Beer
This is a process overview, not a complete batch recipe: key quantities, yield and packaging directions are absent. The AHA tutorial uses Hop Hammer Imperial IPA as an example; this page is not that full formulation.
Maple-beer wet-cured bacon
Maple-beer bacon
A refrigerated pork-belly brine combines beer and maple syrup with salt, garlic powder and measured Cure #1.
What this bacon is
Maple-beer bacon is a wet-cured pork belly: the belly is held submerged in a brine rather than rubbed with a dry cure. The brine is built on beer and maple syrup, which give the surface a sweet, malty note, and it carries salt, garlic powder and a measured amount of Cure #1 nitrite premix.
The method is a modern home formula recorded by Oregon State University Extension. It belongs to the same family as the dry-cured home bacons and differs mainly in the carrier liquid, so the brine proportions are this formula's own rather than a general recipe for cured pork.
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How the brine works
In a wet cure the salt and nitrite move into the belly from all sides at once, which makes the brine more uniform than a rub but makes the flavour of the liquid more important. Beer and maple syrup add sugars and flavour compounds that the meat absorbs slowly, and the salt and sugars draw moisture out and change how the muscle holds water.
The formula gives five to seven days of refrigerated curing with the belly turned daily so that every face sees the brine. Nothing in the method is a fermentation stage. Beer here is a flavouring liquid, not a culture that acidifies the meat.
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Finishing and limits
After the cure the belly is rinsed and then cooked or hot-smoked until its thickest point reaches 160 °F (71 °C). That endpoint is the safety step in the method. The brine's sweetness and colour are not evidence that the belly is cooked or that it will keep.
Cure #1 is a specific premix containing sodium nitrite. It is not table salt, and no other premix should be substituted for it. The formula does not establish shelf stability, so the bacon stays refrigerated through the cure and is cooked before eating. Ready-to-eat cured meat is covered by validated process requirements in USDA FSIS guidance, which this home formula does not claim to meet.
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History
Modern home-bacon formula documented by Oregon State Extension; no specific origin established.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
Pork bellySource batch.
2.27 kg5 lb as recorded
Garlic powderBrine.
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Maple syrupBrine.
118 mL½ cup as recorded
BeerBrine.
710 mL24 fl oz as recorded
SaltBrine.
74 mL5 tbsp as recorded
Cure #1Named premix only.
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Method
Risks and precautions · Elevated risk
Nitrite formulation error
Source specifies Cure #1; mixes cannot be substituted by volume.
Hazard sourceUndercooking
Source states 160°F (71°C) endpoint.
Hazard sourceUse exact formula, keep refrigerated and cook to endpoint.
Control sourceCured meat requires validated hurdles.
Control sourceCure #1 is not table salt; do not substitute another premix.
Recipe does not validate shelf stability; refrigerate and cook to 160°F (71°C).
Beer is flavoring, not a fermentation stage.
- Mix beer, maple syrup, garlic powder, salt and measured Cure #1.
- Submerge belly and refrigerate 5–7 days, turning daily.
- Rinse. Cook or hot-smoke until thickest point reaches 160°F (71°C).
Conditions
Fermentation5–7 days
Temperature controlRefrigerated
Places
United States
Traditional preparation · Country evidenceThe source documents a named home formula, not its historical birthplace.
Related
Made from
Maple syrup (batch method)
Maple sap of about two percent sugar boiled down in a shallow pan until it reaches syrup density, the sugar concentration the standard defines, then filtered hot and packed hot.
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Sources
Oregon State University ExtensionRecipe · Process · Safety
Making Cured Bacon at HomeCure #1 is 6.25% sodium nitrite with salt, not interchangeable; recipes include dry coffee/brown-sugar cure and wet maple-beer cure; 5–7 days refrigerated, turning daily; cook/hot smoke to 160°F (71°C).
Cited in: What this bacon is; How the brine works; Finishing and limits
USDA FSISSafety
FSIS Guideline for Meat and Poultry ProductsReady-to-eat cured/dried meat needs validated process hurdles.
Cited in: Finishing and limits