**Cures and Curing**

[fire it up]

Great idea Jerry.
Just because it is a powdered cure doesn't mean it is the same.

 

[Dutch]

This thread is now a sticky. It can also be found in the Sausage and Bacon forums as a sticky as well.

Great post Jerry!!

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks Jerry,
Don't know if you remember you were the first of all the great people on this forum to help me out, that first night I found this site, on the chat page---You & Dawn. Then it was Dave Pignit, mballi (Mark), shooter, Meat, etc, etc, etc.......
All great helpful people. All I gotta do is pay attention (and take notes, because I can only remember about 20% of this stuff !


Bearcarver

 

[pignit]

There have been a number of posts that point out that pure salt was used for years as a curing agent. Although there are major differences in the process of curing with plain salt and nitrites.... it is brought up regularly. Here is a very interesting and informative article I've run across that contains some very simplified information on curing. I hope this helps some of the newer folks just starting in curing as well as clear up some misconceptions about salt curing.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distrib...on/DJ0974.html

With all the interest in curing lately it may be a canidate for it's own forum.

 

[richtee]

Thing is...some consider "pure salt" to be similar to sea salt, or "natural salt" by other methods. Not true!

The salt used in ancient times was almost always sea or naturally evaporated salt...containing a percentage of nitrates, among many other trace components. It is FAR from "pure".

There MUST be nitrates/ites for curing to occur. You can PRESERVE with (chemically) pure salt... however anyone ever eating a salt preserved hunk of meat without soaking/removing some salt will tell you it's not like cured. It would be more of a dehydrating process, in addition to salt's anti-microbial effects.

And to be perfectly clear on the nitrate/nitrite thing...

NITRATES are used in longer cured products- Country cured hams, prociuttos, etc.

NITRITES are used in shorter cure applications- chops, jerky, etc.

Morton's TQ contains BOTH...making it useful for both short and MEDIUM long cure applications.

And it's actually NOT the nitrates/nitrites that do the curing... it's the reduction reactions of both those to nitric oxide that accomplishes the curing.

First the NITRATE will convert to the NITRITE form, THEN to the oxide. Hence the NITRATE is used in the longer curing meat products as it's a slower process.

And once the nitrates/nitrites have been converted, the meat is NO LONGER IMMUNE to the 4 hour rule, mainly having to do with the botulisim organisim. And cooking will eliminate the nitrates/ites left in the product. It will also convert SOME to the nitrosamine nasty stuff..hence the health warnings on "nitrates".