Do you guys put any cure salt into your deli meats that you smoke and slice ?

[motolife313-2]

I don’t think I did last time. Couldn’t find much turkey breast this time. Same double with bones but didn’t want that and didn’t want 21 lbs either that was boneless so opted to go for boneless chicken breast about 10 pounds of it. Doing about 9 pounds of pork loin again too. Going to probably do butter milk for both and maybe inject too, 10.5 pounds of beef jerky and 20 pounds of bacon I’ll be doing this week with cheese so I’ll be hanging around the smoker a lot this week lol.

 

[Fueling Around]

Looks great so far
You have a busy week ahead . I'm hoping to get my lawn mowed after a 1-1/4" soaking over the the weekend. I have a 8# butt that needs grinding, too.

 

[motolife313-2]

That stuff was from 7 months ago

 

[Fueling Around]

Missed your original question.
I cure as needed. Wanted to cure a family pack of chicken thighs last week. Cut the package open and Ah the smell of rotted meat.
Took back to store and the girl at the customer service desk appeared ready to hurl. Got my refund and she asked me to take it away. In the freezer until I drop at the garbage tomorrow

 

[motolife313-2]

What do you mean when you say as needed? I guess I’m not totally sure why I would need to tho. I’m smoking at 225-250 probably

 

[CZN]

This is the ChefSteps recipe I've ben using to make deli turkey and it uses a cure. When I make deli ham from pork loin I also use cure to give it a more hammy texture.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Cure is not strictly needed for some deli meats. But I most always do. 1) because I like the added flavor. 2) I like the added safety. 3) it will keep longer in the freezer, cure is also a preservative and helps stop rancidity. So in my view there is little down side to cure, but no, you don’t have to use it if cooking 225 and above.

 

[tallbm]

I don’t think I did last time. Couldn’t find much turkey breast this time. Same double with bones but didn’t want that and didn’t want 21 lbs either that was boneless so opted to go for boneless chicken breast about 10 pounds of it. Doing about 9 pounds of pork loin again too. Going to probably do butter milk for both and maybe inject too, 10.5 pounds of beef jerky and 20 pounds of bacon I’ll be doing this week with cheese so I’ll be hanging around the smoker a lot this week lol. View attachment 721440View attachment 721441View attachment 721442View attachment 721443View attachment 721444

Nice work!

I use cure#1 when doing my ground meat sandwich meat. Basically it's just sausage in a giant casing and I am following the sausage smoking process and going at lower temps for a long time so cure#1 is mandatory.

As for chicken or turkey breast I slice I usually cure it but only because it's a flavor thing. My chicken and turkey smokes are done at a smoker temp of 325F and the meat finishes within 4 hours so cure is not mandatory but man cured turkey and chicken tastes soooooo good!

Also with my big ground meat sandwich meat I sous vide them as well. I do 5.7inch castings and it's just too thick to run in a smoker so SV get's it done pretty hassle free :D

 

[SmokinEdge]

As for chicken or turkey breast I slice I usually cure it but only because it's a flavor thing. My chicken and turkey smokes are done at a smoker temp of 325F and the meat finishes within 4 hours so cure is not mandatory but man cured turkey and chicken tastes soooooo good!

Agreed. Also the cure fixes the flavor. That is, leftover meat especially if warmed can have that off taste, but cured meats don’t. Just like the taste difference between ham and pork roast reheated. Both are the same meat but the ham with cure holds its flavor cold or reheated. So another plus to using cure.

 

[motolife313-2]

Ok thanks guy. I’m guessing the meat would need to cure for several days tho right to penetrate or just a few hours?

 

[SmokinEdge]

Ok thanks guy. I’m guessing the meat would need to cure for several days tho right to penetrate or just a few hours?

With poultry I would use a brine, and they don’t need to cure more than a few days. Not at all like making ham or bacon.

 

[motolife313-2]

Ok thanks for the advice. I’m sure I’ll burn through this batch in a couple months. I’ll probably try a 3 -4 day brine next time. Got it running about 225-250 right now. Looks like the smaller half of the loin is going to take 2 hours. When i pull it here in 20 minutes probably I’ll see what the other loin and chicken are at, finally put some new wheels on this puppy, it’s been needing them for couple years, checked the ad wheel in the store and got them 25% off

 

[chopsaw]

You may or may not be interested in this , but here's a thread on how I do turkey breast .
Works with chicken too .

Boneless Turkey breast . Cured and smoked .

I do this method every now and then , but use chicken . Makes good sandwich meat . Had a whole turkey breast in the freezer , so got it thawed out . Mixed up a gallon batch of Pop's low salt brine . Cured the breast with the skin on and the bone in for 6 days . Used the Briner Jr. Drained and...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

What you have looks great .

 

[Fueling Around]

What do you mean when you say as needed? I guess I’m not totally sure why I would need to tho. I’m smoking at 225-250 probably

The answer to your question was answered by@SmokinEdge, tallbm , CZN , and chopsaw .
If you want the flavor & preservation with cure use it.
I cure pork tenderloin a lot for making (I hate this term "Canadian bacon") small diameter pieces of ham to put on pizza, sandwich meat, or for a charcuterie board. I cure it for 2 weeks.
I do whole chicken without cure if I am eating it cold, but it does get brined. I cannot stand the taste of microwaved uncured chicken.
My wife loves the flavor of cured and brined chicken so I make it a number of times a year. This can be eaten fresh hot off the smoker, cold, or reheated.
I'll add in jerky. OK not a deli meat, but a snack.
Ground meat jerky is cured. I go way less salt than most so the added protection of the nitrite is a plus.

 

[motolife313-2]

Ok. I don’t plan to microwave it so we should be good there

 

[motolife313-2]

Pork and chicken got done at the same exact time. Took 2 hours at 225-250. And I put the meat on the grates before lighting the fire up

 

[motolife313-2]

I’m excited to smoke this top round Wednesday. Haven’t had any for over a month

 

[motolife313-2]

Started out as a 27 pound top round. I put 12 pounds to lean ground beef

 

[Fueling Around]

Nice round and round and round.
Jealous of your meat slicer.

 

[motolife313-2]

Nice round and round and round.
Jealous of your meat slicer.

Just wait till you see the cart and live edge slabs for it. I’ve been making live edge slabs since 2018, I looked around for about a month before finding it. It’s a 12” model and I’m very happy with it. Came with sharpener. I paid 500$ a think December 2024.