Pink Salt Substitue for Morton's TQ

Piker · January 17, 2009, 07:47:14 PM

I have just finished reading the 3 pages of posts on the above subject and I am still confused. In the recipes I use it says 2tps of MTQ then in brackets it lists all the rest of the cures such as pink salt prague #1 etc. So i assume they are all the same so when I use a recipe that calls for pink salt I put in the same amt of MTQ. In Ryteck book he says they are all the same. So am I doing it wrong? dave

Caribou · January 17, 2009, 08:27:49 PM

I think MTQ contains cure and salt and other ingredients. Cure is just cure and does not contain salt.
I hope more experienced folks out there will please correct me if I am wrong because I do not want to give misinformation.

Carolyn

Habanero Smoker · January 18, 2009, 04:04:23 AM

Carnie;

I think I understand what you are saying, a recipe calls for TQ, and you want to substitute pink salt but do not want to make the Basic Dry Cure.

Pink Salt you need 1/4 teaspoon per pound for small amounts. Once you get above 4 pounds you will need 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds (that's because the 1/4 tsp is a rounded off amount). Salt I generally use 2 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt for 5 pounds, but many recipes recommend 3 tablespoons. Since you will not be using the quantity of salt that TQ would be adding to your sausage the sugar is optional, unless your recipe calls for additional sugar.

For example for a 5 pound batch (4 pounds meat, 1 pound fat), a typical TQ replacement would be:
1 teaspoon of Pink Salt
5 - 7 teaspoons Pickling Salt (2 - 3 Tablespoons of Morton's Kosher Salt)
Sugar (optional or unless your recipe calls for it)

Piker;
I couldn't find your reference in Rytek's book, but TQ and pink salt are not the same. Pink salt; InstaCure #1; or DQ Powder; or Prague Powder #1; or Cure #1 are all the same, but TQ is not. For example if you use 2 teaspoons of pink salt, that would be enough for 10 pounds of sausage, then you would need to add additional salt. Going by Morton's recommendations you would use 5 Tablespoons of TQ for 10 pounds of meat, with no additional salt added.

Pink salt is 1 pound salt and 1 ounce sodium nitrite; which gives it a ration of 93.75% salt to 6.25% sodium nitrite. It is mixed with salt, because sodium nitrite is used in such small amounts that mixing it with salt makes measuring much easier.

Morton TQ is what I call a cure blend; it consist of 79% salt, 20% sugar, .5% sodium nitrite and .5% sodium nitrate.

Piker · January 18, 2009, 06:31:17 AM

The reference might have been in Charcuterie I will find it later. I was under the impression that MTQ was 93.75% salt and 6.25% cure. I no longer have the bag it came in so I cant check. I have to look into this further as all I have ever used is MTQ and have no problems at all maybe I am lucky. Most of the recipes I have used come from this sight and I normally add about I teaspoon of MTQ for every 5lbs. of meat. Will get to the bottom of this thks Dave

carnie1 · January 18, 2009, 09:30:45 AM

Habs, if a recipe calls for basic dry cure and I only have TQ, what is the ratio say 1 tsp Basic dry cure = ?? tsp TQ or if a recipe such as in Charcuterie or Rytek's book where the recipes call for just pink salt example 1/2 tsp pink salt = ?? tsp TQ.
Did I confuse everyone more?

Piker · January 18, 2009, 01:27:34 PM

I looked everywhere in the 2 books and nowhere did it mention MTQ. So my mistake as it said all the others are basically the same,[ Page 108 in Charcuterie under pink salt.]so I guess I will have to be more observant in the future

Habanero Smoker · January 18, 2009, 02:18:34 PM

Quote from: carnie1 on January 18, 2009, 09:30:45 AM
Habs, if a recipe calls for basic dry cure and I only have TQ, what is the ratio say 1 tsp Basic dry cure = ?? tsp TQ or if a recipe such as in Charcuterie or Rytek's book where the recipes call for just pink salt example 1/2 tsp pink salt = ?? tsp TQ.
Did I confuse everyone more?

Carnie,

I'm afraid to tackle this at this time. I just got in the house after snowblowing 3 large driveways, and between the fumes from the motor, cold and exhaustion my thought process is worse then usual. :)

For some reason I was hung up on sausage. The Basic Dry Cure is best for making bacon or applying to whole muscle meat, and generally that is where you will see it used. So in that type of application the ratio is 1:1; 1 tsp Basic dry cure = 1 tsp TQ.

If you are going to substitute TQ for pink salt, then I would use TQ as it is recommended by Morton's, and eliminate the salt and sugar (if any) that is in the recipe, but use the other ingredients. If TQ is to be applied to whole muscle as a dry cure, then you would use 1 Tablespoon per pound, and do not add any salt the recipe calls for, but you may want to add additional sugar like maple sugar or syrup.

If you are going to use TQ for sausage, then use Morton's recommended amount, and do not add any salt or sugar that the recipe calls for, but use the other ingredients. I never used TQ for sausage, but I know for small amounts they require 1 1/2 tsp per pound. The amounts may be slightly different for 5 pounds or more. Hopefully someone who used TQ for large batches of sausage can provide that answer.

If I didn't answer your question, I'm sorry. If I haven't provided the right answer, don't hesitate to ask again. That is if you don't get discouraged. :)

carnie1 · January 18, 2009, 04:04:20 PM

Thanks, I pretty much got it, Anybody wanna get real confused on some packaged cures ,check this out http://www.midwesternresearch.com/INDEX.htm Hit seasonings, then cures, sorry I can't get a direct link.

Piker · January 18, 2009, 06:10:24 PM

thks to everyone that has added to this thread I am pretty sure I have it right now. I checked all the recipes I have done and I found I did not make any major mistakes as I do small batches. I will be getting some pink salt as soon as I find someone around here that handles it. tkhs again Dave

Habanero Smoker · January 19, 2009, 03:01:59 AM

It does get confusing. Morton TQ is a good product, but as Mike (Mr. Walleye) has pointed out; the way Morton distributes information can make it use confusion.

carnie1 · January 19, 2009, 04:42:53 PM

Habs just found this, it may be of use http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/Downloads_files/Cures&Fermenting.pdf and this
http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/SausageDownloads_files/SausageCharts.pdf

Habanero Smoker · January 20, 2009, 02:54:22 AM

Carnie;

Thanks for posting those links. The first link I was aware of, the second one I just saved. There's a lot of useful information in one place in that second chart.

carnie1 · January 20, 2009, 06:06:57 AM

Thought so, I'll post those links in Sausage Making also, just in case someone misses it here

Habanero Smoker · January 20, 2009, 02:22:57 PM

That would be great. Again thanks for the links.