tq or pink salt for bacon?

lspencer23 said:

So i do not have any tender quick to make my bacon wich i have made plenty of times before but do have pink salt my question is if i can substitute the pink salt for tenderquick? Thanks for any help

Click to expand...

You can look up Pops Brine and use the pink salt ( cure #1) 

Use as follows:

Cure per pound of ground meat/fat:

U.S. Measurements

Amount of Meat/Fat     Amount of Cure

Vol.     Wt.

1 lb.     1/4 tsp.     .05 oz.

2 lbs.     3/8 tsp.     .08 oz.

3 lbs.     1/2 tsp.     .10 oz.

4 lbs.     3/4 tsp.     .15 oz.

5 lbs.     1 tsp.     .20 oz.

10 lbs. 2 tsp.     .40 oz.

15 lbs. 1 Tbsp.     .55 oz.

20 lbs. 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp.     .80 oz.

25 lbs. 1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp.     1.00 oz.

50 lbs. 3 Tbsp. + 1 1/4 tsp.     2.00 oz.

100 lbs. 1/4 C. + 2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp.     4.00 oz.

tsp. = teaspoon; Tbsp.= Tablespoon; C. = cup.

oz.= ounce

You can figure the weight of your meat and use the above scale.

I was thawing my pork belly and left it out overnight. Oh well.

lspencer23 said:

Ok since i have 5lbs of pork belly then 1tsp of pink salt would be enough?.. That doesnt sound like much salt to me but ikno they are 2 different salts

Click to expand...

I would recommend Pops Brine You have to add other salt as well to the cure and sugar so here is Pops Brine take a look.

 for every 1 gallon of water, add:

1/3 - 1 cup sea salt (depending if you're on a lo-salt diet)

1 cup granulated sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji]

1 cup brown sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji] brown sugar mix

1 tbsp cure no. 1 pink salt

stir thoroughly until clear amber color, pour over meat, inject if necessary to cure from inside-out as well as outside-in

weight down with a partially filled 1 qt or 1 gal. ziploc bag or bags to keep meat immersed

Curing times vary with meat, but generally overnight to 2-3 days for chickens and turkeys, 8-10 days buckboard bacon, 10-14 days belly bacon, pork shoulder, whole butts, 3-4 weeks whole hams, 10-20 days corned beef (fresh beef roasts, briskets, rolled rib roasts, etc.)   If whole muscle is more than 2" thick, then inject so it can cure i/o as well as o/i, and/or in and around bone structures, etc.

You can add any other flavorings you'd like, this is just the basic curing brine. 1 heaping tablespoon of cure is about 1 ounce.  The maximum concentration allowed safely is 3.84 ounces per 1 gallon of brine (24 lbs.per 100 gallons: 16 oz. x 24 = 384 ounces, 1/100th is 3.84 ounces).  You can experiment with different concentrations as long as you keep it between those parameters:                                                                     

lspencer23 said:

Ok since i have 5lbs of pork belly then 1tsp of pink salt would be enough?.. That doesnt sound like much salt to me but ikno they are 2 different salts

Click to expand...

For a dry cure its 1 tsp per 5 lbs. I do 2% salt 1% Brown sugar and then the correct amount of Cure #1 for my bacon.

For a brine use what tropics posted.

There are a number of people here that use either method. I like my method of dry cure, many use the tq dry cure method, and many use pops cure. I say split it and give both a run.

If you mix cure, sugar and salt and spread/rub into the meat... no rinsing necessary as long as you WEIGH the ingredients and add at desired rates..... cure can be measured at 1 tsp. per 5#'s meat... salt, I use 2% by weight.... sugar, I use 1% by weight.... I often add a Tbs. or 2 of water/liquid to help with massaging and keep the stuff distributed evenly...
Weighing ingredients insures repeatability and allows for accurate recipe changes when needed.... next batch you may want to try 2 1/2% sugar and 1 1/2% salt....

Cure #1 does not have nitrate in it.... which the USDA does not allow, in bacon, if you are a processor making bacon commercially...