leaking cure

[welsh wizard]

Hi, I placed a loin of pork in dry cure a few days ago and have just gone to turn it and found the vac bag I had put it in has sprung a leak.

Should I wash it off and start again or leave it?

I suppose about 50% of the water / cure has come out of the bag......

Cheers WW

[Iamarealbigdog]

Whenever curring in zip lock bags, plastic wraps, or vac-bags you should have your product in a pan.

If not (I have run out of pans) just deal with what you have. It is better that the product sits in the brine as it will continue to absorb the salt. If you have sufficient brine to cover, you should be fine.

Do not add more cure, you would be guessing at this point as you do not know what is already absorbed. Repackage what you have and you should be fine.

It also depends what you are doing with your product. If we are talking ham you may want to leave it for another day or two. If, you pumped your product this will also have another effect. If it smells bad toss it to the bin.

[welsh wizard]

Many Thanks BD

I think I will leave it where it is and keep it in the bag for a longer period of time.

Next time I will pop the loins in a tray - I will need a big one though as I tend to cure 20kg at a time!

Thanks once again - WW

[saucisson]

When I have leaks I tend to look the other way and pretend it hasn't happened.

And yes, I'm still talking about bacon

I haven't noticed any difference in the final product even though the leak generally happens at the beginning as you found.

Dave

[welsh wizard]

Thanks S

As I generally leave my bacon in the cure for anything up to a month or more I suppose it wont affect it that much.

Cheers WW