Curing Pastrami forgot Kosher Salt

[marlrus]

Hi, I am curing some brisket for Pastrami with Prague Powder #1 for the first time. I looked up all the info and got a lot of help from this forum. However I made a mistake and don't know if its a big one. 

I am Dry Curing 5lb and using Brine for 5.5lb, I used the recommended amount of Curing Salt but I forgot to add Kosher Salt (Or any other form of Salt) on both cures entirely.

Is this bad? Will they still cure? If it's a less salty pastrami, I'll have to go with that if it risks the curing process.

Also, I've read a lot of different opinions on curing time. My cuts are 2-2.5In thick, some articles and posts say 7 days while others go as far as 15 or 21. Im going for something between 7-10 days.

Does the curing time correlate with the redness? 

It's a lot of questions but I'm really nervous about getting myself sick trying to make Pastrami. 

Cheers!

 

[daveomak]

Curing time is based on thickness of meat...    It takes time for molecules of salt, sugar etc. to penetrate..  general rule is 7 days per inch of thickness...   With your briskets, 21 days sounds good...   

About the salt...   How long since you started the process on each one... 

 

[chef jimmyj]

Dave is accurate on cure time. If you are only a few days in, add the required amount of salt and you should be fine. If several days, add the salt but restart the 21 day clock...JJ

 

[marlrus]

It's only been 2 days, so Ill just take the brine out re-heat and add the salt. And for the dry cure I'll just add the salt and seal the bag again. 

If I wait for 15 days instead of 21, will it still come out nice and red? (I'm short on fridge space)

Thanks a lot Dave and Jimmy. 

 

[chef jimmyj]

Don't heat the brine! It will inactivate the cure. Just add the salt and stir. 15 may be enough. Worst case, it will be safe but the thickest portion may not be cured all the way through. You may see pink meat with a thin strip of gray in the center when cooked...JJ

 

[simplyput]

at what temp does the curing salt become inactive?

 

[chef jimmyj]

There is a post by Wade regarding thermal breakdown of Nitrite. If I remember correctly the temp was around .140 degrees. This is why, contrary to some recipes out there, you should never add cure to a brine and then boil it...JJ

 

[daveomak]

Nitrite Dissipation from heat.....

　

Prague Powder #1

Also called Insta-Cure and Modern Cure. Cures are used to prevent meats from spoiling when being cooked or smoked at low temperatures (under 200 degrees F). This cure is 1 part sodium nitrite (6.25%) and 16 parts salt (93.75%) and are combined and crystallized to assure even distribution. As the meat temperate rises during processing, the sodium nitrite changes to nitric oxide and starts to ‘gas out’ at about 130 degrees F. After the smoking /cooking process is complete only about 10-20% of the original nitrite remains. As the product is stored and later reheated for consumption, the decline of nitrite continues. 4 ounces of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 100 lbs of meat. A more typical measurement for home use is 1 level tsp per 5 lbs of meat. Mix with cold water, then mix into meat like you would mix seasonings into meat.

 

[marlrus]

I did as you guys said, fortunately I did not heat the brine but instead disolved some salt into water and then added that to the brine. However, I definitely added the curing salt into hot water when I made the brine, like the recipe I found said. Should I add curing salt to the brine again? I don't want to reach unsafe levels of nitrates in the brine or meat. 

Also I was flipping my dry cure Brisket today after adding the salt and the bag has a lot of water now. Should I drain it or just let it be? 

Cheers!

Thanks again Dave and JJ

 

[daveomak]

Since you heated the brine and cure was present....   I would add more cure...  about 1 gram per pound of meat and brine...   weigh the whole thing and add it...  or 1 tsp. of cure #1 per 6#'s of meat and brine combined...

The cure will still be in the safe range and again, when cooking, the cure will be broken down into other stuff...

No worries...