Wet curing Pork shank for cold smoke

stringman

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• Mar 31, 2017

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Hi all

I have just picked a 2lb pork shank.

I was hoping to cold smoke it and then put it it in a soup or stew (anyone have any other ideas)

Obviously I need to cure it but all the dry cures need some form of nitrite or saltpetre which I don't have to hand.

A google seems to suggest celery powder or spinach as an alternative

As I have some spinach in the freezer I was going to make a wet cure

I thought I could base it on pops brine (although if anyone has any other suggestions I would love to hear)  and add some spinach to the mix.

Any idea how long I should cure this for?

many thanks

 

tropics

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• Mar 31, 2017

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You would be better off getting some cure #1 

Without knowing the amount of sodium nitrite in the spinach or celery,you stand a good chance of getting someone sick,if not worst

Richie 

 

dirtsailor2003

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Sounds like a good way to waste a good pork shank.

 

crankybuzzard

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I doubt you're going to find very many on here that are going to go out on a limb and suggest how to go about curing anything with vegetables.

One of the main things we try and stress on this forum is food safety.  Attempting to cure with any unknown amount of nitrites or nitrates isn't a safe practice.

Amazon can get you some cure #1 in a day or so, it's worth the wait time.

 

stringman

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dirtsailor2003 said:

Sounds like a good way to waste a good pork shank.

Click to expand...

Why do you say that- the use of spinach or the recipe idea in general?

 

dirtsailor2003

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stringman said:

 
Why do you say that- the use of spinach or the recipe idea in general?

Click to expand...

The use of spinach. If using Pop's brine and you use cure #1 there is no problem.

Not sure what you are looking for as far as a final product. If you are looking for a hammy taste then you need to cure.

If hot smoking or braising or cooking the shank in as slow cooker you don't need to cure at all.

 

stringman

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That makes sense

I will order some but in the mean time my neighbour hassome food grade saltpetre so maybe I could make my own cure?

 

stringman

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dirtsailor2003 said:

 
The use of spinach. If using Pop's brine and you use cure #1 there is no problem.

Not sure what you are looking for as far as a final product. If you are looking for a hammy taste then you need to cure.

If hot smoking or braising or cooking the shank in as slow cooker you don't need to cure at all.

Click to expand...

Well the main reason for the cold smoking is because my smoker is only really a cold smoker, doesn't get hot enough to hot smoke.

So I was erring on the side of caution (and wanting to learn) by doing a cure. My idea was to cold smoke it and see if I can get "ham" and tp then probably make a soup or stew with it.

 

dirtsailor2003

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I would recommend that you do a bunch of reading before making your own cure. Saltpeter, saltpetre, aka Potassium Nitrate is Nitrate could be use, but its not like using cure #1, Morton's Tender quick, or cure #2.

If you do not have a good scale that reads to the 100th of a gram I wouldn't recommend trying a dry cure.

Freeze your shank, order cure #1 then follow Pop's brine recipe.

 

dirtsailor2003

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Here's a god place to start that explains the different cures. Please note that even though it says for sausage making in the title, the cures work the same in other applications:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/curing-salts-for-sausage-making

 

stringman

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Thanks for all the advice guys

I have ordered the prague powder1 and will put the shank in the freezer, I was just being impatient as I will have some salmon ready to smoke in a few days and was hoping to combine the two

patience is a virtue..............................

 

crankybuzzard

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• Mar 31, 2017

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stringman said:

 
patience is a virtue..............................

Click to expand...

It also makes for safe and tasty food!

Good choice on ordering the cure.  You'll like the end results.

Like stated above, once you have the cure in hand, feel free to ask questions on here.  LOTS of us are curing items on a weekly basis.

 

stringman

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will do