Meat smells like over boiled eggs

[bob1715]

Hi,

Do you know what over boiled eggs smell like? Those that have green to grayish yolks? That’s what my wet cured pork butt smells like.

I got into smoking just a few weeks ago and eventually got interested in curing meat. Just to try, I bought a 1.5kg pork butt from a local butcher (newly butchered pig), and cured it using the following mixture:

1.1L water
36g sea salt
6g curing salt no. 1
10g brown sugar

I injected some of the mixture, put it in a plastic bucket making sure it was entirely submerged, then to the fridge, and that’s it. Just a day after I started, I noticed it was starting to smell like over boiled eggs (or volcanic ashes… I wish I could provide a better example). It was strong, but the meat looks fine. By strong, I meant it wasnt pleasant at all.

I’m not sure if this is what it was supposed to smell like as I have never seen a meat being cured before, whether wet or dry.

Is this smell normal? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[indaswamp]

How long has the meat been in the brine?

 

[bob1715]

How long has the meat been in the brine?

It’s been there for 3 days now and it smells the same it was 2 days ago. Like over boiled eggs.

 

[indaswamp]

Could be just the pork. Especially if the meat is from a local raised pig and not commercial commodity pork.
Others will see this and may have some ideas for you. How cold is the refrigerator? You want it at 3*C/36*F....

 

[bob1715]

Could be just the pork. Especially if the meat is from a local raised pig and not commercial commodity pork.
Others will see this and may have some ideas for you. How cold is the refrigerator? You want it at 3*C/36*F....

Ohhhhh… This must be where I messed up. My thermometer is showing 50F. That’s something I didnt learn from youtube university unfortunately. No way to save this now?

 

[SmokinEdge]

Fridge temp is key with brines especially.

Sounds to me like the meat is spoiling. Your salt in combination weight of meat and water is around 1.5% this is low and way low for a 50* fridge. I would toss it and try again.

 

[DougE]

I keep my meat fridge at 37° or less. Granted, temp swings may go above that for short periods, but that's about where I average.

 

[indaswamp]

Ohhhhh… This must be where I messed up. My thermometer is showing 50F. That’s something I didnt learn from youtube university unfortunately. No way to save this now?

3 days @50*F while brining? No, I would throw it out and start over.

 

[bob1715]

Thank you so much for your advice. Already threw the meat. Poor pig, part of him went to waste. It’s a bummer that the highest setting of my fridge couldnt get lower than 50F. Will use the one in my office.

Anyway, before I start with the next one, are there other issues you’ve seen with what I did other than the fridge temp? Like the mixture?

 

[Steve H]

Thank you so much for your advice. Already threw the meat. Poor pig, part of him went to waste. It’s a bummer that the highest setting of my fridge couldnt get lower than 50F. Will use the one in my office.

Anyway, before I start with the next one, are there other issues you’ve seen with what I did other than the fridge temp? Like the mixture?

This is virtually fool proof.

Pop’s Brine.

1 gallon of water.
1 cup of salt (pickling or granulated salt no iodide)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 heaping Tbs of cure #1

 

[DougE]

I haven't yet cured a whole butt, but do plenty of bacon and cured sausages. If I were going to turn a whole butt into a ham, I would go this route for sure.

HAM.... easy peasy... no mess.... DISCLAIMER.. MONEY...

I've been injecting hams to cure for some time... decided I needed a needle to get to all parts from one side... No flipping, no turning, here it its.... 5" , #14 gauge blunt/sharpened needle.. Found this picnic at w-m that has NOT been injected... The paper towel is sprayed with vinegar...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[jcam222]

Probably goes without saying but 50F isn't a safe temp for anything requiring refrigeration to prevent spoilage.

 

[DougE]

Probably goes without saying but 50F isn't a safe temp for anything requiring refrigeration to prevent spoilage.

It should, absolutely. To be honest, I didn't really give much thought to the temps my fridges were running until I got into curing and sausage making.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

A 50*F fridge sounds broken. Even my 16YO fridge has a temperature display on it that is set to 37*. Same with my kegerator.

If I had any ham that smelt like boiled eggs it would go strait into the trash.

 

[mike243]

36-42 is the proper fridge temps, a lot of fridges let you see what it's set at but doesn't show what the actual temp is. freezer is 0-5 with 0 being the preferred.

 

[DougE]

36-42 is the proper fridge temps, a lot of fridges let you see what it's set at but doesn't show what the actual temp is. freezer is 0-5 with 0 being the preferred.

I shoot for 37° since the temps will swing some between compressor cycles. My meat/curing fridge is in an area that isn't climate controlled and requires some seasonal adjustments, so I keep a digital fridge therm in it all the time.