smoking and nitrate

  • Thread starter Thread starter Barry
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Barry

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Wonder if anyone can address this with certainty. Does smoking ribs or chicken cause nitrates to form in the meat?

The reason for this is my wife is pregnant and she read where she can't have smoked salmon because of that.

Thanks
 
Howdy...


I dont know this for sure, but afaik that would only be a promlem with cheap commercial smoked meats.


Don Marco
 
Cured meats and commercially smoked meats are preserved using sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate. Tender Quick, used in home curing, contains both of these. When "smoking" (smoke cooking) in a cooker such as the WSM, nitrites are formed during the combustion of smokewoods (and charcoal for that matter) when nitrogen in the wood combines with oxygen in the air to form NO2 (nitrogen dioxide). NO2 has the same effect as does sodium nitrite on cured meats, causing that pinkish coloration, or, in the case of BBQ, the phenomenon known as a smokering. Whether or not this form is of pre-natal concern is a question better answered by a qualified medical professional.
 
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