Cure and spice calculator

[renoman]

Not sure if anyone has posted this before but I found this cool cure and spice calculator on line.http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-recipes/cure-calculator

[beefmann]

great find... something to  keep handy

[Saber 4]

Thanks for posting, added to my favorites for future use.

[Sailor Fred]

I am new here, but I have been reading some of the previous posts so some of my questions have answered.  While I am not as confused as I was, I guess I'm still curious about formulations, etc.  So here goes:
1. Cure #1 - Seems like the amount per gallon is all over the map.  For example, a local butcher and what seems to be a respected website indicated 1 teaspoon per 5 lbs of meat.  Recommendations I have seen here are more like 17 tsp. (approx. 3 oz) per gallon of brine.
2. Salt and time - I have also noticed a range of salt from about 8 oz. per gallon in some of the expert's posts here to 21 oz. in a bacon recipe in the calculator in the link at the top of this thread.  Seems like the more salt, the less time in the brine?
3. Sugar and spice - Is the sugar ratio an important factor?  I've seen everything from 3 tablespoons to 1 lb. I suppose spices are optional and up to the individual?
4. Finally, it would seem to me that if you make 1 gallon of brine, it wouldn't make any difference if you used it for 2 lbs. or 5 lbs. or any amount that the brine will completely cover?
I am trying to produce a British style bacon so I plan to follow general directions from expert's here by going with 1 gallon water, 8 oz. pickling salt, 1/2 cup sugar, 2.5-3 oz Cure #1 and maybe some spices.  I plan to brine this for 4 days, smoke long enough to pick up flavor, and finish in oven to about 155 degrees.
Thanks for any comments and very informative site.

[Habanero Smoker]

1. Cure #1 - Seems like the amount per gallon is all over the map.  For example, a local butcher and what seems to be a respected website indicated 1 teaspoon per 5 lbs of meat.  Recommendations I have seen here are more like 17 tsp. (approx. 3 oz) per gallon of brine.

In both wet and dry brining (curing); there is  range you can use. Keep in mind that the link to the calculator is for dry brine mix, not for calculating a wet brine. The default 156 PPM it is set for the amount ppm that can be safely used for sausage, and bacons that are fried. I haven't seen amounts all over the map for a wet brine (cure).True when wet brining whole muscle meat, there is a range you can use, depending on what you want your end result to be. The range is approximately 1.5 - 4.2 (4.8 is amounts you will find in Kutas books ) ounces per gallon of liquid. I have another post that explains the different results you should expect from using different amounts. I like to use 3 - 3.2 ounces per gallon.

Can you provide the link. The amount your local butcher gives is one used in formulas for a dry brine (cure). The one teaspoon per five pound, is the  amount of cure used for sausage or other comminuted meat, or in many dry cure recipes for whole muscle meats, but keep in mind when using a dry brine (cure) for whole muscle meat you can use as much as four times the amount of cure that you use in sausage or other comminuted meat. For example, when curing a brisket flat for pastrami, you can use as much as 4 teaspoons per 5 pounds of meat, but I get good results using 1 teaspoon per 5 pound.

2. Salt and time - I have also noticed a range of salt from about 8 oz. per gallon in some of the expert's posts here to 21 oz. in a bacon recipe in the calculator in the link at the top of this thread.  Seems like the more salt, the less time in the brine?

In a wet brine, the more salt the shorter the brining time. It is important to know that the calculator the link is directing you to is for dry brining only. Wet brining has a more complex calculator and is based on the amount of liquid not meat weight. You really don't need to calculate the ppm's in a wet bring unless you need to know the ppm you want the finish product to have.

3. Sugar and spice - Is the sugar ratio an important factor?  I've seen everything from 3 tablespoons to 1 lb. I suppose spices are optional and up to the individual?

Sugar is not need at all, but it helps mask the salt taste, so there is a balance in taste. It is a personal choice. In a wet brine, I've seen the ratio of sugar to salt anywhere from .5 (or lower) : 1 ratio to 1 : 1 ration. But you don't want to make it too sweet. A safe place to start is use 30% - 50% sugar as you do salt. Spices are optional

4. Finally, it would seem to me that if you make 1 gallon of brine, it wouldn't make any difference if you used it for 2 lbs. or 5 lbs. or any amount that the brine will completely cover?

Generally that is true. The weight of the brine can cure up to 60% more than it's weight (don't quote me on that, it's been a long time since I've referred to that information but it is close. :) ). So for example, let say your brine weighs 10 pounds, you can safely cure 16 pounds of meat.

I am trying to produce a British style bacon so I plan to follow general directions from expert's here by going with 1 gallon water, 8 oz. pickling salt, 1/2 cup sugar, 2.5-3 oz Cure #1 and maybe some spices.  I plan to brine this for 4 days, smoke long enough to pick up flavor, and finish in oven to about 155 degrees.

Looks like a good formula. The more cure you use the more ham like flavor, the amount of salt is what I like to use, the meat doesn't requiring any soaking. For a loin your brining time looks good. The only thing I would suggest is to finish it to an internal temperature or 142 - 145°F.

[Sailor Fred]

Thanks Habanero for answering my questions and for pointing out these distinctions so specifically - especially the differences in wet vs. dry proportions.  By the way, I based my recipe on some of your older posts.  I'll lt you know how this turns out.

[KyNola]

Had to go look up the word "comminuted" as I had never heard of it and certainly never seen it on this forum before. I'm confident I am the only person who didn't know what that meant so I learned a new word today. According to the dictionary it means "to pulverize, triturate, powdered or "divided into small parts".

I'll just assume that means ground meat. ;)

[Habanero Smoker]

Had to go look up the word "comminuted" as I had never heard of it and certainly never seen it on this forum before. I'm confident I am the only person who didn't know what that meant so I learned a new word today. According to the dictionary it means "to pulverize, triturate, powdered or "divided into small parts".

I'll just assume that means ground meat. ;)

Yes! That word will cover ground meat. I included that word in my description, because Marianski uses that word in the first sentence on the Cure Calculator page.  It is a word you will come across in all Marianski's books.

[renoman]

Same website. Their page on curing. Probably the most straight forward explanation I have found (except Habanero's). I too was very confused about curing as the recipes you can find are all over the map.

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-making/curing