Cure Info

[nepas]

I get asked allot about this.

CURES - Cures are used in sausage products for color and flavor development as well as retarding the development of bacteria in
the low temperature environment of smoked meats.
Salt and sugar both cure meat by osmosis. In addition to drawing the water from the food, they dehydrate and kill the bacteria that make food spoil. In general, though, use of the word "cure" refers to processing the meat with either sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate.
The primary and most important reason to use cures is to prevent BOTULISM POISONING (Food poisoning). It is very important that any kind of meat or sausage that will be cooked and smoked at low temperature be cured. To trigger botulism poisoning, the requirements are quite simple - lack of oxygen, the presence of moisture, and temperatures in range of 40-140° F. When smoking meats, the heat and smoke eliminates the oxygen. The meats have moisture and are traditionally smoked and cooked in the low ranges of 90 to 185° F. As you can see, these are ideal conditions for food poisoning if you don't use cures. There are two types of commercially used cures.

Prague Powder #1
Also called Insta-Cure and Modern Cure. Cures are used to prevent meats from spoiling when being cooked or smoked at low temperatures (under 200 degrees F). This cure is 1 part sodium nitrite (6.25%) and 16 parts salt (93.75%) and are combined and crystallized to assure even distribution. As the meat temperate rises during processing, the sodium nitrite changes to nitric oxide and starts to ‘gas out’ at about 130 degrees F. After the smoking /cooking process is complete only about 10-20% of the original nitrite remains. As the product is stored and later reheated for consumption, the decline of nitrite continues. 4 ounces of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 100 lbs of meat. A more typical measurement for home use is 1 level tsp per 5 lbs of meat. Mix with cold water, then mix into meat like you would mix seasonings into meat.


Prague Powder #2
Used to dry-cure products. Prague powder #2 is a mixture of 1 part sodium nitrite, .64 parts sodium nitrate and 16 parts salt. (1 oz. of sodium nitrite with .64 oz. of sodium nitrate to each lb. of salt.)
It is primarily used in dry-curing Use with products that do not require cooking, smoking, or refrigeration. This cure, which is sodium nitrate, acts like a time release, slowly breaking down into sodium nitrite, then into nitric oxide. This allows you to dry cure products that take much longer to cure. A cure with sodium nitrite would dissipate too quickly.
Use 1 oz. of cure for 25 lbs. of meat or 1 level teaspoon of cure for 5 lbs. of meat when mixing with meat.
When using a cure in a brine solution, follow a recipe.

[mikecorn.1]

Good info. Thanks for posting. Should be stickied in the Charcuterie section


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[TentHunteR]

I'd like to add one minor clarification, if I may, re: the Cure #1.

4 ounces of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 100 lbs of meat.

4 oz. is not actually required. Rather it's the MAXIMUM allowed amount for 100 lbs of comminuted (ground) meat in the U.S. by USDA regulations (156 Parts Per Million).  Europe limits this to 150 PPM.

However it's generally accepted (even by the USDA) that only about  40 - 50 ppm (for ground meats) is required for the nitrite to have a curing effect. Whole cuts of meat such as bacon or hams are a whole other story and differ depending on the curing method.


My point is this: 1 LEVEL teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat is the MAXIMUM. Therefore, to be safe from both botulism and nitrite levels, measure carefully and use the recommended amounts, or slightly less, but not more!  DO NOT use heaping teaspoons when measuring; use LEVEL or even scant teaspoons!

[ACW3]

All good info as I will be getting the elk meat out to grind pretty soon.  Elk SS in my future.

Art

[nepas]

Cliff has the info too.

Cure 1 & 2 should be used at 1 level tsp per every 5 lbs of meat to be cured. Do not pack the cure into the tsp.

Also there is MTQ. Mortens Tender Quick which is Salt, Sugar, Sodium Nitrate, Sodium Nitrite, Propylene Glycol. Use MTW at 7.5 tsp per every 5 lbs of meat. You will need to adjust the salt that is in your recipe when you use MTQ.

MTQ SHOULD NOT BE USED OR MIXED WITH CURE #1 OR #2

Before attempting to use cure #2, Please follow the safe usage guidelines associated with cure #2

[RickB]

I'd like to add one minor clarification, if I may, re: the Cure #1.

4 ounces of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 100 lbs of meat.

4 oz. is not actually required. Rather it's the MAXIMUM allowed amount for 100 lbs of comminuted (ground) meat in the U.S. by USDA regulations (156 Parts Per Million).  Europe limits this to 150 PPM.

However it's generally accepted (even by the USDA) that only about  40 - 50 ppm (for ground meats) is required for the nitrite to have a curing effect. Whole cuts of meat such as bacon or hams are a whole other story and differ depending on the curing method.


My point is this: 1 LEVEL teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat is the MAXIMUM. Therefore, to be safe from both botulism and nitrite levels, measure carefully and use the recommended amounts, or slightly less, but not more!  DO NOT use heaping teaspoons when measuring; use LEVEL or even scant teaspoons!

Rather than listing the maximum amount to use why don't they list the minimum. I'm sure no one wants to use more than necessary. Would make more sense to me.

[Keymaster]

Definately good information, some people think a little more is better but not with Nitrites and Nitrates.

[nepas]

I'd like to add one minor clarification, if I may, re: the Cure #1.

4 ounces of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 100 lbs of meat.

4 oz. is not actually required. Rather it's the MAXIMUM allowed amount for 100 lbs of comminuted (ground) meat in the U.S. by USDA regulations (156 Parts Per Million).  Europe limits this to 150 PPM.

However it's generally accepted (even by the USDA) that only about  40 - 50 ppm (for ground meats) is required for the nitrite to have a curing effect. Whole cuts of meat such as bacon or hams are a whole other story and differ depending on the curing method.


My point is this: 1 LEVEL teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat is the MAXIMUM. Therefore, to be safe from both botulism and nitrite levels, measure carefully and use the recommended amounts, or slightly less, but not more!  DO NOT use heaping teaspoons when measuring; use LEVEL or even scant teaspoons!

Rather than listing the maximum amount to use why don't they list the minimum. I'm sure no one wants to use more than necessary. Would make more sense to me.

On 5 lbs of meat you should not use minimum of 1 tsp. Level the cure with the back of a butter knife or if you really want to make it rocket science use a gram scale.
2.5 lbs of meat 1/2 tsp

[TentHunteR]

Rick (nepas), this is really turning out to be a great thread. Thanks for starting it!

Rather than listing the maximum amount to use why don't they list the minimum. I'm sure no one wants to use more than necessary. Would make more sense to me.

The minimum amount is kind of a gray area. Although it's not a strictly regulated amount, the USDA handbook states, 

"As a matter of policy, the Agency requires a minimum of 120 ppm of ingoing nitrite in all cured "Keep Refrigerated" products, unless the establishment can demonstrate that safety is assured by some other preservation process,... However, 40 ppm nitrite is useful in that it has some preservative effect. This amount has also been shown to be sufficient for color-fixing purposes and to achieve the expected cured meat or poultry appearance.

From the: USDA PROCESSING INSPECTORS' CALCULATIONS HANDBOOK

So the minimum depends on the purpose. If all your wanting to do is to fix the color of sausage, and plan to hot-smoke only, then you can get away with as little as 1/4 tsp  of cure #1 per 5 pounds of comminuted meat.

However, when it comes to cold-smoking, because it's been ground and bacteria can be present all throughout the meat, sausage is the most critical product in which to use proper amount of cure. Therefore, in sausage products that will be cold smoked, I would stay within the established 120ppm - 156ppm range. That translates to basically:  3/4 tsp. cure #1 (minimum) to 1 tsp (maximum) per 5 pounds comminuted meat.

I basically do the same as Rick (nepas) said, and level the measuring spoon with the back of a knife.



With whole cuts of meat (ham, bacon, etc.), as long as you're not cold-smoking for extended periods, it's not nearly as critical, so you can easily get by with 40 - 50 ppm of Nitrite to set the color and give that classic cured meat texture & flavor.

Using the nitrite cure in small amounts for this purpose allows you to drastically cut back on salt levels and make a lower-sodium product. And as nepas mentioned in his original post, the amount of nitrite left in the product after hot-smoking is negligible.


RickB, I hope this makes sense.

[RickB]

Yes I can see the problem there. Thanks for the info.