Bacon Curing Question for the Pro's out there

[Smokerjunky]

I recently cured and made my own bacon.  It was fantastic!!!! (thanks to a lot of help from a lot of folks on this site) 

We recently started an eating program called Whole 30.  In a nutshell it is very similar to a paleo type of diet.  It has worked extremelly well and something I am hoping to really stick with for the long stretch.  Basically, No added sugars, No Carbs (except potatoes), No Alcohol, No Grains, No Dairy.  We get a ton of protein and all the veggies and fruits we want.  The goal is to cut way way way back on all added sugars and carbs.

The beautiful part of this is that the Pellet Smoker is getting a great workout!

Which leads me to my question.  Becuase we can't eat added sugar I was hoping to cure and make another batch of bacon WITHOUT THE SUGAR IN THE BRINE/CURE 

Does anyone have any thoughts on the success of curing bacon without the sugar?

As always - thanks for any feedback.

[rexster314]

What I've found is that sugar is not necessary, but is used to offset the often too salty flavor. You will have to tweak the cure mix to find a happy medium not using sugar of any kind. I've not seen anything that would use sugar substitutes but that's not to say someone is not doing it.

[teesquare]

I was thinking about what rexster said - and It would be interesting to see if Stevia can replace sugar in a brine for bacon. We have several guys and gals here that make a lot of bacon, and I will bet someone will come up with some ideas

This has special interest to me - because like many of us...I want to drop a few pounds too. SO I will be paying attention!

[Smokerjunky]

I was thinking about what rexster said - and It would be interesting to see if Stevia can replace sugar in a brine for bacon. We have several guys and gals here that make a lot of bacon, and I will bet someone will come up with some ideas

This has special interest to me - because like many of us...I want to drop a few pounds too. SO I will be paying attention!

Thanks for the note    Unfortunately artificial sweeteners are also off limits.  I am thinking that if I leave out the sugar and don't use any natural or artificial sweeteners that I could do a soak for an hour or two in water to help get out some of the excess salt???

On a side note if you are wanting to drop a couple pounds - this "Whole 30" program is working great for the Bride and I.  We bought the book at Costco (there is also a lot of info on the web if you Google Whole 30) and have followed it to the letter for 30 days.  I have dropped 22 pounds in 30 days - I am certain mostly from eliminating sugars and carbs.  The plan is to continue to limit carbs and sugars as I would like to lose more lbs... and keep my pellet pooper smoking.

[teesquare]

I was thinking about what rexster said - and It would be interesting to see if Stevia can replace sugar in a brine for bacon. We have several guys and gals here that make a lot of bacon, and I will bet someone will come up with some ideas

This has special interest to me - because like many of us...I want to drop a few pounds too. SO I will be paying attention!

Thanks for the note    Unfortunately artificial sweeteners are also off limits.  I am thinking that if I leave out the sugar and don't use any natural or artificial sweeteners that I could do a soak for an hour or two in water to help get out some of the excess salt???

On a side note if you are wanting to drop a couple pounds - this "Whole 30" program is working great for the Bride and I.  We bought the book at Costco (there is also a lot of info on the web if you Google Whole 30) and have followed it to the letter for 30 days.  I have dropped 22 pounds in 30 days - I am certain mostly from eliminating sugars and carbs.  The plan is to continue to limit carbs and sugars as I would like to lose more lbs... and keep my pellet pooper smoking.

Thanks for the info on the Whole 30 plan. Will look it up.

About Stevia. I am with you on the artificial junk. I HATE it. None in my house. But, Stevia is a natural, plant sweetener with an interesting history, and some actual health benefits. Live Science published a great page about it here:  http://www.livescience.com/39601-stevia-facts-safety.html

[TentHunteR]

Sugar is used in a brine to cut the harshness of salt. You can cut it, but like Rexter said, the bacon might seem salty.


If you want to try Stevia, I would recommend experimenting with a small batch first. 

If you do,  I'd use the stevia extract liquid NOT the powder.  Stevia in powder form would need to be made into a tea first, because the powder does NOT dissolve. It remains a suspension, so it cannot move through the cell walls of the bacon.

I'd also use it VERY sparingly!  Stevia is very potent, and it'd be easy to use too much.  That would impart a bitter metallic taste to your bacon, which, in turn, could compound the harshness of the salt.




That's my 2¢.

[teesquare]

Good advice Tent!

Stevia is 200 times sweeter than sugars - per volume. But I did not know that it does not dissolve unless steeped in hot water. I have only used it in hot beverages ( tea and coffee ) but thanks for that too. I will not be using it in ice tea.