Right Amount of Cure#2?

[Oberst]

Going to try Russian Sausage out of the Marianski "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages" book. It calls for chunking meat into 2" pieces and applying salt and cure, and placing meat in a "cool area" for 4-5 days, then grinding, adding, spices, and stuffing.

I've never done this before, and was about to add the cure and salt, but noted that the recipe calls for a full tsp (5gm) of Cure #2 per kg of meat. Virtually every other recipe in the book calls for 2.5gm per kg., so this is double what I'm used to seeing. Could it be a misprint?

On the other hand, this recipe also calls for curing the chunked meat for 4-5 days before grinding, and I'm thinking that the extra Cure #2 in this circumstance may be warranted, and still be within the ppm guidelines.

Being new to dried sausages, I'm a little nervous to proceed without some advice.

Thanks for any help you can give!!

[BriCan]

Going to try Russian Sausage out of the Marianski "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages" book. It calls for chunking meat into 2" pieces and applying salt and cure, and placing meat in a "cool area" for 4-5 days, then grinding, adding, spices, and stuffing.

I've never done this before, and was about to add the cure and salt, but noted that the recipe calls for a full tsp (5gm) of Cure #2 per kg of meat. Virtually every other recipe in the book calls for 2.5gm per kg., so this is double what I'm used to seeing. Could it be a misprint?

On the other hand, this recipe also calls for curing the chunked meat for 4-5 days before grinding, and I'm thinking that the extra Cure #2 in this circumstance may be warranted, and still be within the ppm guidelines.

Being new to dried sausages, I'm a little nervous to proceed without some advice.

Thanks for any help you can give!!

I have just looked at it (page 432) It's a typo -- use 2.5gm per kg

[Bob K]

Oberst-
Welcome to the forum!

Like Brican said that is a typo/error

Good catch on the cure amounts in that recipe! For future reference for any sausage recipe that contains ground meat, the maximum amount of cure (nitrite) allowed is 156 PPm. There is an easy to use cure calculator here: http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage ... calculator
It always pays to check any recipe for the correct amounts of cure and salt before making it, no matter the source.

[harleykids]

Correct me if I a wrong, but the average level of curing agents used in almost any salumi or whole muscle cure is 0.25% of Cure #2 by total weight of meat.

And 2.75% salt (sea, kosher, etc non-iodized) per total weight of meat.

And then you adjust the 2.75% salt content up or down slightly, based on your personal salt tast. Keeping in mind that 2% is the lowest salt content you want to use at any time, as you need a minimum of 2% salt content to effectively cure meat.

The 0.25% Cure #2 is the normal addition, but I have see 0.30% and 0.35% used as well.

Thanks
Jason

[Bob K]

Jason-

Correct me if I a wrong, but the average level of curing agents used in almost any salumi or whole muscle cure is 0.25% of Cure #2 by total weight of meat.

The 0.25% or 156 ppm only applies to commuted meats.
Go here : http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSI ... 7620-3.pdf and scroll down to page 12 for the guidelines

[harleykids]

Thanks Bob. So commuted meats being chopped meats like Salumi, correct?

For whole muscle, salt is needed of course, I use the same 2.75%. Some use 2.5%
I also opt to use cure #2 on my whole muscle meats, just to be safe. I use it at 0.25%, same as I do on my salumi.

But I know folks who don't use any cure #2 on their whole muscle meats. Personal preference I think.

[Bob K]

So commuted meats being chopped meats like Salumi, correct?

Yes that's correct

I also opt to use cure #2 on my whole muscle meats, just to be safe. I use it at 0.25%, same as I do on my salumi.

On DRY CURED whole muscle cuts you are allowed up to 625 ppm nitrite and 2187 ppm nitrate

[DaveOmak]

FWIW.....
In the same Russian Sausage recipe, in the written portion, it calls for cure #1....

[redzed]

Hi Dave! Great to see you here. (For those of you who don't recognize Dave, he is a moderator on another forum and lives just south of me. ) Yeah you are right the error is on p.432 of the book and repeated on the web version here: http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage ... old-smoked

I will contact Stan Marianski so that they could correct the web version. Thanks for pointing that out.

Now if I were making that sausage I would use #1. The sausage is not fermented, therefore there are no bacteria to break down the nitrates and it is cold smoked and ready in 30 days or less. No need for nitrates.