Potassium nitrate meat cure?

[JC in GB]

I was thrift shopping over the weekend and ran across a cookbook with recipes from the 30's and 40's. I had to pick it up and see just how much food has changed.

I found a recipe for corned beef and the salt and seasoning was fairly standard but the cure used was potassium nitrate.

I have heard that potassium nitrate can be used as a cure but is a lot more finicky about PPM levels that sodium nitrates. Too much and your meat tastes like crap is what I have heard.

Any thoughts on potassium nitrate as a cure agent?

 

[zwiller]

Heard of it (saltpetre) being used but I recall it is less safer to use than cure but forgot why. I also have used it blow crap up so...

 

[TomKnollRFV]

When used in corned beef, it was used for brining, bit different then dry curing IIRC.

It's been a while since I looked into it, but some countries <and places< in the USA still use it for curing. I'd need to check labels of course to see what I'm buying uses it and doesn't JC :) Be a fun thing to keep an eye out for though.

 

[DanMcG]

I have heard that potassium nitrate can be used as a cure but is a lot more finicky about PPM levels that sodium nitrates. Too much and your meat tastes like crap is what I have heard.

Any thoughts on potassium nitrate as a cure agent?

The problem with Potassium Nitrate is that it's not a mix of salt with a small amount of kno3, like a cure #1 or #2 is, but pure 100% nitrate which makes it challenging to measure accurately. It's used for long term curing like a large ham.
They say it has a different "old world flavor" that is noticable, but I've never picked up on it.

 

[PolishDeli]

Reagent grade KNO2 and KNO3 can be purchased; but I’ve never seen them sold in a “pink salt” form like NaNO2 and NaNO3 are. You can mix your own, but I wouldn't without proper controls and tests in place.

USDA says to use KNOx like its sodium counterparts.
Allowable levels of KNO2 in bacon are a bit higher than that for NaNO2. See screen shots below.

 

[JC in GB]

Reagent grade KNO2 and KNO3 can be purchased; but I’ve never seen them sold in a “pink salt”

Good information I am going to look at the recipe again and calculate their PPM levels of potassium nitrate.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Good information I am going to look at the recipe again and calculate their PPM levels of potassium nitrate.

Really gonna do a corned beef brisket? If you do let me know, I might buy one to do with ya then. I've never done one but you seem to have a better handle on brisket..or maybe your GFS gets better ones then mine did.

 

[daveomak]

Potassium is one chemical the gov't uses to kill you in an "acceptable execution".. It stops your heart ...

 

[chef jimmyj]

SMF SAFETY POLICE ALERT!
DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE MESSING WITH ANY PURE NITRATE OR NITRITE!
For any member followng along. Definitely not a Beginners Cure Method. Verify your Scales are calibrated and Double Check your math! If you Double Cure #1 or #2, there is no harm. Being even a Few Grams over on Pure Nitrate or, Especially, Nitrite can Ruin Your Day!...

 

[PolishDeli]

It occurred to me how the USDA came up the allowable KNO2 levels vs NaNO2 levels in bacon:
Essentially, they recalculated ppm in terms of molecules, and not mass.

When we calculate ppm levels of cure, we are doing it in terms of mass. But because K is a heavier atom than Na, you actually get fewer molecules of KNO2 than you would NaNO2 for the same ppm. So the more correct way to calculate ppm should be in terms of the number of molecules (or mols), instead of mass. If you run through the numbers, you'll find that 148ppm KNO2 has the same number of molecules as 120ppm NaNO2.

I’m happy to post a full calculation; but quickly looking at ratios gets the point across:

120ppm/148ppm = 0.811

Molar mass KNO2: 85.1g/mol
Molar mass NaNO2: 69g/mol

67/85.1 = 0.811

 

[chef jimmyj]

That's interesting and the whole reason Cure#1 & #2 was invented. 0.25% × the weight or 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat is WAY EASIER and Safer too...JJ

 

[dernektambura]

SMF SAFETY POLICE ALERT!
DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE MESSING WITH ANY PURE NITRATE OR NITRITE!
For any member followng along. Definitely not a Beginners Cure Method. Verify your Scales are calibrated and Double Check your math! If you Double Cure #1 or #2, there is no harm. Being even a Few Grams over on Pure Nitrate or, Especially, Nitrite can Ruin Your Day!...

True...a lot of panic when it comes down to nitrite and nitrate... lets break it down and explain in simple math terms how much cure recipe calls if you want to use nitrite (and nitrate in cure #2)....
recipe example #1: per 1 kg...
1kg of meat... = 1000 grams
2% salt... = 20 grams
0.25% cure #1 = 2.5 grams

CURE #1 equal to:
93.25% salt and 6.75% nitrite..
2.5 - 93.25% = 0.1685 grams of nitrite
2.5 - 6.75% = 2.331 grams of salt
so, cure #1 per 1 kg:
1 kg of meat
20 grams of salt and
0.1865 grams of pure nitrite..

Trust me, you Don't Want to use teaspoons, cups or barrels to measure pure nitrite...stick with miligram precision scale...

 

[chef jimmyj]

Trust me, you Don't Want to use teaspoons, cups or barrels to measure pure nitrite...stick with miligram precision scale...

Recently Calibrated if possble. Easy way to check...A nickel should weight 5 grams...JJ

 

[dernektambura]

with all due respect to teaspoons, cups and barrels, when it comes to cure metric system is way to go...
example:
1 cup of kosher salt from morning shift salt grinder setup could be up to 15% in volume diference from afternoon shift salt grinder setup...lol...

 

[atomicsmoke]

KNO3 itself won't cure the meat. Is being converted to KNO2 by bacteria (same process happens in our mouths with nitrates from vegetables) thren KNO2 cures the meat. I am not sure how active this bacteria is at fridge temps.

For home meat curing the conversion is crapshoot.

 

[dernektambura]

Chemistry involved is even more complex...
because the true active ingredient isn’t nitrite, its decomposition product, nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is substance that produces the characteristic color of cured meats and destroys the bacteria that can cause botulism....but that is to much chemistry info to process anyhow...lol...

 

[JC in GB]

So the recipe is:

Fresh killed beef
1.5 lbs salt
1/2 lb sugar
1/2 oz potassium nitrate

Put meat in oak barrel with salt mix.
Add water until 2" over meat

Terribly unscientific...