Cure powder help?!?!?

[bluebombersfan]

I just found a local store that stocks the following curing agents:

[font=Arial,Bold][font=Arial,Bold]Curing Agents[/font][/font]

California Ham Cure

Ready Cure

Corned Beef Cure

Regal All Purpose Cure

Picklefix

Sodium Nitrate Pure

Prague Powder  

Which of these would be the same as Cure #1?  Isn't Prague Powder the same?

Thanks,

Brian

 

[africanmeat]

Hi Brian hope this will help

Cure #2, also called "Prague Powder #2", is a mixture of salt, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. Cure #2 is used on items that are dry cured over an extended period of time, like salumi or cured meats. The sodium nitrate in the cure breaks down over time to sodium nitrite and that is then broken down to nitric oxide, which acts as an oxidizing agent keeping the meat safe from our most evil of enemies, botulism. It's therefore CRITICAL to making safe cured meats. At least in my mind it is.

Cure #1 consists of salt and sodium nitrite only. The nitrite keeps the meat safe for a short period of time, and keeps the meat a nice red color as well as give it that "cured" taste. This is used in products that are made and then cooked and eaten quickly like fresh sausages. Don't confuse cure #1 with cure #2 they are NOT interchangeable  .

READY CURE ;is pink  salt  it is also cure#1

Sodium nitrate or the mineral Nitratine ("Peru saltpeter" or "Chile saltpeter"), a component of fertilizers, explosives and solid rocket propellants; also a food preservative   stay away from it you dont have any control on the cure it is an old method.

 Corned Beef Cure :i use cure1   i

 

[bluebombersfan]

Hi Brian hope this will help

Cure #2, also called "Prague Powder #2", is a mixture of salt, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. Cure #2 is used on items that are dry cured over an extended period of time, like salumi or cured meats. The sodium nitrate in the cure breaks down over time to sodium nitrite and that is then broken down to nitric oxide, which acts as an oxidizing agent keeping the meat safe from our most evil of enemies, botulism. It's therefore CRITICAL to making safe cured meats. At least in my mind it is.

Cure #1 consists of salt and sodium nitrite only. The nitrite keeps the meat safe for a short period of time, and keeps the meat a nice red color as well as give it that "cured" taste. This is used in products that are made and then cooked and eaten quickly like fresh sausages. Don't confuse cure #1 with cure #2 they are NOT interchangeable  .

READY CURE ;is pink  salt  it is also cure#1

Sodium nitrate or the mineral Nitratine ("Peru saltpeter" or "Chile saltpeter"), a component of fertilizers, explosives and solid rocket propellants; also a food preservative   stay away from it you dont have any control on the cure it is an old method.

 Corned Beef Cure :i use cure1   i

Thanks very much!!!  I have always used Mortons TQ but was trying to track down Cure #1 so I could use it in a lot of the recipes I have got from this site!!!

Brian

 

[alblancher]

From the descriptions listed I can not tell you if you have Cure 1 on the list.  Cure 1 will have 6% sodium nitrite and 94% salt.  There is a very small amount of food coloring added to make it pink  "pink salt"  You may have to look at the ingredients labels.

I sure don't know what Sodium Nitrate Pure is and if the name is descriptive of it's ingredients I would stay away from it.

 

[chefrob]

  You may have to look at the ingredients labels.

what al said is the only way to go.......also cure #1, instacure #1 and i'm sure prague #1 are all 6.25% sodium nitrite. you need to see an ingredient list and a percentage of sodium nitrite on any cure you are going to use and then follow the manufacture's direction.
 

 

[alblancher]

Thanks ChefRob,

for catching the extra .25%.  I am a stickler on this stuff and my brain didn't take the math far enough   The ration is 1 in 16.  1 part sodium nitrite + 15 total parts of salt and coloring = 16.  1/16  or 6.25%

 

[chefrob]

i know you knew, i just wanted those who are new to curing to get the right amount.

 

[bluebombersfan]

Thanks guys,  like I said I have used TQ dozens of times but wanted to try cure #1 or find it's equivalent.  I will check them out tomorrow!

 

[alblancher]

Chef?

Have you or anyone else ever seen Sodium NItrate pure?  Is that more available then pure Sodium Nitrite in small amounts?  I know Sodium Nitrate isn't as toxic as Sodium nitrite in it's pure form but didn't know they sold it with out cutting with salt.

 

[africanmeat]

Sodium nitrate or the mineral Nitratine ("Peru saltpeter" or "Chile saltpeter"), a component of fertilizers, explosives and solid rocket propellants; also a food preservative.

saltpeter is  used in eastren europe and south of italy and south amrica for food preserve and in meat cure.

Health risck

Like sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate forms nitrosamines, a human carcinogen, known to cause DNA damage and increased cellular degeneration. Studies have shown a link between increased levels of nitrates and increased deaths from certain diseases including Alzheimer's, diabetes mellitus and Parkinson's, possibly through the damaging effect of nitrosamines on DNA.[sup][5][/sup] Nitrosamines, formed in cured meats containing sodium nitrate and nitrite, have been linked to gastric cancer and oesophageal cancer.[sup][6][/sup] Sodium nitrate and nitrite are associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer.[sup][7][/sup] World Cancer Research Fund UK,[sup][8][/sup] states that one of the reasons that processed meat increases the risk of colon cancer is its content of nitrate. A small amount of the nitrate added to meat as a preservative breaks down into nitrite, in addition to any nitrite that may also be added. The nitrite then reacts with protein-rich foods (such as meat) to produce N-nitroso compounds (NOCs). Some types of NOCs are known to cause cancer. NOCs can be formed either when meat is cured or in the body as meat is digested.

 

[bluebombersfan]

YIKES!  Scary stuff

Sodium nitrate or the mineral Nitratine ("Peru saltpeter" or "Chile saltpeter"), a component of fertilizers, explosives and solid rocket propellants; also a food preservative.

saltpeter is  used in eastren europe and south of italy and south amrica for food preserve and in meat cure.

Health risck

Like sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate forms nitrosamines, a human carcinogen, known to cause DNA damage and increased cellular degeneration. Studies have shown a link between increased levels of nitrates and increased deaths from certain diseases including Alzheimer's, diabetes mellitus and Parkinson's, possibly through the damaging effect of nitrosamines on DNA.[sup][5][/sup] Nitrosamines, formed in cured meats containing sodium nitrate and nitrite, have been linked to gastric cancer and oesophageal cancer.[sup][6][/sup] Sodium nitrate and nitrite are associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer.[sup][7][/sup] World Cancer Research Fund UK,[sup][8][/sup] states that one of the reasons that processed meat increases the risk of colon cancer is its content of nitrate. A small amount of the nitrate added to meat as a preservative breaks down into nitrite, in addition to any nitrite that may also be added. The nitrite then reacts with protein-rich foods (such as meat) to produce N-nitroso compounds (NOCs). Some types of NOCs are known to cause cancer. NOCs can be formed either when meat is cured or in the body as meat is digested.

 

[venture]

You might like the info here:

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?736-Curing-Salts

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[DanMcG]

If they don't give you the ingredients that are in the package or if it doesn't tell ya how much to use per pound I wouldn't use it.

Here's a good place for you guys north of the border to shop at, It's in B.C. Canada...here's a link to what I would call #1 but it's a little stronger then ours, but they tell ya how much ya need to use.

http://estores.wws5.com/stuffers.com/wecs.php?store=stuffers&action=display&target=CUMOPRG5

 

[bluebombersfan]

Here is the website I was looking at, probably should have put this in earlier.  I haven't been to the store yet and not even sure if they are only a commercial dealer.

http://www.canadacompound.com/  

Brian

 

[bluebombersfan]

If they don't give you the ingredients that are in the package or if it doesn't tell ya how much to use per pound I wouldn't use it.

Here's a good place for you guys north of the border to shop at, It's in B.C. Canada...here's a link to what I would call #1 but it's a little stronger then ours, but they tell ya how much ya need to use.

http://estores.wws5.com/stuffers.com/wecs.php?store=stuffers&action=display&target=CUMOPRG5

Wow looks like they have everything a guy needs!!  Thanks for posting DanMcG!

 

[DanMcG]

Wow looks like they have everything a guy needs!!  Thanks for posting DanMcG!

I know a sausage maker in B.C. and he could probably give ya a couple other suppliers if you want them, just let me know.

I checked out you're link. Interesting, but seems to be geared towards the big boys.

 

[bluebombersfan]

I know a sausage maker in B.C. and he could probably give ya a couple other suppliers if you want them, just let me know.

I checked out you're link. Interesting, but seems to be geared towards the big boys.

That's what I thought, not even sure if they will sell to me.  I was just looking for cure#1 and a few other small things.

 

[bluebombersfan]

I finally tracked down a butcher/sausage maker that would sell me Prague powder #1.  It is 6.25% sodium nitrate.

 

[bluebombersfan]

So when I bought the cure he told me it was Prague #1 and it indeed had 6.25% sodium nitrate but he sold it to me in a clear plastic deli tub.  I called back today to be 100% sure what I have and the guy started getting a little worked up on the phone.  All I asked was if it indeed had 6.25% sodium nitrate as I wanted to be 100% sure what in fact I was adding to my food.  He started tellin me he has made hundreds of thousands of pounds of sausage and never had a problem.  I think he thought I was questioning what he was doing when in fact all I wanted to know was how to safely use the stuff I just bought from him.

The guy on the phone was relaying to me what the actual sausage maker was yellin in the background.  He told me that it is Praque powder 5-200 and to use it safely use 5oz to 100lb of meat.  Would that be the equivalent to Cure #1??? 

Brian

 

[DanMcG]

I'm not sure what you have but Cure #1 here in the states will cure 150 pounds with 5 oz's. ya might want to hold up till someone can confirm the % nitrite.

It's offered for sale at a number of places on the net but haven't found a site with the breakdown.