[egglady]

i have HFW's book and have just made the brine for my pork bellies (2kg coarse salt & 6 pints of water), duly followed the instructions and made sure salt was dissolved before boiling for the alloted 10 minutes.

Am now leaving it to cool as instructed but the salt is re-forming - not what i expected at all. 

Can anyone tell me if this is normal please?  and if not, what should I be doing to rectify the problem?

many ta's

[Olly398]

I have brined things before. I can't remember what concentration I used, but this brine sounds to me to be pretty strong. It sounds like you have reached the saturation point of the warm brine solution - in other words, all the salt it can take. As the brine is cooling, its capacity to hold dissolved salt reduces and some is forced out of solution and re-crystallises. If it were me, I would not worry too much about this, and go ahead and get the bellies in the brine. Good luck and let us know how you get on   

[egglady]

thnaks olly, will do it in the morning

[Hilarysmum]

If this comes across as know it all, apologies.

I once tried HFW recipe.  Its ok if you are going to smoke and hang the meat for a year then cut it with a penknife and chew on it for hours. 

If you have not already put your meat in the brine, (or if you have and can bear to take it out, throw away the original, soak meat for 24 hours in regularly changed water and begin again,) the solution I use is

To each litre of water :

140 grammes salt
60 grammes sugar

Optional:
10 aprox. peppercorns
"     "      juniper berries
"     "      cloves


I would leave bellies in for 3 to 4 days minimum on this cure.   Very important to keep the brine at 4 deg. C (ideally in a fridge) make sure the meat is totally covered at all times.  I use plastic bottles of frozen water on top of a plastic cutting board to keep the meat down in the water.  When cure completed, rinse well, pat dry and leave in fridge allowing the air to circulate around meat as much as pos. for about 2 days.  I dont know the science of this but it works.

 

[Wizard]

Not quarrelling HM.Why bother it won't keep .Then again many folk might not want it to keep.This is to you alone.Although others may read it I find gammon a most tasteless piece of meat there is.If you look on say Tesco or Asda bough gammon it has a very short shelf /store life best by date! If you dry cure a back leg of pig like I suggest You must cut off the piece you want to use and soak it in a change of water for 24hours same with the bacon.Its in edible if you don't

[egglady]

and so how stupid am i this week then...i spent so long dithering about what i should do, that the bloomin' thing went off and had to be chucked! what a waste of time and money - not to mention the poor pig!

[Hilarysmum]

It happens to us all, dont worry.  Put it down to experience.  Next time you could always freeze it until you decide. 

[honeypig]

Do you put any salt petre/cure in?  I saw another recipe which insisted it would taste horrid without but HM does not mention it.

Cheers,
Joe

[Hilarysmum]

I used to use salt petre now I dont and so far no difference except in the colour of the meat. 

[honeypig]

Great, thanks.  I will try making my first ham this afternoon when I pick my first lot of homegrown.

[Hilarysmum]

It will be sublime.