TQ confused ?????

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buzzy

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
OTBS Member
Feb 11, 2007
875
475
Cumberland Co. PA
I use TQ for curing because I can get a unlimited supply local. I don't like to use any more than needed. I've been looking at some recipes for sausage & bologna. I even have the Morton meat curing guide & I'm still not quite sure so I thought I could get some guidance here. The Morton site doesn't even have it broke down for different uses. 

The Morton books says for sausage & bologna to use 8 TBS. / 10# which = 2.4 tsp./ #

For salami & pepperoni they want 1.5 tsp./ #

The bags says 1 TBS./ #

I just want to use the least amount & still be safe.

THANKS to all that reply
 
For each pound of ground meat, use:

1/4 ounce (1/2 TBS) (1 1/2 tsp) 

For each pound of solid meat, use:

1/2 ounce (1 TBS)

Bear
 
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Now my bag of tender quick calls for 1/2 ounce/1 tablespoon for a pound of meat just like Bears.
 
Bear is correct.  The difference is with ground meat the cure is mixed througout and does its job quickly compared to solid cuts.  I have used these measurements for a long time with no problems. 
For each pound of ground meat, use:

1/4 ounce (1/2 TBS) (1 1/2 tsp) 

For each pound of solid meat, use:

1/2 ounce (1 TBS)

Bear
 
As a newbe, what is TQ?


tommerr-TQ stands for Tender Quick. it is a curing salt that is produced by the Morton Salt Co. It contains salt, sugar, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite.
 
I ordered a book on making sausages but your link sure has me thinking about curing. I had never heard of curing before smoking. I can tolerate nitrates and nitrites but other preservative chemicals will hit me like a sludge hammer. Is curing the order of the day?
 
tommerr,

curing helps dramatically with the saftey of the meat.  it takes care of many of the bacteria and stuff that can grow out of control and make us very sick.  it also helps keep the end product stable for a longer period of time.  very littel down side and nitrates and nitrites have been in use for a LONG time. 
 
I ordered a book on making sausages but your link sure has me thinking about curing. I had never heard of curing before smoking. I can tolerate nitrates and nitrites but other preservative chemicals will hit me like a sludge hammer. Is curing the order of the day?


Curing is for things like Bacon, Dried Beef, Canadian Bacon, Buckboard Bacon, etc, etc.....

There is a downside, but it can be eliminated.

Curing can be very dangerous, if it is not done exactly by the book/books.

There are many instructions on this forum that explain how it is done.

Bear
 
bear,

you are absolutly right...   I should have mentioned in my post that there is very little downside when used correctly!!
 
I want do do ground sausages like brats and polish until something else tinkles my fancy. I am the canary in the coal mine for food chemicals. I have had to avoid all processed meat like sausages, lunchmeat, hot dogs and frozen birds for at least 15 years. When I chanced upon smoking and sauages, I jumped like a big dog. This weekend I will assemble my MES smoker. Then what? Well, I want to do some smoked salmon, ribs and a pulled pork until my sausage stuff arrives. I am so very pleased to have found this forum and you good people.

I am truly a Newbe; CIB combat infantry Viet Nam.
 
I want do do ground sausages like brats and polish until something else tinkles my fancy. I am the canary in the coal mine for food chemicals. I have had to avoid all processed meat like sausages, lunchmeat, hot dogs and frozen birds for at least 15 years. When I chanced upon smoking and sauages, I jumped like a big dog. This weekend I will assemble my MES smoker. Then what? Well, I want to do some smoked salmon, ribs and a pulled pork until my sausage stuff arrives. I am so very pleased to have found this forum and you good people.

I am truly a Newbe; CIB combat infantry Viet Nam.
tommerr,

First of all welcome home!

If you're gonna start with Salmon, there are a lot of good recipes on this forum. Just type in "Smoked Salmon" in the search box at the top of each page, and go from there.

If you want to make the kind of Smoked salmon that you can pick up in your hand to eat, without it falling apart, check out the "Smoked Salmon" in my signature (below).

But first make sure your MES works right, and produces smoke at lower temps, such as 110˚ to 160˚. If it doesn't, depending on the model number of your unit, you may be able to get a FREE upgrade to your unit that takes 2 minutes to change.

So don't go putting anything in your MES, until you season it, as per instructions in your owner's manual, and then make sure it smokes at ALL temps above 100˚.

You should also think about getting an "A-MAZE-N-SMOKER", to solve ALL of your future "consistent smoke" problems.

Bear

Dong Tam, Mekong Delta, 9th Inf Div, 1969
 
Winter has come really early and hard. It will be about 5F tonight and we have five inches of snow. I need to go out to my shop, assemble the smoker, the wood stove and start a fire.
 
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