Pink salt, MTQ & ready cure - measurements


 
Michael G. (Canada Mike)

Michael G. (Canada Mike)

TVWBB All-Star
Hi,
Up here in the not so frozen north we have access to some stuff for curing called ready cure, It's 1% nitrite, no nitrates. Since most recipes refer to MTQ or pink salt does anyone know how the substitutions work? Please keep the math simple of there is any
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Thanks!
 
Insta Cure #1 is 6.25% nitrite, 93.75% salt.

Ruhlman's basic cure:

450 g salt
225 g sugar
50 g IC #1 (3 g nitrite, 47 g salt)

and he recommends using it in a ratio of 50 g per 2250 g meat. which is insanely low (1.5% salt) and not something I recommend (I prefer 3-3.5% salt).

His mix is 68% salt, 31% sugar and 0.4% nitrite. To achieve that ratio with something that is 1% nitrite, you would have to follow this:

200 g salt
225 g sugar
300 g nitrite (3 g nitrite, 297 g salt)

Weigh the meat you intend to cure and multiply it by .03 (3%). Multiply that times 1.46 to get the amount of cure you will need.

2000 g meat x .03 = 60 g salt

60 g salt x 1.46 = 88 g basic cure
 
Mike just curious where you got the Ready Cure. I've been looking all over for something like that. I keep meaning to order some pink salt over the internet but never get around to it.
 
William Sonoma sells pink salt??? Of course, it's $8 for 3.6 oz, but still.

@Bob - O got it at Highland Farms, and it was cheap, like $8 for a kilo. Thing is, no recipes use it, so I had to rely on J's conversion above.
 
Have to admit, I never thought of Highland Farms as fancy, let alone shmancy! William Sonoma, yeah, fer sure. But HF just appels to a particular ethnic set that cures meat.
 
I have found the "Ready Cure" product in our local Loblaws chain (Zehr's). Usually it's around the pre-cooked hams.... where there is also sausage casings.

Normally a couple times a year when they have their big sale on pork leg and shoulder you will find these products around for the sausage makers.
 
I'm fortunate to have a local butcher supply shop that carries sausage making equipment and supplies. Still, I often order online for better deals and items not locally available. My two main sources are The Sausage Maker and Butcher & Packer.

I'm not sure these will be of great use to our Canadian friends, though.
 
Hey guys. I have kept this link bookmarked as I found the conversion info helpful. Just wanted to let my fellow Canucks know that Bass Pro Shops at Vaughn mills has a good sized sausage making section and has cure #1! Yay for no more conversions, I can finally use the 99% of recipes out there that use it with no extra fussing. It is Lem's brand, and is $2.99 for 4oz (or 100# worth of meat). For people not in Toronto, you should be able to order it from them online.
 
Shipping kills the deal on most everything to Ontario.

It seems the nanny state is big in Ontario as you can buy pink salt (or equivalent) anywhere else, especially prairies but not here.

The sausage maker was a good find but again, shipping is as much or more than the product for us Canucks.

Mike if I ever find a local cheap source (and sorry, but $45 at WS for a pound of the stuff is not gonna work for me) I'll let you know.

I knew about Canada Compounds but it's a hour or more one way trip for me and again, shipping in Canada sucks.

HAVING SAID THAT:

I've found a book on sausage making (called Home Sausage Making) that has lots of recipes that DON'T use a cure. Basically, it's make cook and eat or make and freeze. No curing salts required.

Here's one example for chorizo:
7 pounds lean pre-frozen or certified
pork butt, cubed
3 pounds pork fat, cubed
8 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons finely ground, fresh
black pepper
3 tablespoons cayenne red pepper
1 tablespoon coarsely crushed red
pepper
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon crushed Oregano
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup brandy
1/2 teaspoon ascorbic acid or
1 teaspoon saltpeter
6 feet medium hog casings
Click to expand...

It uses "certified" pork--which is just pork that's been frozen for a period of time to kill the tricinosis(sp) worms present in all raw pork) AND because it's not using curing salts. It also uses ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in a 'special' form which is a form of preservative BUT NOT to be used as a preservative like the curing salts.

In regards to the saltpeter alternative, I found this posting in another forum (I can't vouch for it's accuracy though as it's just from a guy like you or me).

Saltpeter is still commonly used around the world for sausage making, and curing meat; but it is no longer recommended for use in the U.S.A. You will see many older recipes in American curing/smoking books that still refer to using saltpeter. Saltpeter was very popular until nitrites started being manufactured in the early 1900's. Nitrates are too difficult to measure, and because it is a nitrate it is not recommended for meat that will be cooked.

As already mentioned, the chemical Saltpeter (Potassium Nitrate) is a nitrate. Nitrates do not provide any protection, and certain types of bacteria must be present on the meat to help break the nitrates down to nitrites; nitrites do the actual curing and protecting. Because nitrates need to be broken down, they are considered a slow cure and take much longer to cure the meat. Slowly breaking down, and releasing nitrites: like a time release capsule.

Cure #1 is a formula that contains salt (93.75%) and nitrites (6.25%). It is measured differently then saltpeter. Nitrites are considered fast cure, and as it took you 14 days to cure your beef, using a nitrite and depending on the size of the meat, would generally take you 3 - 4 days.
Click to expand...

That's the way I'll go for the time being.
 
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