Questions about cure

[Brisket Lover]

I've been experimenting with my own spices but have questions about the cure.

1. Nesco cure says use meat right away.  High Mountain says wait at least 4 hours up to 24 hours.  Anyone know why there is such a difference?  Is it that HM is sugar based and Nesco is salt based?  Does HM really have to wait 4 hours?  Can I put it in the freezer to wait those 4 hours?

2. I haven't been able to locate TQ anywhere locally. I am traveling to WV and OH over the next week.  Are there any other brand names I can look for to find cure?  I know there is pink salt, but is that a brand name or just a type?

Thank you in advance for your help.

[Gizmo]

Nesco has both cures and seasonings.  I have not used the Nesco products but suspect the 4 hours is related to ground meat.  HM uses overnight/24 hours for whole muscle and the 4 to 24 hours for ground meat.  I assume that mixed into ground meat, cure would be able to work faster since it in essence is contacting all of the meat from the beginning.  Whole meat, the cure has to soak into the center which is why the thicker the slices, the longer the cure should be.

[Stargazer]

Brisket Lover, I always use Insta Cure #1 when needing to use cures "unless dry cured". Basic rule of thumb is one level teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat, unless making a brine for a ham.

Insta Cure #1 is the fine pink powdery salt you probably heard of. Called different names through out Europe but basically the same thing.

You can find Insta Cure #1 at many sausage companies but made and sold at

http://www.sausagemaker.com

and their Insta Cure #1

http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1707

Make sure you don't get this confused with Insta Cure #2. Thats for dry cured meats that take a long time and they are not interchangeable.

Technically you should keep your cured meats in an area between 36°-40° F. Any colder the cure stops doing its job "26°-28° for meat to freeze I believe". But for jerky, to be honest I never found a problem just making that big meat cake and popping into the freezer right after. Maybe the hotter blends because sometimes the longer you marinade or cure the nice hot and spicy stuff the hotter it gets in time but honestly I never experimented with that compared with freezing and letting it sit before freezing.

Might not be a bad idea though to let cure first, then freeze?

You mentioned you are going to be in West Virgina and Ohio area next week. Any chance you will be in Northern Kentucky at all? If so, I have loads of Insta Cure #1 willing to just give ya if you happen to pop over my neck of the woods.

I always keep a 5lbs bucket of it around, and every time I order their brand jerky blends they always send a nice size package of Insta Cure #1 with it, so I kind of got Insta Cure #1 coming out the ears right now :P

Have about erm, 4 or 5 packets willing to give up, about 2oz a piece and some from my bucket. Alittle goes along way so that much should last a long time unless you start going jerky, bacon, ham and brat wild :D

If not in my area, and also more comfortable with the Mortons tender quick, I know the Meijers store by me carries it, so Im just assuming all Meijer stores carry it I guess.

Just let me know :D

[Brisket Lover]

Hey SG  and Gizmo ya this is for ground beef jerky and thanks SG for the offer and info.  Unfortunately I wont be that far south, just in Northern WV.  I'm going to hunt for the salts because I ran out just as I was making jerky last night so I did 2lbs instead of 3.

Also I found a new way to make it.  I put 1lb of cured seasoned gb in a 1 gallon ziplock and after 4 hours I rolled it flat still in the bag and stuck it in the freezer until firm.  Sliced open the bag, used a pizza cutter and put it the dehydrator. 

This time it was a bit liquidy because I added a bunch of sweet chili sauce to the HM sweet/spicy mix.  I haven't tried it yet but it smells great.

[NePaSmoKer]

Nesco has whats like insta cure, used it a few times with their mix. never needed to wait longer than 15 mins to put in dehydrator or smoker.

Dont use HM cuz its stinks. Sorry

Cure #1 is for use when your going to smoke.

Cure #2 is for dry curing.

nepas

[jayluft]

Okay, I have question that hopefully someone can answer. I'm not 100% sure on when to use my cure, so this is what I've done the last couple of batches of slim jim's that I've made.  I grind my meat with a coarse blade and just prior to the second grind in a finer blade, I add my seasoning (no cure).  I grind the meat fine (with seasoning) and place it back in the refridgerator for overnight.  Prior to "making my sticks", I mix up the cure and add it at that point.  Is this wrong?  Can I just mix the cure (pink) and seasoning all together and let it all sit overnight?

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Jayluft;

Welcome to the forum.

I can't say your method is wrong; just make sure you mix it well to ensure the cure is evenly distributed. Using the example of the way you prepare sausage, I would add the cure at the time the seasoning is added. The reasoning is that this will give the cure time to evenly distribute itself through out the ground meat.

[NePaSmoKer]

Okay, I have question that hopefully someone can answer. I'm not 100% sure on when to use my cure, so this is what I've done the last couple of batches of slim jim's that I've made.  I grind my meat with a coarse blade and just prior to the second grind in a finer blade, I add my seasoning (no cure).  I grind the meat fine (with seasoning) and place it back in the refridgerator for overnight.  Prior to "making my sticks", I mix up the cure and add it at that point.  Is this wrong?  Can I just mix the cure (pink) and seasoning all together and let it all sit overnight?

Hi jay

Adding the cure to the water and other ingredients is the best way. This way its all Incorporated into the GB. I use a medium plate when i make sticks (slim Jim's) It makes stuffing easier. Also if you stuff the casings right after mixing its easier too. Then put sticks in fridge. If you mix then fridge the mix will be cold and sorta solid and make it harder to stuff the next day.

I also should mention that the water should be distilled. Tap or city water has chemicals added that can affect your sticks. Just buy a gallon of distilled and keep it in the fridge.

Hope this helps some.

nepas

[sherlock]

Adding the cure to the water and other ingredients is the best way. This way its all Incorporated into the GB. I use a medium plate when i make sticks (slim Jim's) It makes stuffing easier. Also if you stuff the casings right after mixing its easier too. Then put sticks in fridge. If you mix then fridge the mix will be cold and sorta solid and make it harder to stuff the next day.

nepas

nepas
If I understand correctly, you grind, add seasonings and cure, mix, stuff right away , and place in the fridge to cure. Right?


I did some sausage one time that I cured overnight and when it came time to stuff it, it was like trying to stuff a marshmellow up a hogs behind. If my understanding above is correct, I will be inyour debt once again.
Sherlock

[NePaSmoKer]

Adding the cure to the water and other ingredients is the best way. This way its all Incorporated into the GB. I use a medium plate when i make sticks (slim Jim's) It makes stuffing easier. Also if you stuff the casings right after mixing its easier too. Then put sticks in fridge. If you mix then fridge the mix will be cold and sorta solid and make it harder to stuff the next day.

I also should mention that the water should be distilled. Tap or city water has chemicals added that can affect your sticks. Just buy a gallon of distilled and keep it in the fridge.

Hope this helps some.

nepas

nepas
If I understand correctly, you grind, add seasonings and cure, mix, stuff right away , and place in the fridge to cure. Right?
Sherlock

Right

It just makes stuffing the casings easier. If you grind, mix and refridge, stuffing the next day is kinda tough because the mix will be cold and not as workable with your hand crank stuffer. Now if your stuffer is motorized thats different  ;D

nepas

nepas

[Mr Walleye]

I do the same as NePas.... Mix, Stuff, then into the fridge over night.

Mike

[jayluft]

NePas and Mr. Walleye, thanks. That was exactly what I was looking for.  Let me ask you this one more question.  Same way if you don't use casings?

My work buddies are in love with the links I output through my stuffer and 3/8" nozzel - without casing.  I only use the casing for the larger links/sausages.  If I mix as you indicated and extrude without casing, do you think if I wrap them fairly well with Saran wrap, place in the fridge overnight, that would work as well?  (I was trying to find a way to have the dry seasoning "marinate" with the grinded meat, prior to smoking/drying.

[Mr Walleye]

Jay

I've never made any without casings but I think it's worth a try. The main thing is to mix you spices and cure with some cold water, then mix with the meat, stuff or in your case extrude, then into the fridge. Maybe you could line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap and lay them all on that, once it's full just cover in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge. Just a thought.

Mike

[Habanero Smoker]

I make my sausage different. I cut the meat into strips, then mix the seasoning and cure with the meat and let that sit overnight. If the recipe calls for powdered milk, fermento or soy protein, I do not add that ingredient at that time. The following day I will grind the meat. With the meat sitting all night and then being ground, this insure the seasonings and cure are mix in well. You can even forgo the overnight marinating. Then mix in powdered milk, fermento or soy protein; and any liquid the recipe calls for. At this point you can extrude without casings and begin smoking/cooking right away.

[kingsize]

This may be stupid question.. but what is this "cure"? Why is it used? I am asking because this is first time I heard this.

???

EDIT: for example this one: Insta Cure #1