FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - salt/cure level for brining at warmer temperature

Reg[_1_]

wrote:

> Hello there folks. I make something called buckboard bacon. It's
> essentially a pork butt marinated in a brown sugar and molasses brine
> over a 2-3 week period, after which it is smoked. The brine is about
> 16% salt by weight, and I use curing salts as well that contain both
> sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. One of the curing salts I use is
> especially strong, and as a result of both the cures and the salt, the
> pork does lose a lot of water weight over that 2-3 week period. I would
> estimate a 25% loss in weight, and that's prior to smoking it.
>
> When curing the pork in the refrigerator, I typically like to keep the
> temperature around 40 degrees fahrenheit. The last time I made it, my
> refrigerator malfunctioned, and for one day the temperature was around
> 60 degrees. However, the pork did not spoil. In fact, I got better
> flavor penetration on that batch than I did in previous ones. So, I
> would like to raise the temperature the next time I brine the bacon. I
> would hope to achieve better flavor penetration, and possibly be able
> to shorten the brining period. Is there any way to determine how much
> leeway I have in increasing the temperature? Thanks for any tips you
> can provide.
>

You mean, is there a way to determine the right
way to do a thing you're never supposed to do?
Not that I know of.

--
Reg