First time curing a ham

[Smoked_Goat]

I'm planning to cure a boneless pork leg in brine and smoke it. Given the health risks, I just wanted to check my understanding of the process. Most guides online talk about ratios of curing salt to the weight of the meat, but I have bought some premade cure powder (the type with nitrites) and no instructions are provided that relate to the weight of the meat. Instead, I've got the following:

• Mix 0.5kg premix in 45kg water and 4.5kg salt
• Pump at 25%
• Pre-testing of recipe is recommended

Obviously I don't need 45 litres of water for one leg of ham - am I right to just make up enough to submerge the meat and maintain the original ratio of water to premix to salt? Also, does "pump at 25%" mean inject the meat until it gains 25% weight? Just looking to make sure I don't give anybody botulism!

 

[SmokinEdge]

I'm planning to cure a boneless pork leg in brine and smoke it. Given the health risks, I just wanted to check my understanding of the process. Most guides online talk about ratios of curing salt to the weight of the meat, but I have bought some premade cure powder (the type with nitrites) and no instructions are provided that relate to the weight of the meat. Instead, I've got the following:

• Mix 0.5kg premix in 45kg water and 4.5kg salt
• Pump at 25%
• Pre-testing of recipe is recommended

Obviously I don't need 45 litres of water for one leg of ham - am I right to just make up enough to submerge the meat and maintain the original ratio of water to premix to salt? Also, does "pump at 25%" mean inject the meat until it gains 25% weight? Just looking to make sure I don't give anybody botulism!

No offense, but you have a cure mix, with no clear instructions. You have posted no ingredients list as to what’s in this cure mix, but you want advice as to how to use the cure mix. Well, your guess is as good as mine. Also a 25% pump is not possible with a syringe in a home kitchen, not even close. 10% maybe on a blue moon. Back up and rethink what you are doing and asking.

 

[Smoked_Goat]

No offense, but you have a cure mix, with no clear instructions. You have posted no ingredients list as to what’s in this cure mix, but you want advice as to how to use the cure mix. Well, your guess is as good as mine. Also a 25% pump is not possible with a syringe in a home kitchen, not even close. 10% maybe on a blue moon. Back up and rethink what you are doing and asking.

That's why I'm asking!

This is all I'm working with.

 

[SmokinEdge]

That label helps a lot. This cure contains 6% nitrite, which is very close to our cure #1 that has 6.25% nitrite.

Your cure instructions are for a pump at 25% only with no additional cover with brine or you could use it as a cover only with no injection. I suggest you scale it down and decide weather you want to pump only, cover only or pump and cover. With a meat weight I can help with the formation.

 

[Smoked_Goat]

That label helps a lot. This cure contains 6% nitrite, which is very close to our cure #1 that has 6.25% nitrite.

Your cure instructions are for a pump at 25% only with no additional cover with brine or you could use it as a cover only with no injection. I suggest you scale it down and decide weather you want to pump only, cover only or pump and cover. With a meat weight I can help with the formation.

Thanks mate. I've got a 3.5 kilo roast that takes around 4-5 litres to cover with a brine.
According to my maths, for five litres of water that would be 55.55 grams of premix and 500 grams of salt.
My main question is, does the actual volume of brine matter or is it just the ratio? If you use 20 litres of brine for a 2 kilo roast will you make it toxic even if the ratio is correct?

 

[SmokinEdge]

Thanks mate. I've got a 3.5 kilo roast that takes around 4-5 litres to cover with a brine.
According to my maths, for five litres of water that would be 55.55 grams of premix and 500 grams of salt.
My main question is, does the actual volume of brine matter or is it just the ratio? If you use 20 litres of brine for a 2 kilo roast will you make it toxic even if the ratio is correct?

First off, I don’t like just a cover brine for curing meat generally, further I really dont like them when meat pieces are over 3 inch thick. I will try to work with you though.
When cover brining only you pretty much have to guess what the actual uptake of cure (nitrite) and salt will be. Every piece of meat will be different and there are many variables and just to many unknowns. This method does work with experience but can result in a product that is not repeatable over and over. You just can’t tell how much salt or nitrite is in the meat at the end, you would need a lab result for that.

My main question is, does the actual volume of brine matter or is it just the ratio? If you use 20 litres of brine for a 2 kilo roast will you make it toxic even if the ratio is correct?

This does matter and a lot. This combination controls the parts per million of nitrite and salt. The weight of the meat plus the weight of the liquid will give us the right ratio.

The directions on the package will net 667ppm nitrite and 9% salt. In the US, the USDA says that a 10% pickup is expected as maximum in brined only meats. (No injection) So with this brine you could expect about 66ppm nitrite and .9% salt in the meat at the end Of brine only. I find these final numbers to be bigger from research that I’ve done but your results may be different. If you inject with this brine I suggest you do not cover with the brine after and just zipper bag the meat after injection.

Tell me what you would like to do, and I will help you..

 

[Smoked_Goat]

First off, I don’t like just a cover brine for curing meat generally, further I really dont like them when meat pieces are over 3 inch thick. I will try to work with you though.
When cover brining only you pretty much have to guess what the actual uptake of cure (nitrite) and salt will be. Every piece of meat will be different and there are many variables and just to many unknowns. This method does work with experience but can result in a product that is not repeatable over and over. You just can’t tell how much salt or nitrite is in the meat at the end, you would need a lab result for that.


This does matter and a lot. This combination controls the parts per million of nitrite and salt. The weight of the meat plus the weight of the liquid will give us the right ratio.

The directions on the package will net 667ppm nitrite and 9% salt. In the US, the USDA says that a 10% pickup is expected as maximum in brined only meats. (No injection) So with this brine you could expect about 66ppm nitrite and .9% salt in the meat at the end Of brine only. I find these final numbers to be bigger from research that I’ve done but your results may be different. If you inject with this brine I suggest you do not cover with the brine after and just zipper bag the meat after injection.

Tell me what you would like to do, and I will help you..

So would you recommend just injecting a large cut rather than just covering?

I've run out of time to make the ham this time, just going to smoke a leg of pork instead, but I'll return to this thread next time I want to give it a go.