It's also wicked good for hams and pork belly bacon. Cure time is a function of meat thickness, a pork belly will fully cure in 3 - 4 days. Also worthy of note, if curing half as much meat, halve the recipe. Also, there may be enough room to submerge more meat into the brine but don't do it! The salt quantities listed are specific to the weight of meat being cured, the brine will equalize throughout the meat during curing time, more meat could mean not enough salt in solution for osmosis, less meat will end up being more salty
Ingredients
~ 15 lb whole bone-in pork loin (cut in half to fit in fridge)
1 ½ c kosher salt
1 ¾ c brown sugar
4 tsp ground bay leaves
3 tbsp ground mustard
6 tbsp crushed dried chilies
1 bunch Rosemary - fresh, leaves only, chopped
1 bunch fresh thyme - whole
2 whole bulbs garlic chopped into 8 pieces each
2 med yellow onions diced
1 tbsp celery seed
2 tsp juniper berries crushed (10 – 12 berries)
~ 30 black peppercorns
~ 8 whole cloves
40 g curing salt (Prague Powder from Brothers Meats on Agricola)
8 L water
Method
Bring 2.5L water with all ingredients except pork to a boil for 3 or 4 minutes then turn off heat, rest 5 mins then add remaining 5.5L cold water, finish cooling to 40F or below before adding pork loin.
Brine for 11 days between 36 – 40F. Use a thermometer, temperature range is very important. Cure time can be shortened to ~ 8 days by injecting brine throughout the loin, particularly near the bone and center of the loin, the injection method is preferable here to ensure avoidance of bone sour.
Remove from brine. Rinse well in fresh cold water, pat dry with paper towels.
Air dry overnight (up to 24 hrs) in fridge on a rack.
Smoke @ ~ 200 – 225 F with hickory, maple, apple or cherry to an internal temperature of 150 - 155F at the thickest point of the loin. Usually ~ 4 hours. Cool then refrigerate overnight before slicing into chops.
Pan fry and enjoy
