... Pete is correct.....
There are many recipes that have misprints or in general errors that seemingly come out of thin air....
For a brine solution.... weigh the meat.. weigh 50% of the meat weight in water.... TOTAL the weight of meat and water.... Gently heat the water to infuse and dissolve stuff... 2-3% salt... 1-2% white sugar.... add spices to taste... Cool the liquid below 40 deg. F and add 0.25% cure #1.... White sugar can be substituted using other sweeteners.... DO NOT USE COLAS... Cola supposedly has some reaction with nitrite... I can't find what that reaction is, BUT, the article states do not mix cure #1 with colas...
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/239348/brine-curing-and-adding-a-cola-to-the-brine
Filter out the spices so they won't plug the needle we will inject with...
Inject as much of the brine/cure liquid as the meat will take... submerge in the brine/cure for at least a week and longer if convenient.... Inject at 1.5" intervals, in all directions to insure complete infusion of the brine...
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For sausage...... Weigh the meat and refrigerate (of course)... 1.1 grams per pound ( 0.25% weight of the meat) of cure #1..... (2%) salt, (1%) sugar, spices (What I start with on my first batch, then adjust in the furure)
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For BACON .... Brining, it's pretty hard to inject so submerge for 14 refrigerated days.... Rinse, dry, let rest in refer up to 7 more days on a wire rack... Then smoke as you would... I recommend cold smoking.. below 70 deg. F for 4 hours to as long as you like.. include up to 16 hours between smoking sessions...
Bacon using a dry rub... Use the sausage recipe but you can add up to 1.45 grams cure #1 per pound... Cure in the refer for 14 days... rinse and dry on wire rack for 7 additional days in the refer... cold smoke and refer again for 7 days to allow for flavor enhancement.... This is the method I use and so far, the best bacon I have made...
SEASONINGS USED IN MEAT PROCESSING
Seasonings are normally parts of plants which flavour food. The trade in and the processing of spices has developed into an important support industry for food processing enterprises in order to meet consumer preferences. Mixtures of seasonings were developed in order to serve as flavouring agents for various meat products.
Natural spices, herbs and vegetable bulbs are the main groups of seasonings and are described hereunder.
Natural spices
The term "natural spices" includes dried rootstocks, barks, flowers or their parts and fruits or seeds of different plants. The most important natural spices used in processed meat products are
pepper,
paprika,
nutmeg,
mace,
cloves,
ginger,
cinnamon,
cardamom,
chilli,
coriander,
cumin and
pimento. The most common natural spice in sausage making is pepper. Spices are mainly used in the ground form with particle sizes from 0.1 to 1 mm.
Fig. 113: Origin of natural spices
Herbs
Herbs are dried leaves of plants grown in temperate climates. The major herbs used in processed meat products are
basil,
celery,
marjoram,
oregano,
rosemary and
thyme.
Vegetable bulbs
The main natural seasonings originating from vegetable bulbs and used in processed meat products are
onions and
garlic.
Extracts
Natural spices are often
contaminated with high numbers of microorganisms, in particular spores, due to their production process. This may become a problem for the stability of the meat products. The microbial load of spices can be reduced by
irradiation or
fumigation. Such treatments are not allowed everywhere. Another option is the use of spices extracts.
Extracts are produced by separating the flavour-intensive fractions through physico-chemical procedures (e.g. steam distillation) which results in germ-free flavouring substances. Extracts are preferably used in viscous liquid or oily form. Due to the absence of microorganisms, extracts are specifically recommended for the production of microbiologically sensitive processed meat products, such as cured-cooked hams or cured-cooked beef cuts.
Procession and handling
Most spices used in meat processing are milled or ground. The milling method used affects the quality of the spices. Spices are normally cold-milled at low temperatures. The raw spices are deep-frozen thus avoiding the loss of oleoresins, aqua-resins and essential oils, which are the active flavour components.
Spices (whole or ground, natural or extractives) should always be kept in a
cool,
dark and
dry place.
They must be stored in tightly
sealed containers or bags to avoid loss of flavour.
For processing purposes, spices should only be removed from the storage container using a
spice spoon. Under no circumstances should spices be removed by hand as the adhering moisture and germs will lead to contamination, loss of flavour and clotting of the dry mixes.
For all production, spices should be
added by exact weight in order to standardize flavour and taste of the product.
Products, which are consumed hot should be spiced
mildly, as in the hot product higher amount of flavouring agents (oleoresins, aqua-resins and essential oils) will be released.
If spices are added to a product mix under high temperature, the seasoning should be
strong. In case of cold consumption of this product less spice will be released and taste and flavour will be weak if there is not enough seasoning.
Table 3: Common Seasonings used in processed meats
Description and origin
|
Uses
(in gram per 1 kilo of product)
| |
A.
|
SPICES
| |
|
Black/white pepper
Fruits seed
|
Used in a variety (almost all) meat products
1–2.5 g / 1 kg.
|
|
Paprika (Fruit seed)
|
Used in frankfurters, minced specialties and other products. Sometimes used as a colouring agent. 1-5 g / 1 kg.
|
|
Chilli (Fruit seed)
|
For spicy products
|
|
Pimento (Fruit seed)
|
It has an aroma similar to a mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Used in a variety of sausage products. Sometimes used as a partial replacement for black pepper in frankfurters and some smoked products. 0.3-3.0 g / kg
|
|
Mace (Flower)
|
Used in liver sausages, frankfurters and bologna and similar. 0.4-1.0 g / kg
|
|
Ginger (Rhizome) (Root)
|
Used in frankfurters and similar products. 0.3-0.5 g / kg
|
|
Nutmeg (Fruit seed)
|
Used in bologna and minced ham sausages, frankfurters, liver sausage and gelatinous meat mixes. 0.3-1.0 g / kg
|
|
Clove (Flower)
|
Used in bologna, gelatinous meat mixes and in blood and liver sausage. 0.3-0.5 g / kg
|
|
Cinnamon (Bark)
|
Astringent and sweet, used in some countries in mortadella and bologna sausage. 0.1-0.2 g / kg
|
B.
|
AROMATIC SEEDS
| |
|
Cardamom
|
Rapid loss of aromatic constituents during storage. Used in liver sausage and gelatinous meat mixes. 0.3-5.0 g / kg
|
|
Celery seed
|
Used in fresh pork sausages. 0.3-2.0 g / kg
|
|
Coriander seed
|
Contains about 13% of fatty matter and a trace of tannin. It is used in frankfurters, minced ham, luncheon meat. 0.3-1.0 g / kg
|
|
Cumin
|
Used for meat specialties with distinct flavour.
0.2-0.3 g / kg
|
C.
|
CONDIMENTAL HERBS
| |
|
Marjoram
Thyme
|
Used in liver and white raw-cooked sausages and gelatinous meat mixes. 0.5-2.0 g / kg
|
D.
|
CONDIMENTAL VEGETAB.
| |
|
Onion (Bulb)
|
Used in liver sausage, gelatinous meat mixes, meat loaves. Sometimes replace garlic.
2.0-10.0 g / kg
|
|
Garlic (Bulb)
|
Used in many types of raw-cooked sausages. 0.1-0.2 g /kg
|