Help with Cure

[whitetailfan]

Hello fellow smokers,
I just bought my BS last weekend and have finished seasoning and want to get started - BUT I have read the manual from Bradley as well as all the posts I can find here plus other spots on the net including askthemeatman.com, and I do not understand when a cure is needed to protect your food and I'm concerned that salt will not do the job as indicated in the manual.

I have read some stuff on Sodium Nitrite and that seems to be what real cure is - also known as Prague powder.  Should you always use Nitrite if you are not fully cooking an item?  Can it be added to water or does it need to go on dry?  It is used in such small quantities that I would be concerned about spreading it through properly if you are only doing a few pounds of meat.

Does drying (jerky) really eliminate bacteria?  I would think that it should be cured as well.

I just can't find the answers I need to feel safe and would appreciate any help you can send me.[8D]

John - Lethbridge, AB

[MallardWacker]

WhiteTailFan,

I probably don't have all the answers to make you feel safe, but however these are my two cents worth.

First, I would only use pre made mixes if you are a novice.  You are correct the major portion of these mixes are nitrites.

Secondly, follow the directions.  Any curing directions that I have seen are not hard, BUT you need to follow the directions.  Specificly the amount of cure to pound ratio. (believe you me, more is not always better-to much can basicly make you meat taste like a salt block) The time and temp vs. weight or thickness.  I personally cure my meat in the fridge, I do adjust the temp to be around 42 or 44F.  They say below 39F the curing process may stop.

There is a good place for curing mixes, including from the Morton company.  http://www.butcher-packer.com/ Speaking of Morton salt, their web site has a good info on curing also.  Butcher & Packer seam to be resonable, plus if you are looking for a great boning knife, that is the place to get it.  The knife is from Victorinox, the Swiss Army Knife people, for 15.00 you can't go wrong on this.  Don't buy products from the Morton Salt Company direct, they will take it to in the shorts for shipping.  $14.00 for a couple punds of salt mix is a bit steep.

Even after you do this the first time, you will see what the meat does and how it changes color and what it feels like.  You can do this and be safe.  


SmokeOn,

mski

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know.  But...

[trout]

Both the brines and the dry cures I use contain curing salt (sodium nitrite).  You can also cure meats with morton tenderquick salt.  I have found that you need far far less curing salt than regular salt to do the same amount of meat.  Hence much less salty results.  I would suggest always using a cure to make jerky whether in the smoker or a dehydrator.  Most store bought jerky mixes have curing salt included.  As far as worrying that the small amount of cure won't get to all the meat, just dive in there.  If you are making ground meat jerky or maybe summer sausage, just get in there with your hands and mix and squish it through your fingers like a little kid with playdough.  As long as you let it set to cure for a day, it will soak up all that sodium nitrite and should distribute through the meat.  The only time I don't use a cure is when I am cooking in my smoker.  Like doing chicken pieces or a pork butt at above 200 degrees.   I have also learned by experience that if you are cooking a large item like a turkey in your smoker, you will want to brine it for a period of time to prevent bacteria as it will have to smoke for a long long time.  Hope this helps[:o)]

Let your trout go and smoke a salmon instead.

[whitetailfan]

Thanks Mallard and Trout,
I tried the basic chicken recipe on the weekend.  I tried to find the Sifto QuikCure and no one carried it (did it on a Sunday so the specialty shops were closed).  Did however find Morton Tenderquik, is this basically the same thing?

It started pretty slow, but later on I was getting about 225deg out of the Bradley and cooked it for about 4 hours.  It was a smaller bird, I would guess about 1.5-2 lbs.  Because the temp was high enough I wasn't too concerned that the rub on cure I built out of syrup actually penetrating as I left no time for soaking.

Good first experience, although it was a bit overcooked.  My instant thermometer suggests that poultry get to 180deg

When I do some jerky I will cure it because of the lower cooking temp.  Thanks again.

John - Lethbridge, AB