Question on measurements for a recipe

[RAF128]

For a long time I've had a recipe for Montreal smoked meat which I've wanted to try.  I've had the brisket for a while and just haven't got to it.  Decided I'd better do it so have been going over the recipe.  All the measurement for the ingredients are in ounces.  I wish they had been in tablespoons or teaspoons.   For instance.  2 ounces of prague #1 powder ???.   6 ounces of Kosher salt.  Should I get a scale or does someone know how to convert it.   Or is it measured in ounces because of the different densities of the different ingredients?

[Ka Honu]

Measure recipe ingredients by weight instead of volume whenever possible. In this case, different grinds of salt have different densities so the amount in 1 tablespoon of Kosher or sea salt for example is different from the amount in a tablespoon of table salt. An ounce of any of them, however, has the same amount of salt.

[RAF128]

Measure recipe ingredients by weight instead of volume whenever possible. In this case, different grinds of salt have different densities so the amount in 1 tablespoon of Kosher or sea salt for example is different from the amount in a tablespoon of table salt. An ounce of any of them, however, has the same amount of salt.

That's kind of what I thought

[tskeeter]

RAF128, I agree with Ka Honu about using a scale.  In addition to being more accurate, which results in a more consistent product from batch to batch, a scale is much quicker if you are making any amount of sausage.  Which is probably why Kirby sent me his summer sausage recipe as a spreadsheet that calculates the ingredients in ounces and grams based on how many pounds of meat you have.  Kirby and his buddies make sausage in 100 pounds and bigger batches, so weighing  is much easier than measuring out dozens of tablespoons of ingredients.  (By the way, according to the dozens of tasters I've had, Kirby's summer sausage recipe is awesome!  I agree.  Thanks Kirby!)

A scale isn't overly expensive.  I think I paid about $40 for the one I got a few weeks ago to weigh meat.  I also have a smaller (less weight capacity) scale that I use for weighing the spices.  It was about the same cost as the meat scale because the capacity was up to six pounds.  For a dedicated spice scale, you could probably use something with less than a six pound capacity that is a bit less expensive.  Good battery operated scales are available through Amazon, as well as through sausage making supply retailers.   

[beefmann]

agrees with  the others... also on another   note. .buy the  digital scale... there  worth the extra  money and  are  more accurate,  most will do both  lb/  oz and  kilograms  grams just by   pushing a  button.. also has a  zero feature that allows you  to  place a  container on the  scale the n zero the scale for the measurement of the  ingredient being  weighed

[pikeman_95]

Tskeeter

You are right. I use a digital scale to measure the meat. It is a 50 pound hanging digital scale. Most of my meat is kept frozen so I hang a plastic bag on the hook and keep adding frozen packages to the bag until I get the weights that I need. I always thaw a few extra pounds because when the frozen meat thaws and drains I end up with the weight that I want.  I then use a combination of the different small digital gram scales to measure my spices. I have a spice store locally that I just bring my scale with me and weigh the fresh spices. My recipes are on an excel sheet that is set up so that when you enter the weight of the batch that you want to make, it will automatically recalculate the spice weights. I print the recipe for the batch I am going to make and just bring home that amount of spice. When I get a new recipe that uses bulk measurements I convert it to gram weights. One other value in using this sheet is that all the spices and the salt that the recipe calls for are also shown in the percentage that they represent. From experience I know the salt level that we like so if a recipe calls for too high a level of salt I can reduce it to my taste.  You are so much more accurate when you weigh your spices then when you measure them with volume measurements like Tsp. and Tbs. The conversions are easy and to go from a small batch to a large batch is so easy. Tskeeter I am glad you like the summer sausage as do all my friends. If anyone wants this recipe they can contact me at [email protected].

Here is a link that helps convert some of the bulk spice measurements to the gram weight.

http://www.weightbydate.com/calorie/food_spices.htm

Here are some links to some different scales.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rapala+digital+fish+scale&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=7977770047&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10731179703711378914&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_9jp8oj7ek2_b

http://www.harborfreight.com/70-lb-32-kg-digital-postal-scale-95069.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-scale-95364.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-gram-Digital-Scale-60332.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiMTA1ODQwNDIiLCJza3UiOiI2MDMzMiIsImlzIjoiOC45OSIsInByb2R1Y3RfaWQi%0D%0AOiI5MTg2In0%3D%0D%0A

[Habanero Smoker]

Sorry for the late reply. There are several online calculators that can convert volume to weight/weight to volume. Below is a few links I posted about a year ago. Doing a search on google will yield more results.

This is the easiest to use:
Cooking Conversion Calculator

I just noticed they have a new calculator that they is in the beta testing stage:
Cooking Coversion Calculator

The following two are a little more difficult:
Online Spice Calculator

USDA Food List