Pork Loin equilibrium brine failed me?

[jbchurchill]

I’ve been using the equilibrium for curing bacon for quite some time so am comfortable with it.

This time I tried to make peameal with a loin. Lots of garlic, mustard seed, cloves, bay leaves.

But I’m not happy with the results. I’m concerned with how it looks. Too gray on the edges.

10 days in cure in fridge
0.25% #1
2% salt

Ideas on what went wrong?

 

[DougE]

I'd chalk it up to oxidation, or differences in myoglobin content in the meat. If it is truly a curing issue, you'd see the gray in the center, not on the outside edges.

 

[SmokinAl]

It is totally cured, when cooked it will turn red.
Al

 

[jbchurchill]

Thank you both for your reassurance! SmokinAl DougE

Any idea what could have caused the oxidation? I have switched to 2 gallon ziplock bags - would it be likely the case that air trapped in the bag would be the culprit as the smaller piece demonstated the most gray and could likely have been floating nearest to any air bubbles.

 

[thirdeye]

Did you base the amount of Cure #1 on the weight of the meat PLUS the weight of the water?

On meats over 1.5" thick, you can always inject some of your brine. This way you are curing from the outside in, and the inside out.

 

[dr k]

It may just be in contact with the curing vessel with wet curing brine without stirring and with EQ cures you can let it go 14+ days it's EQ. Most muscle is injected over 2" but whole pork loin is considered no need to inject regardless of thickness being lean and tender pork. With dry brine EQ curing, just applying directly to the meat is 156 ppm cure #1 =.25%. Wet cure brining is weighing the meat and the water that covers and setting the EQ calculator to 120ppm for cure #1. Many people are sticklers following this FDA standard but staying with 156ppm on wet curing should be well within the parameters. I switched to dry brine curing since it's easier for me. I like mini personal back bacons 1.5" thick so leave on the fat cap, 1/4" per day + two days = 8 days min or more curing in individually sealed bags per chop. 156ppm can create a more firm dense texture and was advised to drop to 120ppm cure #1 for dry brined cured chops. I like lower salt so the min for bacon is 1.5% and sugar is optional. I like like to weigh 1% of a pork chop seasoning with the first ingedients of it being salt and sugar so like just seasoning a chop, cold smoke a few hours and finish hot smoking to 143 IT. I guess sliced up to 3/16" is back bacon or bigger is a cured, smoked, boneless loin chop. Now I don't need to manicure a whole loin, cutting off fat and the silverskin beneath it. Pull a couple or a few individually sealed cured chops to smoke over a month from the fridge since I have the time in the fridge, being cured and raw meat and at the end of the month if there is anything left I'll freeze them. I like the result of not freezing lean cured chops until necessary.

 

[jbchurchill]

Did you base the amount of Cure #1 on the weight of the meat PLUS the weight of the water?

On meats over 1.5" thick, you can always inject some of your brine. This way you are curing from the outside in, and the inside out.

Yes. Combined weight.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Cure color on the center of the meat means the meat is in fact cured. That grey on the outside is actually brown. That is oxidation. You can stop this by adding sodium erythorbate. This is a vitamin C derivative that is sodium of ascorbic acid. Otherwise when the meat is cooked the color will present itself. About 160F is where the best color comes with nitrite. No worries.

 

[pit 4 brains]

On meats over 1.5" thick, you can always inject some of your brine. This way you are curing from the outside in, and the inside out.

For sure on this..
I think it looks fine.