Questions on curing

[DATsBBQ]

I suspect I got me a sausage stuffer under the tree, and I got nearly 16lbs of pork shoulders that by now have to been "certified" (frozen at 0*for over 60 days).

I've gone through my Sausage making cookbook, and the author states that his cure is essentially salt, sugar and garlic powder and that if the reader wants to use a cure that features nitrite/nitrates such as Prague #1, #2 and Morton Tenderquick, then the reader has the right to put that in their sausage but you won't find instructions to do that in his book. Fair enough I guess.

That said, I suppose a guy would substitute Tender quick for all the salt/sugar in any given recipe that references a 48 hour cure?

I was on a sausage making website and they said to add the spices to the meat then add the Tender Quick. Next sentences says to make sure the Tender Quick doesn't come in contact with the spices. That doesn't make sense cause the spices have already been added to the meat. So what's the deal here?

Also, cure times vary by book to book, site to site. I've seen some that recommend 12 hrs, some 24 hrs and most 48 hours.

Then there is the fermentation deal. 8 hours at 90*. Sounds like a way to make beastie pudding. Ferment before or after the cure. No authoritative methodology offered by any of the sources I've found.

[Papa Tom]

Maybe I can help a little. You could probably replace the salt with Tender Quick but add the sugar according to the recipe. Any sausage made without nitrates/nitrites should be treated as fresh meat
(the FDA recommends any sausage to be smoked be nitrite cured). Curing time on ground meat where the cure is well mixed into the ground meat should not take over 8 hours, my rule of thumb is 3/4 inch penetration of raw uncut meat per day dry cure method.
I have never fermented but I love sausage that is. I would use Fermento exactly as the manufacturer recommends. Fermented sausages are often just hung in a humid room temperature enviornment. I'd hope someone lurking out there has some experience with his method.

[OSD]

The part about the spices and the Tenderquick, that means don't mix them together in a bowl and then try to mix in the meat. The Tenderquick can make certain spices take on a nasty taste if mixed directly together. It should be done as two separate steps, mix in spices and then mix in the Tenderquick.

[Stan41]

This is what I did a few days ago. They were good.

December 18, 2007

16 lbs. Pork Butts
3 lbs. Pork Fat
9 lbs. Beef Chuck Roast

1 1/2 Quarts Cold Water
10 1/2 teaspoons canning salt
2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons nutmeg
2 1/2 teaspoons ginger
2 1/2 Tablespoons White Pepper
2 1/2 Tablespoons Red Pepper (Cayenne)
2 1/2 Tablespoons Black Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon Allspice
2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
3 teaspoons onion Powder
5 teaspoons Prague Powder No. 1

Made 28 pounds sausage.

Mix all the spices, salt, and Prague Powder in the 1 1/2 Quarts of water. Pour over ground meat. Stuff in 32 mm Colligen Casings.

Allow to sit in refrigerator overnight. I smoked them the next day.

[bigwheel]

Well assure you Fermentto aint going to ferment nothing. All it is total dead powdered buttermilk. If you want to do the fermenting thing a person needs to get some live fermentation culture from butcher and packer. Also need some way to check the ph to make sure it has reached the stage of fermention you want.

http://www.butcher-packer.com/

http://www.butcher-packer.com/pages-mai ... ed4321bdf2

bigwheel

[Stan41]

Morton Salt Co. has this to say about Tender Quick.

Tender Quick is a blend of the finest quality salt, sugar and meat curing
ingredients. It is perfectly blended for fast cure action and improved
flavor and color of the meats.

CURING MEATS IN YOUR KITCHEN: Use fresh or completely thawed frozen meat
that is clean and chilled to 36 to 40F internal temperature. Pork chops,
spareribs, chicken and other small cuts of meat can be cured with 1/2 ounce
(1 tablespoon) of Tender Quick Cure per pound of meat. Rub cure into meat
thoroughly then place in clean plastic bag and tie securely. Store in
refrigerator at 36 to 40F for 4 to 8 hours to cure. Rinse just prior to
cooking.

For brine curing, dissolve 1 cup Tender Quick cure in 4 cups water. Place
meat in brine, refrigerate and allow to cure 24 hours. For pumping pickle,
follow proportions for brine curing.

Ideal for dry curing, brine curing and making a pumping pickle. Follow
recipe directions carefully. Cook meat before eating.

[Stan41]

Here's another old recipe I found. You might not want to use the saltpeter, some other cure might be better. But, hey, saltpeter has worked for hundreds of years. This is how my Grandpa made sausage, but he stuffed them in cloth bags.
Stan
Sausage Making
From book: Flavor of the hill country.

Sausage Making was an old world German tradition virtually unknown to Anglo-Americans in Southern States, who instead preserved meat as jerky.

10 pounds fresh lean pork
15 pounds fresh beef
1 set natural casings
1/2 pound butcher salt (about 1 cup)
1/8 pound fresh ground pepper (medium) (about 1/2 cup)
1 Tbsp. saltpeter (potassium nitrate)
Garlic to taste (optional)

Note Sausage stuffer is required.

Cut beef and pork into cubes small enough to grind. Thoroughly mix salt, pepper, and saltpeter. Add to meat and mix thoroughly, making sure beef and pork are evenly distributed and mixed well with seasonings. Grind mixture to the consistency of hamburger. Run warm water through casings 2-3 times to wash thoroughly. Cut casings into 16 inch pieces, keep in bowl of warm water and keep pliable. Pack ground meat tightly into stuffer machine. Remove excess water from casing and place over spout of stuffer; stuff as tightly as possible with mixture. Tie ends with light cotton twine, leaving 4 inches of string between sausage ends. Immediately after stuffing, place sausage on poles and either smoke as described below, or hang to air dry in a cool place for 3-4 weeks.

[Papa Tom]

Well assure you Fermentto aint going to ferment nothing. All it is total dead powdered buttermilk. If you want to do the fermenting thing a person needs to get some live fermentation culture from butcher and packer. Also need some way to check the ph to make sure it has reached the stage of fermention you want.

http://www.butcher-packer.com/

http://www.butcher-packer.com/pages-mai ... ed4321bdf2

bigwheel

Thanks BW guess maybe I used the wrong trade name I did mean live cultures in my reference.

[DATsBBQ]

Stan,
Yeah I saw that on their website... the package itself says 1 TBSP per 1 pound of meat. BW and others suggested that might be a bit much by half. The Summer Sausage experiment I did used 1 TBSP. I used 92% lean hamburger. Now I thought it was ok, just a tad salty but the Mrs disagreed as she didn't think it was too salty (and she doesn't like salt period).

I've seen a lot of recipes with the Prague stuff, not as many as the Tender Quick stuff. Think TQ is alot lit P#2 cause they both got nitrate & nitrite.

[Stan41]

Dave: I have a question for you. Do you know what percentages of Sodium Nitrate and Sodium Nitrite Prague powder No. 1 and the No. 2 have in them?

Tender quick has it on the packiage but I never have seen any information about the #1 and #2.

Stan

[bigwheel]

Yeppers...cant go wrong on any cured recipe using TQ in place of the salt. I wouldnt use it thinking to replace any sugar called for in the recipe. Guess it has a little but not enough to influence the flavor profile. I aint even sure a person can buy Salt Peter anymore. Drugstore use to sell it...but it got classed a dangerous product for some reason. Used to use it all the time to make corned beef. May still be able to get it..aint looked for none in years.

bigwheel

[Stan41]

I bought a bottle of Saltpeter a few days ago at our local drugstore, then read on the internet how bad it was and decided to use Prague Powder instead.
Stan

[DATsBBQ]

Dave: I have a question for you. Do you know what percentages of Sodium Nitrate and Sodium Nitrite Prague powder No. 1 and the No. 2 have in them?

Tender quick has it on the packiage but I never have seen any information about the #1 and #2.

Stan

From what I've read, Prague #1 is one part sodium nitrite (6.25%), and 15 parts salt.
Prague #2 is 1 part sodium nitrite, 0.64 parts sodium
nitrate, and the remainder is 16 parts salt.

[Stan41]

Thanks. I didn't know what the proportions were.
Stan

[Papa Tom]

From the web:
Prague powder #1 contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% sodium chloride and is used for the preparation of all cured meats and sausages other than the dry type. Prague powder #2 contains 1 ounce of sodium nitrite and 0.64 ounces sodium nitrate per pound of finished product (the remaining 14.36 ounces is sodium chloride) and is used for the preparation of Cured dry sausages. Prague powder #2 should NEVER be used on any product that will be fried at high temperature (eg. bacon) because of the formation of nitrosamines.

When using cure, it is very important to never exceed the recommended amounts: This is 4 ounces of Prague Powder #1 in 100 pounds of meat (2.5 g/kg). Equivalently this is 2 teaspoons for 10 pounds. Note that the maximum allowable amount of sodium nitrite and potassium nitrite is governed by regulations and is limited to 0.25 ounces per 100 pounds of chopped meat. Since Prague powder #1 is a 1:15 dilution (in a pound of Prague powder #1 one ounce is sodium nitrite and 15 ounces are common table salt), we get the proper amount at a rate of 4 ounces added to 100 lb of meat.

Sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate are limited to 2.75 ounces per 100 pounds.

Sodium and potassium nitrite are quite toxic to humans with the lethal dose being about 4 grams. As little as 22 mg/kg of body weight can cause death. This is about 2.2 grams for a body mass of 100 kg. Thus, there is enough sodium nitrite in 2 ounces of Prague powder #1 to kill a person.

Morton's Quick Cure is the brand name of another formulation of sodium nitrite with salt and sugars added. It is not the same concentration as either "Prague powder #1 or #2". Since the amount of nitrite present in the recipe is essential for safety, one cannot take a recipe designed for Prague powder and simply substitute. To do so will invite botulism poisoning. Similarly one cannot just substitute Prague powder #1 in place of Morton's Quick Cure. To substitute one must calculate the exact amount of nitrite required and make the proper adjustments.