Misfitmorgan's Journal - That Summer Dust

[greybeard]

Nitrates and nitrites are different and have different uses and rules in regards to curing meat.
Nitrates are not used for curing bacon, and aren't generally even allowed to be used for that purpose by USDA/FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service).

There are exceptions to that rule, and MisfitMorgan is quite correct in bringing up celery, as FSIS says this:

Can bacon be made without the use of nitrite?
Bacon can be manufactured without the use of nitrite, but must be labeled "Uncured Bacon, No Nitrates or Nitrites added" and bear the statement "Not Preserved, Keep Refrigerated Below 40 °F At All Times" — unless the final product has been dried according to USDA regulations, or if the product contains an amount of salt sufficient to achieve an internal brine concentration of 10% or more, the label does not have to carry the handle statement of "Not Preserved, Keep Refrigerated below ___" etc. Recent research studies have shown for products labeled as uncured, certain ingredients added during formulation can naturally produce small amounts of nitrates in bacon and, therefore, have to be labeled with the explanatory statement "no nitrates or nitrites added except for those naturally occurring in ingredients such as celery juice powder, parsley, cherry powder, beet powder, spinach, sea salt etc."
The following link will lead to a very clear explanation regarding all things bacon (also known as the gateway meat for vegans)
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/porta...at-preparation/bacon-and-food-safety/ct_index

 

[Latestarter]

Just read up to date. Sorry about the bank fiasco... sucks to be held hostage. Even though I worked for the lenders, I always looked out for the borrowers, who were my clients. I would recommend you talk to the credit union regardless. Since most everything has already been done (paperwork, documentation, etc.), you should be able to provide them a finished loan package in a matter of days, not weeks or months, & they should be able to order a new appraisal and have the loan done in 2 weeks. (CU's virtually ALWAYS operate faster than a bank...) This as long as they aren't exceptionally busy (why would they be), and they will use the same title company that you started the evolution with. You might end up with a better rate, lower costs, better service, less hassles, and a much better loan experience over time. Having been in the industry, I virtually always recommend a CU over a bank for virtually any financial need.

Do NOT tell the CU that there's another appraisal that's been done. I believe you said it's a non govt backed loan, so the chances that the CU will use the same appraiser are unknown. If you wish, you can ask the lender to use a specific appraiser as referred by the REA as long as that appraiser is on their allowed/preferred list. Your realtor can talk with the appraiser to let him/her know the details of the transaction.

Your valuation for property tax purposes should automatically adjust based on the sales price once the sale & deed is recorded with the city/county. You would then have to apply for any tax advantage programs like homestead, agricultural, etc.

PMI has nothing (specifically on a purchase) to do with appraised value... it has to do with the contract purchase/sales price, and the amount of that value that's financed. You might have a contract sales price of $100,000.00 and an appraised value of a million. For a purchase, as far as the lender is concerned, the value is the sales price of 100K, NOT the appraised value. They are primarily concerned that the appraised value isn't LESS than the agreed upon sales price. Typically, no bank will accept a higher valuation than that initial sales price for the first year after the purchase. Now, after 2 years, you can get a new appraisal done and if the loan amount is less than 80 (or sometimes 76) percent of the new value, you can get the PMI removed (as long as you've never had a late payment).

Grats on the pigs and piglets. You sure have your hands full with everything going on there. Hope it's all behind you by the end of the month.

 

[Baymule]

In fact, since I've never smoked anything

You have led a very sheltered life. BYH is here to help you let your inner Country Boy run free...... or maybe just run amok....

 

[Latestarter]

I'm pretty certain that @Bruce has an inner wild child screaming for release but it's a bit like good old pandora's box... I think he's scared to release it Boy wouldn't it be fun to watch though

 

[babsbag]

All this talk of pork has me ready to raise another pig. Unfortunately my bucks are living in the future pig pen so until I move them I'm stuck.

 

[Bruce]

T-12

So the place that processed our hogs sends the "pork belly" to us like this
It's labeled bacon
We call it "streak of fat streak of lean"
We eat it just like this
It's not bacon
If you've never tried it I suggest you do
Totally uncured
Very tasty
View attachment 36713

That is what I bought from the guy at the FM though his was sliced VERY thick. It tasted fine but it was just "fried meat". I forgot to ask him about pork belly. There is always next week. How long does it take to raise a hog to slaughter size?

 

[babsbag]

I raised two of them to about 150 lbs in 6 months. I was working at a school at the time and brought home about 20-30 lbs of lunch room scraps for them everyday. Hog heaven for sure. Plus they got a lot of milk and eggs and I have an excess of both.

 

[Bruce]

T-11

 

[Baymule]

Depending on breed, in 6-9 months you should have a 200-300 pound pig.

 

[Bruce]

I should point out that the reason I asked is to see if I could guess how often Farmer Brown might slaughter hogs. Of course I can ask him IF next week I remember. If I decide I want to try to cure some bacon myself, I would want a nice fresh pork belly