Help with cure amounts!

[chiroken]

I'm hoping I can get a batch of jerky on tomorrow, my DBS is seasoning as we speak!

I was unable to get cure delivered in time for smoking tomorrow so my local butcher shop was good enough to give me some of their Sure Cure by Stuffers. The bag instructions are 30g Sure Cure, 70g salt, 1 liter of water. Now that I'm home I'm embarrassed to say I'm not sure what this means???

I will be putting together my own marinade this afternoon to overnight 4lbs of meat and I'm not sure how much of the sure cure I should be adding? Can anyone help me here with the calculation? Amount/5lb of meat would be great, I can do the ratio from there.

Thanks in advance.

[Quarlow]

Are you doing round meat jerky? I make quite abit of whole muscle jerky and have never put cure with it. I have seen some suggestion of putting cure in the brine, but I keep mine in the fridge or freezer so I don't think it is neccessary to put cure in it. If you store it in a jar like some do with holes in the lid and keep it on the counter then you would need cure for sure. Another thing is that it doesn't last very long around here. I did 8 lbs last friday and there is about 2 lbs left.

[chiroken]

I'm doing round roast cut into approx. 1/4"strips. My plan is to keep some of it in the fridge right away and then vacuum pack the rest in portions and freeze. Haven't used the vacuum packer yet either, the jerky really is the dry run before I start smoking salmon (hopefully candied if I can figure out how  :) ).

[Quarlow]

Well IMHO you don't need cure. Now others will say to use it but I never have used cure yet. In fact I only just bought some the other day for making CBB and sausgaes and hams. The stuff I just did I did without any recipe. I just went threw the fridge and pantry and started mixing. I did 5 lbs of sweet jerky and 3 with a touch of spice in it. The sweet stuff had course Kosher salt, brown  sugar, plum sauce, Hawiian teriyaki sauce and garlic powder. My wife likes it sweet. The other on had course kosher salt, brown sugar, Frank's redhot chili &lime sauce, garlic powder and worchestershire sauce. Mixed all up put the meat in a ziplock and poured the mix in. A good massage and 3 hours in the fridge, warmed up till smoker was ready and then 2 hrs of smoke. Rotate the racks every hour, up and down and front to back. And Robert's your fathers brother(bob's your uncle) I love that one. :D :D

[Quarlow]

It usually comes out a little dry, but put it in a clean ziplock in the fridge overnight and it will soften up abit.

[Quarlow]

This isn't Indian candy, but it is how I do smoked salmon. If you want it sweeter you can just spread more brown sugar on it after the smoke has rolled.

Q's Smoked Salmon

  Place your salmon filets into deep sided pans (they will give off lots of juice)
You should pull the pin bones out so you don't bite into them whie eating.
  You can do this with a pair of needle nose pliers. Just run your fingers along
the side of the filet where the rib bones were cut through.
  You will feel them and then just grab with pliers and and pull. You may have to
move side to side to get them out.

Then I mix salt and dark brown sugar and any spices you want to add.

1 cup Course Salt
2 cup Brown Sugar
1 tblsp Pepper (white if you like. Optional)
1 tblsp Onion Powder (optional)

  You can change this up as you see fit, the skies the limit on this. I don't usually
experiment too much, but my brother does a lot of changes to his recipes. I have even
poured in a cup of maple syrup to the mix.

  Spread a thick layer of the mix on to the filets and let them brine over night.
  You want about 8 hours of brining, The flesh should be firm all
over. Rinse off the remaining brine that didn't dissolve and place on the smoker racks.
  Dry off with paper towel as best you can and place in fridge to allow the pellicle to
form.

  I smoke for 5 or 6 hours depending on the wood. I also put on some more brown sugar
about 3 hours in so you get a good sweetness to it. Just a good layer on the whole thing.

  I like to use Alder or Alder and Apple mix. But you can use whatever you want to.
I have done 5 hours of Hickory for a good strong smoke flavour. But Alder is my goto
wood for this. For Alder I would use 6 or even as much as 7 hours.
  Continue cooking to  your desired dryness. I like to just bend it at a thick spot and
pull a little of it off. It should be just slightly moist but that is your preference.
  You can have it moister or dryer depending on how you want. Some like it moist more
like "Loks" but I like mine drier. But don't go to dry or you will end up with saw dust.

  Now as for temps I never gave it much thought till I came to the forum cause we alway
had the white stuff(Boogers) on ours, no big deal. But it does look better and would be
less chance of it getting to dry and sawdusty. So I think kummok goes
100°-120°F for 1-2 hours, then increase to
140° for 2-4 hours, then increase to
175° for 1-2 hours to finish 

  SMOKING
Smoke using the following Bradley Smoking guideline: (alder, cherry, or apple bisquettes).

Kummok has a really good recipe too. I am going to try his way next time. I have it on a notepad so I can post it if you want or he may see this and post it himself. He has alot of experience at it and is the man when it comes to salmon.

[chiroken]

Thanks Q for all the info! I have come across a few that aren't using cure, most seem to. Hard to know what to do when you're just starting out. I would think that vacuum packing and freezing would lessen any risks as you say. My meat is marinating now, looked at lots of recipes and sort of picked the most common ingredients and threw them in a bowl. Modified the amounts based on what I had. I'll post how it goes on the jerky side of the forum.

Forgot about brown sugar though...many recipes did have it in. I'll go figure out how much most recipes call for and add it in now, been sitting in the fridge for 3 1/2 hours so far, will be there until tomorrow anyways.

Thanks for the salmon info, if you could post the other recipe that would be great. I've already found that you can't search any individual's previous posts (from what I could tell) so it would probably be really hard to find that particular post.

Tomorrow night I should have jerky! Can't wait...

[Quarlow]

That is the one thing I don't like about this site, searching for stuff on here is not easy. In fact you have better luck going to google and just putting smoething like "bradley forum smoked salmon" or " bradley forum smoked ribs" or whatever. You willl have more luck with that. Or the other way is to post your own post and ask what you want to know.

Excellent BRADLEY Smoked Alaskan Salmon
From Kummok


The following brine recipe is included to get you started, but you are encouraged to experiment with your own salt/sugar,
maple, honey, peppers, and seasonings to develop your own. (A Spin-off from Bob Kitchen's Incredible Recipe.) Kummok

Brine Ingredients:

1 gallon cold water
1 quart teriyaki OR soy sauce
1 cup pickling salt
2 lbs. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
3 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
Mix all ingredients in a non-metal container. Make sure that the salt and sugar is completely dissolved.

Step 1: PREPARE FISH
Filet salmon with skin on. Carefully check each filet and REMOVE ALL BONES (Very important for excellence!).
A small pair of clean needle nose pliers works well in removing any remaining bones that are stuck in the flesh.

Step 2: UNIFORM STRIPS
Cut meat into uniform strips, 3/8" to 1/2" wide and 3"-6" long, OR as long as your smoker racks can handle.
The key here is to get uniform thickness cuts for uniform brining and smoking. The length is important only as far
as your own packaging preferences. The strips will have a tendency to fall or sag through the larger grid racks,
therefore it is best to use the non-stick coated jerky racks, a small grid (1/2") non-stick coated rack.

Step 3: BRINING
After preparing the brine, add salmon. Place a weighted stainless steel, wooden grate, or large plate over the top
of the fish to hold it under the brine. Always keep the brine and fish cool. If you do not have enough refrigerator space,
use an Igloo type ice chest with about a gallon of ice thrown in, and monitor the temperature to ensure that is stays
below 40°F. Soak salmon in brine recipe for 12 hours, stirring the fish a few times during the brining process.

Step 4: GLAZING
Place fish in a single layer on non-stick coated jerky racks (coated with a non-stick cooking spray), or drying racks and
ensure that the pieces DON'T touch each other. Air dry in the refrigerator until a hard pellicle forms. Fish will have
a tough shiny coat and will be slightly tacky to the touch. Turn the fish over 2-3 times during the Glazing process to
ensure more complete glazing. It is during the glazing process that you can sprinkle on certain spices (e.g. cayenne pepper)
and/or visual enhancers (e.g. parsley flakes). (Winter time tip! Dry 12-36 hours in a cold place such as an unheated garage,
but DON'T allow to freeze).

Step 5: SMOKING
Smoke using the following Bradley Smoking guideline: (alder, cherry, or apple bisquettes).


100°-120°F for 1-2 hours, then increase to
140° for 2-4 hours, then increase to
175° for 1-2 hours to finish
Comments:
Use the longer times given for thicker/higher oil content fish. As a general rule, the higher temp you use or the longer
you hot smoke, the more the meat cooks the oils out, HOWEVER, the meat becomes dryer/tougher in the process.

NOTE: I've "accidentally" left meat (silver salmon) at the 140-150°F range for up to 8 hours and it still turned out great.
I personally believe that you'd have to try REAL hard to make a batch of smoked salmon unpalatable by over smoking/cooking.
If you get white "boogers" on the meat, you're cooking too high/too fast.

Others that have used this recipe have applied smoke from 1.5-5 hours, depending on personal preferences. Most smokers are
using 1.5-2 hours of smoke.

TIPS:
"To skin or not to skin?!?!" "I honestly think that this is a matter of personal preference for most of the salmon.
I find that it does seem to help hold the meat together when processing, especially when using the small uniform size
strips I smoke, but I don't think it's REALLY necessary........EXCEPT with Kings!! In their case, I believe that the skin
helps retain the oils that make the meat so moist and permeates the smoke flavor better when packaged."

Storage- Can leftovers can be frozen? "Freeze it and it just gets better. I actually prefer the salmon AFTER it's been
frozen several months than I do fresh out of the smoker....the smoke flavor just seems to permeate the meat along with
the oils and make it more moist than when it's fresh outta the Bradley."

Why not smoke the full filet? "When smoking large fillets, which I hardly ever do except for special gift packages,
having the skin off makes for a better presentation and is easier to serve for guests to eat. I don't smoke whole fillets
that often because it takes a special "small" size fish ("Jack salmon") and I don't catch those as often, (And if you
believe THAT....!!)" (Also refer to Step #2)

How much salmon will this recipe brine? "I still don't use scales to weigh anything so my best guess is about 8-10 Bradley
racks of strips per gallon. It's easy and quick to mix up so I put the fish strips in the Igloo first, and then mix brine
until it's all covered. Then I put a weighted grid on top of the meat to keep it all under the brine, mixing it up every
so often."

Do you smoke at the above temps/times sequentially in that order, or are those 3 choices for different outcomes?
"Yes, they are meant to be used sequentially in the order printed. I use a version of these temp/times, adjusting each
as I remember to check the gauge/clock E.G., if I see the temp is rising slower than I want, I go longer, if rising too
fast - less time. I also vary these temp/times according to the fish.....e.g. silvers are shorter cause they tend to be
less oily, where kings , (my personal favorite), go longer and slightly hotter. I don't think I've EVER hit each and every
temp time EXACTLY as Bradley gives, but I aim for them with each batch....they're a good guideline. If you tend to be OCD
about smoking, they are a pretty reliable objective to use until you get your own rythym...."

Should you rinse the salmon before air drying? "I don't....but then again, I've never seen the "chunks" mentioned.
I really mix up the ingredients to dissolve better before putting in the fish....maybe that's it."

[Quarlow]

This pretty much answers most questions about smoking salmon, but if you have any more just ask someone will answer.

[Habanero Smoker]

When making whole muscle jerky I don't use a cure salt either, unless I want to use it to alter the taste.

[RAF128]

Jerky is raw meat and should have a cure.   That said most recipes for jerky include several spices and there's also salt.   Salt is a cure.   I have one recipe and the major ingredient is Soy sauce which is full of salt.   When someone says you don't need a cure it's because their recipe has salt in it.   

[chiroken]

Thanks everyone and thanks for the salmon info. We'll see how it all turns out this weekend!