Question about Dextrose in bacon cure

[GratefulDave]

I've done belly bacon twice now. The last batch I made using the basic bacon cure from the Charcuterie book. This cure is the same recipe as in the RK 4th edition and calls for the use of Dextrose. This batch of bacon seems to get really dark really fast, almost scorching even though it is not done cooking. I am aware of this and cook the bacon on low heat in order to give it the proper cook time. It tastes fine but it just cooks weird. I do not recall this happening on my first project. Don't remember the recipe I used that time, but I know I did not have dextrose in it. Anyone have much experience in using Dextrose and can provide some insight?

Thanks in avance.

Dave

[IrishChef]

In a nutshell, dextrose is a sugar, and the browning you see is the sugar absorbed by the meat turning to "caramel". Try baking it in the oven instead of frying. 325 for about 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness.

[Gunslinger]

Weird, I've never noticed a problem with it. I use dextrose all the time. Are you rinsing and soaking the bellys before smoking? Are you using a rub? I might brush conservatively with honey or maple syrup and apply a heavy coat of pepper, but if I use a sweet cure, I never use a sweet rub. Maybe it's too much surface sugar.

[GratefulDave]

Weird, I've never noticed a problem with it. I use dextrose all the time. Are you rinsing and soaking the bellys before smoking? Are you using a rub? I might brush conservatively with honey or maple syrup and apply a heavy coat of pepper, but if I use a sweet cure, I never use a sweet rub. Maybe it's too much surface sugar.

I did do a rinse but did not soak. I didn't give it a hard scrub either. I did not use any kind of rub. Not sure if it could be surface sugar necessarily though since it is the cross section that is scorching.
Maybe I'll give it another try and follow the directions to a t but I just don't want to have the same thing to happen again. I've got my next belly ready to go. I't a Mulefoot belly from a local farmer and I don't want to screw that one up.

Dave

[Richtee]

Dave... off the top of my head... how was the fat/lean ratio? I find bacon that's really lean is tough to fry...

[SmokinLee]

I used dextrose in my last bacon. Last weekend while frying I said myself: don't use this again. It is a probably 80/20 bacon being more on the lean side but it sure does get sticky frying it up. Maybe a soak would help ???

[curious aardvark]

just curious why you'd use dextrose rather than brown sugar ?

I've never had any frying problems but I always use brown sugar in bacon cures - the ones with sugar anyway..

[GratefulDave]

Dave... off the top of my head... how was the fat/lean ratio? I find bacon that's really lean is tough to fry...

Typical fat content for bacon IMHO Rich. Not too lean at all. The one thing I am beginning to consider is that I did smoke the bellies at a slightly high temp per the instructions in RK's book. 180-200 range. The fat did not render but perhaps this had some effect by causing more shrinkage and therefore increasing the sugar and salt content in the bacon itself. This next go round I see going more like this: After curing the belly for one week with the mixture as described in RK and Charcuterie, I will make sure to scrub the belly using a brush and soak for at least 2 hrs. Then this one will get COLD SMOKED or at least kept in the 100 deg range at most (which should not be to difficult with the weather here lately). I also took the bacon to a finish temp of 135 I think, again as described in RK's 4th. THis time I am not going to worry about a finish temp at all.

I will document and share the entire process of this next round here on S-M so that if this happens again you guys will have the full detail of what went down so we can figure this out.

I truly appreciate the support and camaraderie of this site. Together we can all be great at the craft we love so much!

Dave

[curious aardvark]

if you need to soak the bacon - then you're using too much salt.
it's your bacon there is nothing stopping you using the amount of salt that produces the level of saltiness you - personally - prefer in bacon.

Normally bacon is cold smoked - so maybe that's it

[DanMcG]

I found a USDA bulletin comparing bacon cured with granulated sugar, dextrose and corn sugar. It basically says there's not much difference between granulated and dextrose,but the corn sugar will give you the results that you got Dave.
http://books.google.com/books?id=2nE...20bacon&f=true
I always use brown sugar and cold smoke it, maybe your on to something with the hot smoke you did.

[Gunslinger]

Cold smoking should be done at under 100°. Considering rendering starts to occur at around 130°, I wonder myself.

[Kingudaroad]

Dextrose is not as sweet a product as sugar and will produce a more savory bacon. Excess salt and excess sugar are used to cure the bellies. It is an important part of turning the fresh pork to cured bacon in my opinion.

I agree that a good scrubbing with a clean dish brush, and then a soak to rid the bacon of the excess salt and sugar will help it to not burn so easy.

[Grogger27]

I did a honey and kosher salt bacon brine once. The entire house smelt of honey when you cooked it but it was quick to burn and just on the outer edge. Break it open and it was nicely cooked through the middle. This bacon was quite fatty and even had two 2-3 hour soaks before smoking. We just learned how to properly cook it, low and slow.

[Kingudaroad]

I did a honey and kosher salt bacon brine once. The entire house smelt of honey when you cooked it but it was quick to burn and just on the outer edge. Break it open and it was nicely cooked through the middle. This bacon was quite fatty and even had two 2-3 hour soaks before smoking. We just learned how to properly cook it, low and slow.

Now that honey bacon is a whole different thing..It will burn big time if your not careful.

[GratefulDave]

Maybe I had blinders on. I just spoke w/ a friend who received bacon from me for Xmas (yea, I give meat for xmas gifts) and I asked for his thoughts after I expressed my own concerns and he right off mentioned that it may have been that the bacon was so lean that it absorbed too much of the salt and dextrose. Said it was great when cut back in a b-fast sammie, but by itself was too salty and scorched. Guess I assumed the "basic cure" was infallible but we all know that every piece of meat will react differently to a "basic" anything. So I will continue experimenting.

Love, Peace, and Bacon Grease!

Dave