Proper Use of Cure #1

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Rick
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Proper Use of Cure #1

Post by Rick » Fri Nov 29, 2019 18:13

I'm trying to refresh my memory on the use of cure #1. If you could double check my thinking below, that'd be great.

For adding directly to ground meat, it is 1 teaspoon (level) per 5# of ground meat.

Now to brine meat, it is 1/2 cup of cure per 1 gallon of water. Now the next question is the amount of salt added to the brine? I was watching The German Butcher on YouTube and in making his brine, he added the cure and then enough salt to bring it to 9% salinity as checked with a brine tester.

So I'm pretty clear on how to use the Cure #1. My only question has to do with the final desired brine salinity percentage. Is there a specific percentage of salinity you shoot for when brining meat chunks for the likes of liverwurst, blood sausage, head cheese, etc.?
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jcflorida
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Re: Proper Use of Cure #1

Post by jcflorida » Fri Nov 29, 2019 19:04

The one teaspoon per 5 pounds sausage mince is about right.

In my opinion, 1/2 cup (assuming cure#1 at 6.25% sodium nitrite) is way too much for curing products like corned beef, bacon, or pork loin. I use this calculator for the amount of cure#1 in brine, and it's resulted in successful cure. https://genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/ ... lator.html

As to amount of salt, that depends on how salty you want the produce to be. Here's Dr. Blonder's salt brine calculator. https://genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/ ... lator.html

Both require that the meat be left in the brine long enough to reach equilibrium.
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Re: Proper Use of Cure #1

Post by Rick » Fri Nov 29, 2019 19:39

JC,
Your calculator works nicely. Anyone else use this calculator for their amounts?
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redzed
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Re: Proper Use of Cure #1

Post by redzed » Sat Nov 30, 2019 06:23

Throw away your teaspoon and weigh the curing salt. For sausage you can add 2g to 2.5g per kg of meat batter. 2g/kg will give you 125ppm of nitrite which is enough to protect you from botulism and provide the colour and flavour. 2.5g/kg will result in a ppm of 156 which is the legal limit in the US.

A 9% brine means that there is 9% salt in the solution. To make this you add 90g of salt to 1 litre (1000ml). I usually brine my hams and loins in an 8% solution. As far as adding cure #1, I first prepare a mixture that is the same composition as a 0.6% European curing salt. I simply add 100g of Cure#1 to 900g of salt. To make an 8% brine I add 80g of this mixture to 1 litre of water. 8% brine is around 30 salometer degrees, Read the section on brining and everything will be clear:
https://www.meatsandsausages.com/hams-other-meats/hams
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Re: Proper Use of Cure #1

Post by Rick » Sat Nov 30, 2019 12:31

Thanks redzed, the article you pointed me to does explain it fully.
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Re: Proper Use of Cure #1

Post by jcflorida » Sat Nov 30, 2019 15:42

redzed wrote:
Sat Nov 30, 2019 06:23
a 0.6% European curing salt. I simply add 100g of Cure#1 to 90g of salt
Redzed, did you mean 900 grams of salt (or 10 grams of cure#1)? 100g cure#1 to 90g salt is over 3% sodium nitrite, or am I missing something?
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Re: Proper Use of Cure #1

Post by Rick » Sat Nov 30, 2019 16:33

I guess I’m up in the air too until we hear back from redzed.
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Re: Proper Use of Cure #1

Post by StefanS » Sat Nov 30, 2019 17:20

redzed wrote:
Sat Nov 30, 2019 06:23
I simply add 100g of Cure#1 to 90g of salt.
it is typo - it should be 100 g cure#1 to 900 g of salt. (doing same way for years).
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Re: Proper Use of Cure #1

Post by redzed » Sat Nov 30, 2019 17:42

OOPS! :oops: Thanks jc for catching that. I corrected my earlier post. I'm currently in Vegas and wrote that last night after a crazy day of Black Friday shopping. :D
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