had off flavors/odors from other stuff in the fridge

    the aged smell is distinct, and  if you don't know it, it will make you unsure, because 'fresh' meat doesn't smell that way.

    anyway...  frankly, i'd have fried the stuff up and eaten it.

    with cured food, it's not going to be dangerous after that time in a fridge.  it may not be great, though.  quality suffers.

    dark brown meat is not indicative of it going bad though. it's just not fresh.  and some people get nervous if it isn't butcher-case fresh


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