Help... too much Prauge #1

[Lorick35]

I used prauge #1 powered in about 20 lbs of pork belly. I cut them in 4-4.5 lb slabs. I misread and used 2 tablespoons for per slab mixed with brown sugar and pepper. Do I need to throw it out? I am not sure if it is still safe to eat?

 

[pops6927]

Did you dry cure or wet cure them?

 

[Lorick35]

Did you dry cure or wet cure them?

Well... pretty much dry but with maybe 3 oz of water....

the ones that I used # 1 on are a little darker than the ones I used tender quick on...

I wonder if I can somehow put them in a new brine that would draw the #1 out. I am concerned about the safety of eating the ones with too much #1?

 

[D.W.]

Oh man, I don't even know... that's a lot. Unless they haven't been curring too long (a day maybe two), I wouldn't mess with trying to fix it and try again next time.

 

[Lorick35]

Oh man, I don't even know... that's a lot. Unless they haven't been curring too long (a day maybe two), I wouldn't mess with trying to fix it and try again next time.

Yeah they have been curing 10 days

 

[noboundaries]

I've made a similar mistake...once, before I understood the curing process with #1. We ate the back bacon and my wife and I suffered with horrible gout (swelling of joints) for the first time of our lives. Lasted for weeks, and we drank enough tart cherry juice to float a boat. It clears it from your system. I wouldn't wish that joint pain on anyone.

You could try soaking and changing the water, but someone like Dave Omak will have to give you specifics on how long and how often to change the water.

 

[D.W.]

I've made a similar mistake...once, before I understood the curing process with #1. We ate the back bacon and my wife and I suffered with horrible gout (swelling of joints) for the first time of our lives. Lasted for weeks, and we drank enough tart cherry juice to float a boat. It clears it from your system. I wouldn't wish that joint pain on anyone.

You could try soaking and changing the water, but someone like Dave Omak will have to give you specifics on how long and how often to change the water.

I respect your knowledge noboundaries, I agree it would be very unhealthy, but I think that the soaking piece really is about how long it has been on cure. If it is already browning (does it have stiffness/firmness?), I would say it's toast. I don't think you can extract the process that has already taken place. Maybe someone knows otherwise, but I don't hear about folks trying to "lessen" the cure on store bought cured bacon.

 

[noboundaries]

Throwing it out would be the safest route. I recall issues like this in the past, after my experience, and Dave gave definitive guidance.

 

[Jabiru]

That’s a hell of a lot of cure. Throw it out or only eat it yourself. No fixing that without big risk.

use the bacon calculator and weigh it, can’t go wrong then.

 

[buzzy]

I do have to agree with others on not eating it as is. I also hate to see food thrown out. So thinking outside the box & hoping you also have a grinder. How about finishing the cure & using slabs to make sausage. Take the slab cut up & all contents of bag mixed into lean meat to total 30# per slab. Grind together & into frig over night with spices of choice before using. Can use pork loin or beef eye round mixed with it to make ground meats. After that only limited by your imagination. Good luck!

 

[1Runamuck]

I was thinking the same as Buzzy. Going to be a lot of meat if you have a place to put it. Would make awesome sausages and brat patties. You could make different products over time once it was ground, mixed and frozen.

 

[daveomak]

4 t- 4.5# slabs.... The correct amount would be just under 1 tsp per slab... You used MORE THAN 6 times the correct amount.... 1 TBS. = 3 tsp...
You would have to add 25#'s of meat to each slab, to get the approx. correct concentration of cure per pound.....

 

[chef jimmyj]

My thinking and what I would do...
We weigh meat and water to reach Equilibrium in a Brine cure. The concentrated Cure in the water goes in to the meat until the system is equalized...SO.... The Reverse should be true. The Heavily concentrated Cure in the meat should go Out in to Fresh Water until equilibrium is reached.
This is Bacon as opposed to Sausage, so the Cure is more for taste and color, rather than protection. The exact ppm is not as critical. Additionally, Cure Cooks out. Soak the Bacon in multiple changes of water and proceed. Smoke at 150 to 180°F to an IT of 140...JJ