Strange one - homemade pink salt #1 cured bacon makes my wife and I feel just slightly dizzy?

[steve0617]

So this has happened each time I've make bacon with pink salt #1. I've followed the Amazing Ribs maple bacon recipe to the tenth of a gram of pink salt #1 and also kosher salt. Then all of the receipe's TB or tsps of the other ingredients. I use distilled water. Into the zip lock into the 34* fridge for a week. Turned/massaged every day. Rinsed on day 7. Into the 225* smoker and smoked until 150* internal. Sliced and then fried for breakfast.

I've done this exact recipe (plus Meathead's plain bacon recipe). I've also done the 0.25% cure #1, 1.5% non-iodized salt, 0.75% sugar recipe that's been discussed endlessly here.

And every time, within 15 minutes or so of frying up and eating the sliced bacon, both my wife and I feel a touch queasy. Maybe best described as a 'touch' off. Not sure how else to describe it. It's not awful, but it's never happened ever with commercial bacon. There's no other food we ever consume that makes us feel this 'off' way. It lasts for maybe an hour. And then it passes.

I've searched everywhere I can and I can't find anybody else who's had this same experience.

I'm assuming it's the pink salt? Since commercial bacon isn't pure pink salt #1? Or something I'm missing? Smoked meats never causes this. I use the same wood and KBB that I use for any other smoked meats. Different cookers. I've used two different pink salt #1s. Both are the typical 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% salt.

I dunno. I'm at a loss here.

Anybody every felt similarly?

 

[DRKsmoking]

I do not know , as someone with more knowledge will jump in here soon.

Have you used the pink salt#1 cure as you call it on or in anything else ??

I mean batch you have , not an older one .
David

 

[sandyut]

Never had a reaction to pink salt. I use it in jerky and I believe for the most part curing salt is used in many OTC foods: sausage,jerky etc.

I feel like it’s something else. never made bacon so not sure what else to look at besides contamination?

 

[Astralogics]

Huh, that is a new one for me. Definitely gonna need some process of elimination to figure this one out. Have you tried curing anything else?

 

[hoity toit]

So this has happened each time I've make bacon with pink salt #1. I've followed the Amazing Ribs maple bacon recipe to the tenth of a gram of pink salt #1 and also kosher salt. Then all of the receipe's TB or tsps of the other ingredients. I use distilled water. Into the zip lock into the 34* fridge for a week. Turned/massaged every day. Rinsed on day 7. Into the 225* smoker and smoked until 150* internal. Sliced and then fried for breakfast.

I've done this exact recipe (plus Meathead's plain bacon recipe). I've also done the 0.25% cure #1, 1.5% non-iodized salt, 0.75% sugar recipe that's been discussed endlessly here.

And every time, within 15 minutes or so of frying up and eating the sliced bacon, both my wife and I feel a touch queasy. Maybe best described as a 'touch' off. Not sure how else to describe it. It's not awful, but it's never happened ever with commercial bacon. There's no other food we ever consume that makes us feel this 'off' way. It lasts for maybe an hour. And then it passes.

I've searched everywhere I can and I can't find anybody else who's had this same experience.

I'm assuming it's the pink salt? Since commercial bacon isn't pure pink salt #1? Or something I'm missing? Smoked meats never causes this. I use the same wood and KBB that I use for any other smoked meats. Different cookers. I've used two different pink salt #1s. Both are the typical 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% salt.

I dunno. I'm at a loss here.

Anybody every felt similarly?

Been using Pink salt #1 and #2 for over 40 years and never had that issue. Maybe a Doctor can answer your question. Perhaps there are folks like yourself who may have a reaction to certain items. I don't have the answer but that's my 2 cents.

HT

 

[chopsaw]

I'm assuming it's the pink salt?

If you followed a meathead , maybe ask a meat head ?
You're on a forum with immense knowledge . All walks of life knowledge . Old time and new fangled knowledge . Never mind , just gets old for me .

 

[Fueling Around]

The biggest difference between home cured and commercial cured belly bacon is 3 items.
Commercial is injected and tumble cured.
Commercial is mandated to use sodium erythorbate because of the injection.
Commercial is mandated to use 128 ppm nitrite (again because of the injection) which is lower than the levels many use here for wet or dry brine.

I think you and wife have a nitrite sensitivity problem.
Until this is figured out, I believe your best answer is to stay with commercial bacon.

 

[steve0617]

The biggest difference between home cured and commercial cured belly bacon is 3 items.
Commercial is injected and tumble cured.
Commercial is mandated to use sodium erythorbate because of the injection.
Commercial is mandated to use 128 ppm nitrite (again because of the injection) which is lower than the levels many use here for wet or dry brine.

I think you and wife have a nitrite sensitivity problem.
Until this is figured out, I believe your best answer is to stay with commercial bacon.

Interesting. If I wanted to drop the nitrite to 128ppm with a calculator, would that still be safe? Would I need to dry bring longer?

 

[jcam222]

The biggest difference between home cured and commercial cured belly bacon is 3 items.
Commercial is injected and tumble cured.
Commercial is mandated to use sodium erythorbate because of the injection.
Commercial is mandated to use 128 ppm nitrite (again because of the injection) which is lower than the levels many use here for wet or dry brine.

I think you and wife have a nitrite sensitivity problem.
Until this is figured out, I believe your best answer is to stay with commercial bacon.

What you say makes sense as does their experience but what are the odds both of them have a rare sensitivity? Very interesting to say the least.

 

[Hijack73]

Interesting. If I wanted to drop the nitrite to 128ppm with a calculator, would that still be safe? Would I need to dry bring longer?

If you want to test it out, a wet brine can be your friend. Note it says 120 ppm MAXIMUM in govment code (law) for wet brined. You don't have to pump, you aren't in a hurry. If you want to use the ascorbate or erythorbate you could cut it all the way down to 40ppm - figure 50 for human error or the tides or other witchcraft. And if you aren't in a hurry, well, I'm not sure why you'd need the other chemicals since they just speed up the curing process.

 

[Hijack73]

What you say makes sense as does their experience but what are the odds both of them have a rare sensitivity? Very interesting to say the least.

I'd buy a lottery ticket. If they've been eating sausage and ham made by Big Company X123 those are some pretty long odds. My initial thought was this might be a bad lot of cure.

Those commercial items are kickin' it up a notch.

 

[Straw_Sticks_Bricks]

Do you use a gas stove and how is your ventilation? The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are close to the effects of excess nitrite consumption as both hinder hemoglobin's oxygen binding.

 

[Fueling Around]

Interesting. If I wanted to drop the nitrite to 128ppm with a calculator, would that still be safe? Would I need to dry bring longer?

You will need to cure longer. How much longer I cannot answer.
I did a batch of bacon with bad cure#1. I didn't know the nitrite was partially depleted until I added up some circumstances such as meat wasn't curing in time. I thought it was by my low sodium. I did let it cure longer and it was fine.

What you say makes sense as does their experience but what are the odds both of them have a rare sensitivity? Very interesting to say the least.

Just a wild guess being other variables had been eliminated.

 

[Fueling Around]

I'd buy a lottery ticket. If they've been eating sausage and ham made by Big Company X123 those are some pretty long odds. My initial thought was this might be a bad lot of cure.

Those commercial items are kickin' it up a notch.

Two different cures eliminated that avenue.
Commercial products are scrupulously tested per the document you posted in another post. They do not "kick it up a notch". With the focus on nitrosimines, nitrite levels must be as low as possible on meats that get overcooked.

Do you use a gas stove and how is your ventilation? The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are close to the effects of excess nitrite consumption as both hinder hemoglobin's oxygen binding.

Wow! Another good thought. Problem is CO poisoning symptoms take many weeks to diminish.

 

[Hijack73]

Two different cures eliminated that avenue.
Commercial products are scrupulously tested per the document you posted in another post. They do not "kick it up a notch". With the focus on nitrosimines, nitrite levels must be as low as possible on meats that get overcooked.

So you don't like my semantics, I see it was removed.

The science still applies, if they eat commercial ham, they eat more nitrites than in his home cured bacon. We make ham at 156, Smithfield probably doesn't but the MAX is 200 ppm

Commercial is mandated to use 128 ppm nitrite (again because of the injection) which is lower than the levels many use here for wet or dry brine.

120 ppm
max

 

[okie sawbones]

I looked through a lot of the medical literature. This one blurb pretty well sums it up:

Adverse reactions to food additives, like nitrates, often cause headaches, skin flushing, or hives. More severe symptoms may include difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat, or nausea. Anaphylaxis is a critical condition that requires immediate medical intervention. It can cause symptoms such as a sudden drop in blood pressure, narrowing of the airways, and dizziness or loss of consciousness.

You'd know if you were having dizziness from nitrites, because anaphylaxis makes you feel like you are dying -- it is severe.