"JeffH" > wrote in message
...
> Just finished up some bacon and found it to be way to salty. It dry
> cured for a week in a 60:40 salt:brown-sugar mix (by weight) and then
> was rinsed well, hung to dry, then cold smoked for about 24 hours.
>
> The result at this point isn't edible. It is so salty you can't taste
> anything else. My 6 year old said it was too salty to eat, so that's
> salty.
>
> At this point, I plan to take the slabs (yes, I screwed up 2 slabs)
> and soak them in water (warm/cold?), changing the water frequently.
> Every so often, cut off a piece and fry it up to test. Once the
> saltiness is tolerable (if it ever will be) then dry again and re-
> smoke for a short period.
>
> Does this method sound like it would work? Does anyone out there do
> bacon and can comment about how to reduce the salt level next time?
> I'm not even going to get into the other 40lbs of meat I have curing
> at the moment...
>
> Thanks,
> --Jeff

When I do bacon or canadian bacon, I usually soak the belly or loin in a
sink or bucket of ice water for a couple hours after curing. This helps
draw out a lot of the salt/cure. I've cured bacon up to 14 days in a
salt/sugar dry cure and it has never come out too salty. But like I said, I
always rinse well, then soak for 2-3 hours in ice water before drying.
Sometimes after rinsing and soaking, I'll pat the bacon dry, then brush on
some honey or maple syrup before drying it.

Matt