From Martin, aka DigginDogFarm, at SMF. All below before the dividing line are from comments in the post here. IMHO these are the most concise statements of equilibrium curing.
…equilibrium brining, below is a brief description that I wrote up.
Equilibrium brining is a method of brining that makes it impossible to over-salt or over-cure meat when using a reasonable percentage of salt and the proper amount of cure. In equilibrium brining the submerged meat and the cover brine (or cover brine and injected brine, in larger pieces of meat) act as a single system and are considered a single unit when calculating salt, sugar and cure amounts. Over time, the ingredients in the brine migrate into the meat until levels in the meat tissue and in the brine are balanced via osmosis and diffusion. Therefore, the calculation for ingoing salt, sugar and cure is based on the weight of the meat plus the weight of the water or other liquid used in the brine.
The calculator is only good for recipes using cure, and in the case of brining, an equilibrium brine. Equilibrium brining takes time and the ingredients are often less than what’s used in a typical brine.
Larger pieces of meat should be injected, and a high ratio of meat to liquid (4:1,2:1, etc.) should be used for best results.
Here’s an example of a 2:1 ratio (meat:water) equilibrium brining project. We’ll do immersion cured (rind-off) bacon which requires no more than 120ppm nitrite.
Our piece of bacon weighs 1000grams so the amount of water required for our 2:1 brine is 500grams, adding the two together we get 1500grams.
We now calculate the cure, salt and sugar for a total of 1500 grams of meat and water.
Our bacon is less than 2-1/2 inches thick so injecting isn’t required.
Re: Immersion Cure – For a good discussion about the assumed or government established uptake rate go this post and comments.
From Pop’s here – “Per gallon maximum equates to 3.84 oz. per gallon of water. One ounce is approximately a heaping tablespoon by my scale, a level tablespoon is .88 oz. So, 1 tablespoon per gallon of water is a fair measurement that will not toxify the meat or even come close. I have zero chemical analyses to back this up; it is common sense and proven that it will cure the meat effectively and no, don’t have the ppm or anything else. It is safe, it works, that’s all I need to know.
I do add additional ingredients; i.e. plain salt and sugars or sugar substitutes, but this is in addition to the cure concentration, not in conjunction with it and not affecting the concentration levels. I first put in the curing salt, then add the water by gallon measurement, then add the additional ingredients. These are to your taste preference.”
In response to a post about concern for sugar in Brines and Cures the consensus was that it is not included for safety–only taste. Dave O said “For controlling the amount of sugar and carbs… use cure #1… I add 1% sugar to my curing stuff… if you eat a pound of meat, there is only 4.5 grams of sugar in that pound at 1% sugar….” See http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/257067/sugar-free-curing#post_1652401
See http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/253691/seasoning-after-curing-and-before-smoking/40 with debate between two posters that includes the advice below.
Q: I also bought a whole boneless pork loin for some canadian bacon. Can I use the same dry cure that I have mixed for my canadian bacon as what I do for my belly bacon? And is it the same cure/weight ratio or different? A: by Dave O. – Yep… Same ratios, same cure mix… If you like it, try it… If your mix adds about 1.1 grams [of Cure #1] per pound or 1 tsp. per 5#’s, it can be used for anything you want to smoke… You can tweak it for different meats by adding spices etc. and there’s no need to adjust the mix.. weigh out the proper amount of mix for each piece of meat, add the spices and you are good to go…
A great site with videos about the three types of curing. https://stellaculinary.com/cooking-videos/food-science-101/fs-002-science-behind-brining-four-part-video-lecture
About Martin’s (DigginDogFarm at SMF) cure calculator and emersion and dry curing process here http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/124590/universal-cure-calculator Extracts from his posts are below. Note this is a largely a repeat from above but worth repeating.
- Equilibrium brining, below is a brief description that he wrote up.”Equilibrium brining is a method of brining that makes it impossible to over-salt or over-cure meat when using a reasonable percentage of salt and the proper amount of cure. In equilibrium brining the submerged meat and the cover brine (or cover brine and injected brine, in larger pieces of meat) act as a single system and are considered a single unit when calculating salt, sugar and cure amounts. Over time, the ingredients in the brine migrate into the meat until levels in the meat tissue and in the brine are balanced via osmosis and diffusion. Therefore, the calculation for ingoing salt, sugar and cure is based on the weight of the meat plus the weight of the water or other liquid used in the brine.”
- “The calculator is only good for recipes using cure, and in the case of brining, an equilibrium brine. Equilibrium brining takes time and the ingredients are often less than what’s used in a typical brine. Larger pieces of meat should be injected, and a high ratio of meat to liquid (4:1,2:1, etc.) should be used for best results.”
- “Here’s an example of a 2:1 ratio (meat:water) equilibrium brining project. We’ll do immersion cured (rind-off) bacon which requires no more than 120ppm nitrite. Our piece of bacon weighs 1000grams so the amount of water required for our 2:1 brine is 500grams, adding the two together we get 1500grams. We now calculate the cure, salt and sugar for a total of 1500 grams of meat and water. Our bacon is less than 2-1/2 inches thick so injecting isn’t required.”
- “Nitrite limits can be found in the USDA’s Processing Inspectors’ Calculations Handbook at www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISDirectives/7620-3.pdf Please be sure that you understand the technical and safety issues involved. It’s especially important to understand what’s meant by ‘dry cured’ in the handbook, the associated ppm numbers do not apply to short-term curing.”
From Chef JimmyJ – “…the fatal dose of sodium nitrite is in the range of 22 to 23 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. To obtain 22 milligrams of sodium nitrite per kilogram of body weight (a lethal dose), a 154-pound adult would have to consume, at once, 18.57 pounds of cured meat product containing 200 ppm sodium nitrite (because nitrite is rapidly converted to nitric oxide during the curing process, the 18.57 pound figure should be tripled at least). Even if a person could eat that amount of cured meat, salt, not nitrite, probably would be the toxic factor.”
In another post he responded to the question of how long to cure pork belly “Most go by 7 days per inch thickness.”
Chef JimmyJ – There is a lot of opinion on Cure #2 amounts. At the amounts used most frequently, 1tsp/5Lb, even doubling is still well under toxic level.
Dave Omak – “Cure #1 is added at a rate of 1 tsp. per 5#’s of stuff… or 1.1 grams per lb…. That includes water etc… Sooo, if you have 5#’s of meat, 2#’s of water 2 oz. of salt, 1 oz. of sugar……. That’s close to 7.5#’s of stuff so add 1.5 tsp. of cure #1….. Ppm is based on weight units… It’s much easier to convert weights to grams… using a 0-100 grams range electronic scale is a really good way to get measurements accurate…. even helps when adding spices etc. for reproducibility…..The time for stuff to sit in a curing solution is 7 days per inch thickness… over 2″ thick, it’s best to also inject to get a uniform distribution…”
Dave responded later to the same thread.
“FWIW, USDA / FDA recommends for commercial processors, when brining, injecting, massaging bacon in a wet brine, 120 ppm is the max allowable nitrite for that curing system. When using a “dry brine” rub style cure for bacon, 200 ppm is the max allowable nitrite for that curing method….. It is also suggested, somewhere in the regs., that 120 ppm nitrite be “considered” the lowest amount of nitrite to use when curing meats.“
Then we have the nitrite dissipation.
“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.”
“The last sentence may seem a bit confusing… My understanding is…. they are mixing comminuted [ground] meats.. add a bit of water to further the homogenous mix of all the ingredients does not dilute the nitrite … because…. the water evaporates and the correct amount of nitrite is left behind to cure the product…. That is the same premise I use when I inject cure stuff like hams, loins, etc.. “
Another response by Dave “…generally whether it be cure #1 or #2, 2.5 grams of either per Kg is recommended..”
Just for an idea of what the differences are:
Prague powder #1 is a mixture of 1 part sodium nitrite and 16 parts salt. You normally use 1 level teaspoon of cure for 5 lb. of meat. Used at any time meat is not immediately put into freezer or refrigerator, Such as smoking, air drying, dehumidifying, etc. This is similar to and sometimes called Curing Salt.
Prague powder #2 is a mixture of 1 part sodium nitrite,.64 parts sodium nitrate and 16 parts salt. You normally use 1 level teaspoon of cure for 5 lb. of meat. mainly used for products that will be air cured for long time like: Country Ham, salami, pepperoni, and other dry sausages.
Instacure 1 is a mixture of 1oz of Sodium Nitrite (6.25 %) to 1 lb of salt. Used at any time meat is not immediately put into freezer or refrigerator, Such as smoking, air drying, dehumidifying, etc.
Instacure 2 is a mixture of 1 oz of Sodium Nitrite (6.25 %) along with .64 oz od Sodium Nitrate (4 %) to 1 lb of salt. mainly used for products that will be air cured for long time like: Country Ham, salami, pepperoni, and other dry sausages.
Note: The Curing Salts above contain FDA approved red coloring agent that gives them a slight pink color thus eliminating any possible confusion with common salt
Morton’s Tender Quick is a mixture of salt, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate and sugar. You normally use 1 level tablespoon of cure for 1 lb. of meat.
Saltpeter is potassium nitrate and is also used as a curing agent but I know – DeejayDebi
The part I always remember:
One ounce of Cure #1 dry cures 25 pounds of meat, if evenly distributed over all sides of those 25 pounds of meat.
One ounce of “Tender Quick” dry cures 2 pounds of meat, if evenly distributed over all sides of those 2 pounds of meat.
The length of time for this curing depends on the thickness of the meat to be cured.
Bear
Re: Morton Tender Quick
Morton TQ Recipes at the Morton website – click here.
From SMF Bearcarver says that TQ recipes say:
- One is using 1 TBS of TQ per pound of meat, soaking for 1 or 2 hours.
- The other is using 1.5 tsp of TQ per pound of meat, and soaking overnight.
- Anytime I use TQ for anything, I never add any salt—-There is generally the right amount in the TQ itself.
For Bear’s Jerky recipe with TC click here.
DirtSailor says: Why not use cure #1? Takes out the salt factor. At a ratio of 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat a pound of cure goes a long way. If I used TQ with my Thai Jerky recipe it would be way too salty. The soy sauce and the fish sauce mixed with TQ wouldn’t work. That’s why I prefer using cure #1 for jerky is I can use other salty flavors.
TQ in Jerky by SQWIBS – http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/174131/sqwibs-jerky-recipes
Forum member asked about curing jerky. Chef JJ said in several responses to the same post here — 1-2% salt based on meat’s weight, cure and any liquid that will help dissolve it. Everything else is your choice. Liquid as needed to enrobe the meat and distribute the flavors. 5lb of Beef = 0.8 to 1.6 oz salt. You are just getting the meat wet to distribute the ingredients evenly.
From DiggingDogFarm January 15, 2015, at Smokin-It.com
Here’s how an immersion brine is checked for safety (it’s important to remember that only a portion of the cure is absorbed into the meat.)
Weight of the Nitrite x Percentage of Brine Pick-Up x 1,000,000 ÷ Total Weight of the Brine = PPM Nitrite
4 teaspoons Morton’s Kosher Salt (19 grams)
1 teaspoon Prague Powder #1 (5 grams)
3 tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar (45 grams)
1 cup Warm Water (237 grams)
Weight of the Nitrite… 5 grams of Cure #1 x 6.25%=.3125 gram Nitrite
Total Weight of the Brine=306 grams
At 10% Pick-Up….
.3125 x 10% x 1,000,000=31250
31250÷306=102 PPM Nitrite
At 15% Pick-Up….
.3125 x 15% x 1,000,000=46875
46875÷306=153 PPM Nitrite
It may not even hit 10% pick-up.
Well within the 200PPM government limit used by many folks as a measure of safety.
