Did I ruin my pork??

[Danrb]

I decided I would like to try making Capicola. I found a recipe online and put the salt/cure/spices on the meat vacuum sealed it and it’s been in the fridge for two days now. I’ve been doing more research and from what I’ve read I put too much Prague powder #2. The recipe called for 1tbsp of Prague Powder #2 for 5.5lbs of meat, but since doing more reading I have found it is supposed to be 1tsp of Prague Powder #2.

Have I ruined the meat?

 

[jeffhoon]

scrap off whatever you can of the slurry pat dry reseal you will not know how salty it is until you try it after ageing.

 

[tropics]

Their is a big difference in Tbsp refers to TABLE Spoon
tsp refers to TEA Spoon

5 lbs of meat should only get 1 tsp of cure.
I am sure someone else will give you more info
Richie

 

[Danrb]

Their is a big difference in Tbsp refers to TABLE Spoon
tsp refers to TEA Spoon

5 lbs of meat should only get 1 tsp of cure.
I am sure someone else will give you more info
Richie

Yes I understand the difference is 3X. I followed the recipe before I did adequate research.

 

[Danrb]

scrap off whatever you can of the slurry pat dry reseal you will not know how salty it is until you try it after ageing.

It’s not the salt I’m worried about. I’m wondering if the extra nitrite and nitrate will be toxic.

 

[jcam222]

scrap off whatever you can of the slurry pat dry reseal you will not know how salty it is until you try it after ageing.

It’s not the saltiness that’s the concern but rather the level of nitrate / nitrite in the meat. I don’t have an answer for this from a safety perspective but there are quite a few that will. I’m thinking it’s 6 times what is recommended. Question is how much that permeates in 2 days.

 

[jeffhoon]

It’s not the salt I’m worried about. I’m wondering if the extra nitrite and nitrate will be toxic.

Also forgot you should after scrapping off slury rinse and soak pork in clean water, for a few hours to 12 hours just change water every 2 hours or so and it should draw some of the salt out and nitrates

 

[Danrb]

It’s not the saltiness that’s the concern but rather the level of nitrate / nitrite in the meat. I don’t have an answer for this from a safety perspective but there are quite a few that will. I’m thinking it’s 6 times what is recommended. Question is how much that permeates in 2 days.

Their is a big difference in Tbsp refers to TABLE Spoon
tsp refers to TEA Spoon

5 lbs of meat should only get 1 tsp of cure.
I am sure someone else will give you more info
Richie

yes thanks I know 1tbsp is 3 tsp just trying to find out if there is a way to salvage the mean so I don’t have to toss it

 

[Danrb]

Also forgot you should after scrapping off slury rinse and soak pork in clean water, for a few hours to 12 hours just change water every 2 hours or so and it should draw some of the salt out and nitrates

Can I be certain that will pull out enough of the nitrate and nitrite or would I be better off grinding it with more meat and making something different with it?

 

[pc farmer]

I dont know the right answer but chef jimmyj will have the answer. daveomak too

 

[daveomak]

Evening.... Whether it be cure#1 or cure#2..... 1.1 grams per pound for either one.....
Time to get a grams scale and be more accurate....
That being said, cure penetrates meat at about 1/4" per day or maybe a little less...
Considering the amount you started with, rinse it thoroughly and finish the curing process....
The nitrite will dissipate over time and nitrate is not a problem.... There are vegetables that have more nitrate than what you will have left in the meat....
NOW...... Don't believe what you see on U-Tube.... it's rife with idiots....
Spend $12 and get a good scale.... Here is one of the 4 I have...

Weigh Gram Scale Digital Pocket Scale,100g by 0.01g,Digital Grams Scale, Food Scale, Jewelry Scale Black, Kitchen Scale 100g(TOP-100)

• This Pocket Scale allows you to weigh a maximum capacity of a 100g and readabilities of 0.01g, to guarantee you an accurate and precise weighing session
• The Top-100 Pocket Scale designed with a stainless steel platform and a protective flip cover, this pocket scale is a lightweight and Portable for easy transfer.
• Pocket Scale have easy touch buttons, large size digits and stark contrast LCD blue backlit display, makes it easy to read in all light conditions.

Pocket Scale Featuring 4 different weight modes: g / oz / ozt / dwt for easy weight translations, tare function for net determination and a 60 second auto shut off to preserve battery life

 

[Danrb]

Evening.... Whether it be cure#1 or cure#2..... 1.1 grams per pound for either one.....
Time to get a grams scale and be more accurate....
That being said, cure penetrates meat at about 1/4" per day or maybe a little less...
Considering the amount you started with, rinse it thoroughly and finish the curing process....
The nitrite will dissipate over time and nitrate is not a problem.... There are vegetables that have more nitrate than what you will have left in the meat....
NOW...... Don't believe what you see on U-Tube.... it's rife with idiots....
Spend $12 and get a good scale.... Here is one of the 4 I have...

Thanks so much! I’m so glad I didn’t ruin it. I’ll rinse it off now. I actually do have a small scale that is accurate to .1g and will use it for all those measurements moving forward

It’s my first time doing this and I got excited and just followed the recipe I found online. Then after doing more reading realized the recipe had an inaccurate measurement.

Thanks again! Much appreciated!!

 

[Danrb]

Thanks so much! I’m so glad I didn’t ruin it. I’ll rinse it off now. I actually do have a small scale that is accurate to .1g and will use it for all those measurements moving forward

It’s my first time doing this and I got excited and just followed the recipe I found online. Then after doing more reading realized the recipe had an inaccurate measurement.

Thanks again! Much appreciated!!

 

[Danrb]

View attachment 441622

 

[Danrb]

View attachment 441622

Tried emailing them about this too and haven’t received a reply. Just hope someone else doesn’t follow it and end up not realizing its wrong.

 

[daveomak.fs]

Danrb, morning.....
ALSO.... generally, 3% salt is about the lowest % you can safely get away with on semi-dried meats...
So, adding 2.75% kosher salt and 0.25% cure (which is ~1.1 grams per pound), will do you just fine... unless you like salty meats... I so old ,salty stuff doesn't like me... I start swelling up like a poisoned pup.....

Personally, I have settled on 1%-2% white sugar, depending on the cut of meat I'm curing... Definitely 1% when making bacon because I find 2% burns when cooking...
Definitely do not use sugars like brown sugar... It has impurities... especially when making brines that require a long soak... It makes for what is called, "ropey" brine... It's gets ropeyi from all the impurities and stuff growing in the brine....

 

[DanMcG]

Although washing it might make it safer, but how do you know what the in going amount of nitrate will be? You can't assume it would be safe to eat.

 

[Danrb]

Danrb, morning.....
ALSO.... generally, 3% salt is about the lowest % you can safely get away with on semi-dried meats...
So, adding 2.75% kosher salt and 0.25% cure (which is ~1.1 grams per pound), will do you just fine... unless you like salty meats... I so old ,salty stuff doesn't like me... I start swelling up like a poisoned pup.....

Personally, I have settled on 1%-2% white sugar, depending on the cut of meat I'm curing... Definitely 1% when making bacon because I find 2% burns when cooking...
Definitely do not use sugars like brown sugar... It has impurities... especially when making brines that require a long soak... It makes for what is called, "ropey" brine... It's gets ropeyi from all the impurities and stuff growing in the brine....

Danrb, morning.....
ALSO.... generally, 3% salt is about the lowest % you can safely get away with on semi-dried meats...
So, adding 2.75% kosher salt and 0.25% cure (which is ~1.1 grams per pound), will do you just fine... unless you like salty meats... I so old ,salty stuff doesn't like me... I start swelling up like a poisoned pup.....

Personally, I have settled on 1%-2% white sugar, depending on the cut of meat I'm curing... Definitely 1% when making bacon because I find 2% burns when cooking...
Definitely do not use sugars like brown sugar... It has impurities... especially when making brines that require a long soak... It makes for what is called, "ropey" brine... It's gets ropeyi from all the impurities and stuff growing in the brine....

Thanks for the info!!
I’ve seen semi dry stayed in a bunch of the stuff I’ve read. What exactly is considered semi dry? I’m under the impression this Capicola will be “dry”, as it will be hanging until it loses around 30% of its weight.

 

[tropics]

Being vac packed for 2 days,how far did the cure penetrate into the meat? I have never vac sealed anything curing so it is only a question.
Richie

 

[daveomak]

You are correct Dan....



1 TBS is 2 tsp. too much... ESPECIALLY if you consider the amount of bone in the pork neck....
(3 tsp = 1 TBS)