RedZed, I saw your "correction" to Rytek Kutas` "Sons of Bees" bacon recipe (worked over by Chuckwagon, Dave Zack, and others) at
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=4979 which was annotated as follows:
Note by Moderator: This recipe for a 25lb batch of smoked bacon calls for 1/4 cup of cure #1, which is way over the USDA allowable limit. 1/4 cup is equal to 12 teaspoons, weighing 72 grams which works out to 397ppm. That is more than triple the allowable level of ingoing sodium nitrite of 120 ppm for bacon. If you are preparing bacon using this recipe, please adjust accordingly.
Having used the recipe before with excellent results, I figured that the recipe couldn`t be THAT far off, so I weighed a quarter cup of cure #1. It came out to 62 gm, not quite 15% lower but still in the ball park, so no problem. I`ll continue to use your bulk density here, for consistency.
Next, I checked your calculations:
(72 gm cure #1)/ [(25# bacon) * 454 gm/#) ] * (0.0625 frac. nitrite in cure #1) * (10**6 conversion frac to ppm)
= 397 ppm. No problem with your math.
Then, I went back into the recipe. I noted:
Place the slabs belly-side up for two days while the salt draws moisture from the meat and a brine develops. By the third day, if the brine has not quite covered the meat, add a little water - up to two quarts if necessary.
Further down,
...wash the bacon well and scrub away all the surface salt and sticky maple or honey residue. It is important NOT to soak the bacon at this point.
Two notes, there: Number 1, brine develops on mine each time I make it, and Number 2, I always wash it off. The batches that I`ve made, I`ve not needed to add water, but I HAVE washed everything off. Therefore, not all added ingredients remain with the bacon.
So, that raises the question, how much nitrite goes into the meat? Bacon has considerably less lean meat than, say, Boston butt, turkey, and just about every processed meat out there. They all state on the package, "up to 14% extra liquid added..." or some such verbiage. Look at the various traditional recipes and you`ll find quite a bit more nitrite and brine than could possibly be good for you if it all stayed in the meat. The reason is that
most of the contents of the brine are thrown away or rinsed off. The meat never absorbs 100% of the added material, even with a dry rub. Most brined recipes assume a liquid uptake of 10% to 15%. Only in the case of sausage, where 100% of the herbs and spices are mixed in, can you assume 100 percent uptake. As for dry rub, it falls somewhere in between.
So what`s the verdict on dry-rub recipes like this one? It`s hard to say. 100% uptake is out of the question. Even 15% is doubtful because during a week or two brining period, the fat portion does not take up appreciable liquid, only the lean portion. So I`d estimate the following nitrite content for bacon recipes, with an upper limit of 100% uptake, or 397 ppm
● 15% uptake (washed, or perhaps Canadian Bacon) = 60 ppm
● 5% uptake (washed, typical bacon)= 20 ppm
These are well below your 120 ppm limit.
What`s the right answer? Without chemical analysis, I couldn`t tell you, and beside that, being as how bacon has such non-uniform lean content, it may not matter. At any rate, this recipe is in line with traditional recipes, gives good results, gets nitrite into the lean portion (which is, after all, the real reason for concern if not present), and above all...
- - - - - - - - - - It`s safe and it`s tasty! - - - - - - - - - -
Don`t be afraid of this recipe,. It`s a good one. If you want to cut back on the nitrite, fine. You`ll be reducing the amount in the bacon slightly, but as long as there`s nitrite present, you`re protected. Flavor resulting from curing will be less, but then, American-style bacon flavor results mostly from frying the fat.
Best regards,
el Ducko
Chief waterfowl Officer
SausagesWest.com