Finally found some curing salt in my hometown

[devo]

Man you would not believe how hard it was to find curing salt up here in northern Ontario. I went to lots of places I figured would carry it but none to be found. Now if my brain was in gear I would have tried the butcher I buy most of my meat from in the first place. He had bags of it in a big tub. Guess he buys in bulk and breaks it down into smaller bags. I bought a small bag for $2.20 for 0.506Kg's.
Is that about right or did I get ripped off.

[squirtthecat]

2-something a pound?  That's a very good price..

What kind of cure is it?   Is it Pink in color?

[devo]

You know what I really was having brain fade today. It is white in colour. When I left I thought i should have asked what it was comparable to. Going to give him a phone call tomorrow and see what he says. I kind of felt like I was buying some white powder that I should hide on my way home   ;D

[squirtthecat]

Yeah, it would be safer to find out what it really is.

[Habanero Smoker]

Also ask him for directions for it's use. He could be using pure Sodium Nitrite, Sodium Nitrate or Potassium Nitrate (saltpeter).

Since you received it from a butcher in bulk; the pink color added to cure #1 and cure #2 is a U.S. industry voluntary standard, and for commercial use the dye is often not added. So in Canada, other countries, and commercial use these cures can be white in color.

[devo]

Stopped in at the butchers this morning. He told me he use's 7 1/2 grms per pound of meat. Didnt tell me what kind of curing salt it was but said that was the recommended amount. Said you can adjust it a 1/2 grm either way for taste.
So 1.0 tsp salt = 6.375grms on my scale I would need 1 tsp plus a pinch  ;)

[Habanero Smoker]

My scale measured 7g for one teaspoon, so you measurement is accurate. At the rate of 1 teaspoon per pound that is 5x the amount you would use for cure #1. So follow his instructions for that particular cure. If you are going to substitute your cure for cure #1 in sausage I would reduce the salt in the recipe by the amount of cure you are adding.

Still it is unknown if he is selling you a blend of salt and nitrite, or salt and nitrate, or salt, nitrite and nitrate. Depending on what the ingredients are, that can extend the amount of curing time. So I still would get more information from him, as to ingredients and curing times.

[Habanero Smoker]

I just realize one other thing. Make sure you understood the butcher's instructions correctly. He may have said one teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat for sausage making. If he said that, the cure will be cure #1.

[devo]

Thanks for the info bud. All he told me was 7 1/2 gms per lb of meat. Told him I was going to try and make some jerky this week and he said that measurement was perfect for jerky as that is what he uses for making jerky only on a much larger scale then I would be doing.

[Kamhillbilly]

Where in Northern Ontario are you located?

[devo]

Just outside of Thunder Bay. I thinking you might not be to far from me. If "Kamhillbilly" has something to do with where you live  ;D

[monty]

devo i'm in Ottawa and a lot of butchers around here sell 'Readycure' made by Canada Compounds. i did some research and found out it's a mixture of salt, sodium nitrite, and baking soda. i believe that's similar to Morton's Tender Quick found in the US?

note that Readycure only has 1% sodium nitrite compared to the ~6% sodium nitrite in Instacure #1. because of this you'll have to use more Readycure when using it a substitute for cure #1. as Habs mentioned, this could mean significantly more salt than desired.

[Habanero Smoker]

If you zoom in (200% works for my screen & browser) on the label pictured in the below link, you can read the instructions for use:

Readycure

[devo]

My butcher goes way out of his way to answer any questions I might have. His family has been in the business for over 60 years and their store is well known to many. Just the other day he was out helping the Community. Heres an artical that ran in our paper.

Volunteers, staff and clients of Thunder Bay Community Living, from left, Adriana Pilato, Ayden Britton, 8, Tom Britton, Steven Dulude, Dave Maltese of Maltese Grocery, Logan Smith and Sharon Luhtala make sausage Sunday morning at the Windsor Street Boys and Girls Clubs of Thunder Bay.

Three young men learned to make sausages on Sunday at the Thunder Bay Boys and Girls Club, with help from Community Living Thunder Bay.
Community Living workers helped Kyle Pientok, Logan Smith and Steven Delude make sausages using equipment provided by Maltese Grocery.
"Bravo, bravo, well done, congratulations," Delude said while the sausages were being churned out.
This was the first time that people supported by Community Living Thunder Bay had a chance to make sausages, to be enjoyed by the producers, their families and the staff who helped on Sunday.
Front-line support worker Ralph Pilato estimated that the crew would make about 100 pounds of sausage.
"They learned to tie the sausage and stuff the casings — they might use that skill in the future," Pilato said.
"Then, they decided how they want it to taste by how much hot pepper and salt they put in it," he said.
The clients were told they can freeze the sausages to eat throughout the year, including at summer barbecues.
That got Pientok, 24, excited.
He said he enjoyed "cranking the wheel" that makes the sausages come out in the casings.
But while it was fun making them, but Pientok said he is looking forward to eating the sausages.
"They're learning how to preserve food and save money,'' said Pilato.
"That's important too; many of the people we support are on (the Ontario Disability Support Program)," he said.
He said he was pleased to see staff members from the Chilton Avenue residence helping to make the morning a success.
"Some people were here on their day off," said Rob Tod, Community Living supervisor.
A few Community Living employees brought their children to help, creating a family feeling at the Boys and Girls Club.

[Kamhillbilly]

Just outside of Thunder Bay. I thinking you might not be to far from me. If "Kamhillbilly" has something to do with where you live  ;D

Between Auto Rd and Mapleward rd