Can I just skip the equalization step?

What's behind it?

Resting ("Durchbrennen") is the relaxation phase after curing, before the meat gets smoked or dried. During this time — typically 1 day per cm of meat thickness, with a minimum of 12–24 hours — the salt (and nitrite from curing salt) redistributes evenly throughout the entire piece. This happens through diffusion: salt migrates from the high-concentration outer layers into the less-salty center.

Without this resting phase, you end up with a salty crust on the outside and barely cured meat on the inside. That's not just a flavor issue — with nitrite curing salt, it can also become a food safety concern, since the nitrite needs to be evenly distributed to do its preserving job.

The risk is especially high with dry curing, because the salt is applied to the surface and needs time to penetrate. With brine curing, distribution is already more even, but the resting phase still pays off.

How to do it right

• Rinse the meat after curing — wash off excess surface salt, otherwise the outside will be too salty.
• Pat dry and place in the fridge uncovered (or loosely covered) — temperature: 2–5 °C.
• Rule of thumb for duration: 1 day per cm of meat thickness. A 6 cm thick belly needs at least 6 days of resting time.
• Check the surface daily: it should feel dry and look slightly shiny — that's the sign the meat is ready.
• Only then smoke or dry — now the smoke penetrates evenly and drying proceeds in a controlled way.

Bottom line

Skipping the resting phase saves time but costs you quality — and in the worst case, food safety — those few days of patience are always worth it.