- Aug 27, 2008
- 5,170
- 409
Yeah, 90* drying temp without cure? I'd run from that one, or else I may be running to the porcelain goddess!
OK, here's what I came up with:
If you like the marinade recipe you're using now, and are firm in continuing with that flavor profile while maintaining a similar or identical sodium content when switching to a wet-cure, you'll need to know exactly how much salt is added per pound of meat separately (if any additional table salt or kosher salt is used) along with how much you are adding with the worsty/soy and any other products.
You need to find similar values of measurement in order to create a formulation. Proceeded as follows:
1) on the nutritional values label, find the sodium content per serving (will be listed as mg or g...hopefully not the latter) and the serving size (will be listed as tsp or Tbsp) on the labels of your worsty/soy/ketchup/Bbq sauce bottles and any spice blends (these usually have added sodium) you are using. Total these amounts;
2) convert this measurement from mg/serving into mg/lb, by multiplying by the amount you add to the marinade per lb of meat;
3) convert the above into measure by volume per the conversion table below (unless you use a scale for weight instead of measure of your marinade additives);
4) find your overall combined sodium used per pound. This is your baseline sodium content to follow in order to formulate a wet-cure recipe and maintain near/exact sodium content in the wet-cure recipe.
5) make any reductions in sodium with low-salt products by re-calculating for the beginning of the wet-cure recipe, then add recommended cure of your choice, per pound measure (convert to g/mg as needed). This is your new sodium content per pound. Compare with original. If still too high, find more reduced salt products and/or remove added salt and reformulate.
Conversions:
1 fl oz = 2 Tbsp (edit)
1 Tbsp = 0.5oz dry-salt (edit)
3 tsp = 1 Tbsp
1 ounce = 28.35 grams (g)
1 gram = 1,000 milligrams (mg)
Salt weighs 0.5oz (14.175g) / (14,750 mg) per (level) Tablespoon
So, this should bring everything onto the table, and you/we can dissect what's going into the recipe for sodium to replace some of the currently used sodium with a cure-mix and keep it close to, if not identical when the recipe is converted from your current brine/marinade to a wet-cure.
Now, there is one possible issue which could bite us here, and that is the fact that you have so much added sauce/liquid. I have to wonder it a cure will still work properly with all that going on, but if there isn't a whole lot of free liquid with the meat when everything is in there mixed up, it could still be a viable process. I may need to get a moderator or two on this and see what they think.
Anyway, the above process to convert and calculate should cover that end...hopefully the cure will work with the other ingredients...that may be the question of the day.
EDIT: I just asked myself that question and don't see a problem with it because of some of my wet-cures for corned beef pastrami were very heavily laden with spices...not a paste, but very dark with a lot of solids in the solution, and the end results were beatiful, with fully cured meat, so I think we're good to go. It will take some extra time over what a clear wet-cure solution will require.
Eric
Had a couple brain farts on the conversion chart, or typos...anyway, fixed it.
OK, here's what I came up with:
If you like the marinade recipe you're using now, and are firm in continuing with that flavor profile while maintaining a similar or identical sodium content when switching to a wet-cure, you'll need to know exactly how much salt is added per pound of meat separately (if any additional table salt or kosher salt is used) along with how much you are adding with the worsty/soy and any other products.
You need to find similar values of measurement in order to create a formulation. Proceeded as follows:
1) on the nutritional values label, find the sodium content per serving (will be listed as mg or g...hopefully not the latter) and the serving size (will be listed as tsp or Tbsp) on the labels of your worsty/soy/ketchup/Bbq sauce bottles and any spice blends (these usually have added sodium) you are using. Total these amounts;
2) convert this measurement from mg/serving into mg/lb, by multiplying by the amount you add to the marinade per lb of meat;
3) convert the above into measure by volume per the conversion table below (unless you use a scale for weight instead of measure of your marinade additives);
4) find your overall combined sodium used per pound. This is your baseline sodium content to follow in order to formulate a wet-cure recipe and maintain near/exact sodium content in the wet-cure recipe.
5) make any reductions in sodium with low-salt products by re-calculating for the beginning of the wet-cure recipe, then add recommended cure of your choice, per pound measure (convert to g/mg as needed). This is your new sodium content per pound. Compare with original. If still too high, find more reduced salt products and/or remove added salt and reformulate.
Conversions:
1 fl oz = 2 Tbsp (edit)
1 Tbsp = 0.5oz dry-salt (edit)
3 tsp = 1 Tbsp
1 ounce = 28.35 grams (g)
1 gram = 1,000 milligrams (mg)
Salt weighs 0.5oz (14.175g) / (14,750 mg) per (level) Tablespoon
So, this should bring everything onto the table, and you/we can dissect what's going into the recipe for sodium to replace some of the currently used sodium with a cure-mix and keep it close to, if not identical when the recipe is converted from your current brine/marinade to a wet-cure.
Now, there is one possible issue which could bite us here, and that is the fact that you have so much added sauce/liquid. I have to wonder it a cure will still work properly with all that going on, but if there isn't a whole lot of free liquid with the meat when everything is in there mixed up, it could still be a viable process. I may need to get a moderator or two on this and see what they think.
Anyway, the above process to convert and calculate should cover that end...hopefully the cure will work with the other ingredients...that may be the question of the day.
EDIT: I just asked myself that question and don't see a problem with it because of some of my wet-cures for corned beef pastrami were very heavily laden with spices...not a paste, but very dark with a lot of solids in the solution, and the end results were beatiful, with fully cured meat, so I think we're good to go. It will take some extra time over what a clear wet-cure solution will require.
Eric
Had a couple brain farts on the conversion chart, or typos...anyway, fixed it.
Last edited: