Why won’t my meat cure?

[Jabiru]

This is driving me crazy. Help, I cannot get a cure in center. I am doing loins mainly. 5 batches so far, none fully cured in centre.

I just put a boned leg in Pops brine for Christmas and thought I would leave it for 22 days. Now I’m freaking out it won’t cure through in time.

I follow pops6927 Wet Brine and disco Dry Brine to the letter. Leave the loins 16 days in a fridge which reads 4-6 c.

I bought this cure https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/264333913681 and wondering if i can blame that

Just turned fridge up a bit.

Am I running to short a period? Do I need to inject?

 

[DanMcG]

I don't see any ingredients list on the package?
You temps are good. How large of a piece of meat is it. weight and diameter?

 

[sawhorseray]

Am I running to short a period? Do I need to inject?

I always inject loins that are going to be smoked into Canadian bacon, hams too, get that needle close to the bone. I usually try to cure right at 38º, pork loins take about six days when injected. RAY

 

[Steve H]

Thicker cuts should be injected. I've done pork loins in 14 days with them being wet brined and injecting them. You can still inject the leg you put in the brine.

 

[fivetricks]

Make sure that your cure #1 contains 6.25% sodium nitrite. If it doesn't, then the recipes you are using won't be accurate.

Also, def inject larger cuts like loins, butts, etc.

 

[dernektambura]

Jabiru, how do you know it is not cured?..I mean, cure dispersion is invisible, you can't see it or make visual difference between cured and uncured portions... only sign that curing is in progress is meat firmness and moisture loss...
about 80% of cure is dispersed trough meat thickness in first couple of days... rest of it is dry or wet equalization, depending on nature of the cure you use... bottom line is: your meat will cure and it will not go bad even if you double curing time as long as you use proper cure to meat ratio... you doing everything right, just give it ample time to cure...

 

[pops6927]

if it is over 2" thick, then inject so it cures from the outside in as well as the inside out.

 

[fivetricks]

Stupid autocorrect. Thanks to whomever the moderator was that corrected my post.

 

[dernektambura]

Bearcarver pic that SteveH posted is aging progress... there is diference between curing and aging... color variation on Bearcarver pic is due moisture loss during aging progress...
There is no colour variation during curing progress except slight color difference on meat surface...

 

[Steve H]

Bearcarver pic that SteveH posted is aging progress... there is diference between curing and aging... color variation on Bearcarver pic is due moisture loss during aging progress...
There is no colour variation during curing progress except slight color difference on meat surface...

Dried Beef (Cured & Smoked)

Dried Beef (cured & smoked) I got a Hot Tip about Eye Rounds being on sale for $1.99. That's the first time I saw it that cheap since more than 4 years ago!!! The first time I used Eye Rounds for Dried Beef, I injected cure because they were over 3" thick: Link...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

My bad.

 

[dernektambura]

it is terminology... curing is chemical process... aging is physical process... generally, most of us calls curing and aging by common name curing.... difference comes to highlight only if and when we get in to details....

 

[chopsaw]

I don't see any ingredients list on the package?

I went and looked . Ended up on an EBay page for Good stuff mate . No ingredient list there either .
How can you use it correctly if you don't know what's in the bag ?

 

[zwiller]

I am under the impression that much more salt is used when traditional dry curing large bone in hams. This large amount of salt assists the cure penetration and drives the cure in deeper. That said, add me to the others, inject. When I first started injecting it felt like I was cheating or something but not anymore and is second nature. Faster, accurate, and consistent results. I am with Steve H , draw some of Pops Brine into a syringe and inject, paying special attention to the bone area as sawhorseray said.

 

[indaswamp]

Well, I went and looked....
It says prauge pink curing salt, but also uses the word 'organic'. That's confusing because most organic curing salt has quite a bit of sodium nitrate (mostly from celery juice) instead of sodium nitrite. But, it also uses the name prauge powder, which is defined as containing 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% sodium chloride...
but the concentration is not on the labeling of the product, like mentioned.
Were it me, I'd buy a different curing salt to use; one that has the concentration on it so you know what you are getting.

 

[Bearcarver]

Jabiru, how do you know it is not cured?..I mean, cure dispersion is invisible, you can't see it or make visual difference between cured and uncured portions... only sign that curing is in progress is meat firmness and moisture loss...
about 80% of cure is dispersed trough meat thickness in first couple of days... rest of it is dry or wet equalization, depending on nature of the cure you use... bottom line is: your meat will cure and it will not go bad even if you double curing time as long as you use proper cure to meat ratio... you doing everything right, just give it ample time to cure...

You can tell if the cure got to center by the color.
These 3 pieces are not cured in the center. Notice the difference in color.

BTW: These were not mine---I found the pics elsewhere, and saved them for examples.

Bear

 

[dernektambura]

You can tell if the cure got to center by the color.
These 3 pieces are not cured in the center. Notice the difference in color.
View attachment 412786
BTW: These were not mine---I found the pics elsewhere, and saved them for examples.

Bear

Seems that there is confusion between curing and aging... from the moment animal is cut, meat starts aging... it ages by drying processes (moisture loss)...
curing is chemical processes... curing ( cure #1 or #2 ) doesn't color or discolor meat.... aging does colour or discolour meat... your posted picture shows aging process ( moisture loss)... it doesn't show how far salt and nitrite penetrated...

 

[indaswamp]

Seems that there is confusion between curing and aging... from the moment animal is cut, meat starts aging... it ages by drying processes (moisture loss)...
curing is chemical processes... curing ( cure #1 or #2 ) doesn't color or discolor meat.... aging does colour or discolour meat... your posted picture shows aging process ( moisture loss)... it doesn't show how far salt and nitrite penetrated...

dernektambura, The most recent pics. posted by Bear above I believe are of cooked canadian bacon or ham and you can see a grey circle in the center from the uncured meat where the cure did not make it all the way through to the center.
You are correct in that you can't see the cure in RAW meat or how far it has traveled, but once a piece has been fried, you will see the color change....
Hope this clears up any confusions....

 

[Bearcarver]

Seems that there is confusion between curing and aging... from the moment animal is cut, meat starts aging... it ages by drying processes (moisture loss)...
curing is chemical processes... curing ( cure #1 or #2 ) doesn't color or discolor meat.... aging does colour or discolour meat... your posted picture shows aging process ( moisture loss)... it doesn't show how far salt and nitrite penetrated...

Sorry, but I'm not talking about "Aging".
The pictures I showed are showing that the Center (Gray) areas didn't get the cure that far in, like the outer Pink Meat shows. You're talking exactly opposite of what's real. Cure turns meat a reddish pink, and it happens during curing, not during cooking, like was said in Post #18.
That is why I tell people to check to make sure the cure got to center, by cutting into the meat & looking at the color, After curing, but before they smoke it.

Bear

 

[Bearcarver]

dernektambura, The most recent pics. posted by Bear above I believe are of cooked canadian bacon or ham and you can see a grey circle in the center from the uncured meat where the cure did not make it all the way through to the center.
You are correct in that you can't see the cure in RAW meat or how far it has traveled, but once a piece has been fried, you will see the color change....
Hope this clears up any confusions....

How can you clear confusion with wrong info.
You can see what's cured & what's not cured by cutting it open after curing---BEFORE SMOKING ! THat's why we check it after curing, but before smoking!!!
If it doesn't get to the center, the center will not be Pink---It will be Gray.

Bear

 

[Steve H]

I thought I was right with this as well. I was saying the same thing. But deleted my post incase I was wrong.