I'll add this....If I make myself sick its one thing. But I share with my folks and people I work with. If I make them sick Its a whole 'nother thing. I'd rather be exact in my science than "be close enough". It just makes me feel better.
Heck, I have people bring me meat to cure, so I'm right there with ya. If something makes them sick, it dang sure wasn't the bacon I cured for them.
Cure #1, which contains 6.25% nitrite and 93.75% salt, should be applied at 1.1gram per pound of meat To gain a 156ppm nitrite concentration in our cured products, this is safe.
1.5 % salt
So you can calculate volume measurements easier than weight measurements? More specifically how do you then apply things like salt, 1/3 cup plus 2 Tbs? That’s just silly. Use the metric system and weigh the pertinent ingredients.
This only applies to raw meat. It won't help after it's already been cooked. But if you follow the advice given and ask questions next time you'll never have to worry about over salty cured meats again
Thank you, sir. I just do not obsess over the little things in life and I haven't killed myself or anyone else with my bacon. Also, I cannot think of anything that would make my bacon any better than it already is, if I do not say so myself. Were you to decline consuming my bacon I would not be offended in the least.
No need to be like that. I’m nobody to anybody, but I to have been curing a long time, made many mistakes over the years and refined my process over the years. I’m only trying to be helpful, if I’m not for you then please disregard. I cure sausage, bacon, whole hams, loins, beef, chicken turkey and wild meats, I have a big smokehouse and really enjoy the craft. Not trying to step on anyone, just offering my experience, take that for what it’s worth to you. Carry on and happy smoking.
You are correct. My comments were not about cure exactly. We apply cure in a range from about 50ppm all the way up to 200ppm nitrite. It’s in a safe range, not an exact amount just in that safe range. We most all use 156ppm as a safe effective number and try to hit that number. This way if we are a tad over or under we are still safe as well as effective.
Just to repeat...
One thing to keep in mind...at 7 days cure time you're at the bare minimum of time needed. 14 days would be better. The ones I smoked yesterday were in the cure 13 days, rinsed off, patted dry, and placed on wire racks in fridge for a day. Roughly 12 hours cold smoke, did get up to around 100 but I don't worry about that too much.
Yes, the extra time helps with flavor development. Since you control the salt content, it will never get too salty by curing longer though.
The people posting with a yellow OTBS member banner under their name have the experience to point you in a safe direction. They have been nominated to that distinction by the members of this site....mostly for being helpful and trustworthy with information they provide. With that said- I too weigh in grams for every cure I do. It is repeatable, and fail proof. You can nail the salt perfectly when you weigh it and ratio it to the meat weight.
The sugar travels into the meat at a much slower rate than either the salt or the cure. Curing for a longer time allows the meat to pick up more sugar into the meat, which cuts the harshness of the salt when eating it.
