- Dec 30, 2013
- 5
- 10
Hi. My husband started hunting this year, and I'd like to make deer bologna like my family used to. (I grew up with deer bologna aging in my closet because it was the coldest corner in the house.) My grandma's recipe (from the 1930s/40s) calls for 1.5 oz of saltpetre per 100 lbs of meat, which equates to 0.94 g/kg. I've been reading up on the various cures and understand that commercial cures are recommended because of potassium nitrate's toxicity. (Very informative page: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/curing-salts-for-sausage-making.) As a result of my reading, I am leaning away from using Grandma's recipe as written. But I need to continue to talk myself out of it. The EPA's TEACH website shows a limit of 1.6 mg/kg-d for consumption. If my son weighs 120 lbs (54 kg), I think he would be able to eat 0.1 kg (3.5 oz) of bologna per day, assuming all of the nitrate remained in its original form, which it won't, but we'll be cautious. Am I right?
If I don't use food-grade potassium nitrate, would I use cure #2 instead? Despite it also containing nitrite, which my recipe doesn't call for?
Thanks.
If I don't use food-grade potassium nitrate, would I use cure #2 instead? Despite it also containing nitrite, which my recipe doesn't call for?
Thanks.