What is the purpose of Morton Tenderquick?

[pmmpete]

I picked up a smoked salmon recipe book, and discovered that some of the recipes specify Morton Tender Quick instead of salt.  What is the purpose of using Morton Tender Quick rather than salt? What (if any) are the advantages of Tender Quick?  Can I just substitute an equal quantity of salt for the Tender Quick specified in the recipes?

Morton's website says this about Tender Quick "This mix is a fast cure product that has been developed as a cure for meat, poultry, game, salmon, shad, and sablefish. It is a combination of high grade salt and other quality curing ingredients that can be used for both dry and sweet pickle curing."  It also says Tender Quick "contains salt, the main preserving agent; sugar, both sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, curing agents that also contribute to development of color and flavor; and propylene glycol to keep the mixture uniform."

[Habanero Smoker]

As stated on their web site, it is a cure; but for the life of me I never understood why they have sodium nitrate in their formula. When they say salt is the main cure, they are going by volume. The sodium nitrite has much more curing properties than salt. The actual breakdown is about; 70% salt, 29% sugar, .05% sodium nitrite, .05% sodium nitrate, less 1% propylene glycol.

When TQ is used, or any cure using sodium nitrite; it depends on the recipe. Usually it is to add at a rate for the sodium nitrate to protect the meat from food borne bacteria. Other uses would be to add color and that cure flavor, which is associated with cured hams, or it could be used in smaller quantities just to add color with no additional flavor or protections from food borne bacteria.

Whether or not you can leave it out of the recipe,  would depend on how the recipe is written. I never use a nitrite in my fish brines (either dry or wet), because it tends to alter the taste. Though not seeing the recipes, I'm not sure why they are adding TQ.

[NePaSmoKer]

[pmmpete]

The book is "Smoking Salmon & Steelhead," by Scott and Tiffany Haugen, which has a lot of interesting looking recipes which I am eager to try.  However, of the wet brine recipes, 21 specify salt, but 16 specify Morton's Tenderquick.  I've never used a brine recipe which specifies nitrite as an ingredient, I don't know why it is desireable to include nitrites in brine, and I'm nervous about using Tenderquick.

[Habanero Smoker]

I'm not familiar with the author's or book. Can you give an example of what ration of TQ is used per gallon of water, and if there is any additional salt in that recipe?

Morton's Tender Quick (TQ), is not a good cure mix to use as a wet brine. According to Morton, TQ is used at a rate of one cup per quart to be an effective cure against most food borne bacteria. With TQ being about 70% salt, that ends up being a lot of salt. You can get around the same protection by just using a 10% brine solution; which I recall is about one pound of salt per gallon of water.

As I mentioned earlier I don't use nitrites for brining fish, and I use less then 10% brine solution, and I realize that one has to prepare food at their own comfort level. If it is used at a rate less then what Morton recommendes it may be for some "ham" like flavor and/or color.

There is nothing to be nervous about; though if you don't want to add something that is not needed that is understandable. On my end I would be concerned about the cost of materials. If you know how to use cure #1 in a wet brine, you can save a lot of money.

[Keymaster]

The book is "Smoking Salmon & Steelhead," by Scott and Tiffany Haugen, which has a lot of interesting looking recipes which I am eager to try.  However, of the wet brine recipes, 21 specify salt, but 16 specify Morton's Tenderquick.  I've never used a brine recipe which specifies nitrite as an ingredient, I don't know why it is desireable to include nitrites in brine, and I'm nervous about using Tenderquick.

I went to High School with Scott Haugen, His Dad was a Teacher and football coach. Scott goes around Cabelas and Teaches Classes on cooking and outdoors now, Oh and writes books and does Hunting stuff. Have not seen or talked to him since High school. Not sure about his Recipe.
He has a Blog and website maybe ask him.

http://www.scotthaugen.com/

[pmmpete]

I have been avoiding brine recipes which use Tenderquick, nitrites, or nitrates, because I have no way of knowing how much nitrite and/or nitrate has been absorbed by the fish.  The regulations and recommendations for smoked fish which address nitrite use typically require or recommend that finished smoked fish contain between 100 ppm and 200 pmm sodium nitrite.  Commercial smokers can test for the levels of nitrite in their smoked fish, and are supposed to develop procedures for smoking fish which keep the nitrite at appropriate levels.  But home smokers like me have no way to test nitrite levels, and no way of knowing how much nitrite has been absorbed by the fish.

For example, if I soak fish in a brine which contains Morton's Tenderquick rather than salt, I can learn through trial and error how long to soak the fish based on how salty the fish tastes.  However, I have no way of knowing how much nitrite has been absorbed by the fish in that time.  And fish may absorb nitrite and nitrate from a wet brine containing Tenderquick at a different rate than they absorb nitrite and nitrate from a dry brine containing Tenderquick.  As a result, I have decided not to use nitrites or Tenderquick in brines. 

The situation is different when using nitrites in sausage, because all of the nitrite you put in the ground meat ends up in the sausage.  Consequently, you can accurately control the nitrite levels in sausage.