Nesco jerky cure for making elk pastrami?

[skpeep]

One of the ingredients I need to make pastrami is tender quick, and of course, I can't find it in my town.  I am not going to order it from the internet, because I only need about 2 tablespoons.  I came across some jerky cure that I have laying around.  The ingredients on it are Salt, and Sodium Nitrite (.62%.)  Would I be able to use this in place of the tender quick?  If so, does anybody know if I could just swap them straight across, or would I have use more or less of the cure?  The cure packets are for 1 lb of meat, and I have 2 of them.  Any help is greatly appreciated, I am new to this stuff.

 

[skpeep]

anyone have any ideas?  I have the roast thawed and sitting in my fridge, waiting to be turned in to something delicious.

 

[sb59]

You don't need Tenderquick, any cure#1 ( pink salt) Praque powder will do. You just have to use the correct amount per pound for the cure you are using and add the necessary spices for a pastrami blend.

http://www.myspicesage.com/corned-beef-spices-p-99.html

If you use the packets you mention you can only do 2 pounds of meat, using the mix as a dry rub with the necessary spices. No matter what brand cure you have, meat is meat. If it only does 1 lb. of jerky it only does 1 lb. of snack stick,summer sausage,whole meat,etc.

If you have trouble getting Tenderquick in your area but you can get cure# 1 you can use Pop's brine recipe and simply add spices to the brine and the meat before smoking to make a pastrami.

 

[skpeep]

Alright, well I am not sure if any of the local places will have cure #1 if they didn't have tenderquick.  My choices to buy things are Safeway, Albertsons, and Wal - Mart.  I just want to know if the cure I have will work.  It has two ingredients: salt, and sodium nitrite (.62%)  It is not pink, it is white.  I have two packets of it (~2 T. total)  I am only wanting to do a 1.5 lb elk roast, so, I don't see any reason to order a 2 lb bag of tenderquick, or a big package of #1.

 

[daveomak]

I'd rather not guess at the cure.... For health safety, order some cure #1 from a meat packing place or Amazon or The Sausage Maker or Bass Pro....

Cure #1 will allow for a greater range of salt to add to your food.... Using Tender Quick limits the amount of salt you can add.... some think it's too salty....

Cure #1, add 1 level tsp. or 5.6 grams per 5 #'s of meat... or 1.1 grams per pound..... then I adjust the salt to about 2%... depends on personal preference....

 

[daveomak]

Alright, well I am not sure if any of the local places will have cure #1 if they didn't have tenderquick.  My choices to buy things are Safeway, Albertsons, and Wal - Mart. 

I've seen cure #1 at WM.... in sporting good.... back with the smokers and seasoning packets.... buy a grams scale while you are there so you can accurately dispense the cure.... a scale with a total range of about 100 to 500 grams would work very well...... like a postage scale....


something like this

 

[sb59]

The link on my above post also sells cure#1 along with any spices you may need for any recipes. They also ship anywhere in USA for free. Not pushing them as I don't know them personally, but I have used them with no complaints and it sure makes smoking easier when you can get what you need in one place.

BTW, I happen to have some deer meat curing in Pop's brine for corned beef ( er venison ) as I type.

 

[skpeep]

According to the website, it looks like Sportsmans Warehouse does carry pink curing salt.  I just hope it is in my local store.  I wanna get this roast brining, my mouth is already watering for a pastrami on rye about a week from now.

 

[boykjo]

Cure #1 is 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% salt. Are you reading the package right. I think this is what you have. Where did you get your recipe and is it a reputable one. Like dave said dont guess at cure and dont interchange cures. Follow the recipe. If you have time, shoot me your name and address in a PM and I'll mail you some TQ. I have a case of it.

Joe

 

[sb59]

 
According to the website, it looks like Sportsmans Warehouse does carry pink curing salt.  I just hope it is in my local store.  I wanna get this roast brining, my mouth is already watering for a pastrami on rye about a week from now.

I would call first, they also show Tenderquick on the site. Many times they simply act as a middleman and have items shipped from vendors with a small mark up!

 

[themule69]

You may also be able to get some from a butcher shop. I remember when I thought I only needed a spoon full of TQ or cure 1. That was several pounds of TQ and cure 1 ago.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[skpeep]

I plan on calling sportsmans as soon as they open.  If they do not have it in store, I guess I will just go ahead and buy some from amazon, I am sure the roast will be fine sitting in the fridge for a couple more days. If I do end up ordering some, would you recommend pink salt or tenderquick?

 

[sb59]

If you can get them get both. You will find you will get plenty of use with diff. recipes. Also check out Bearcarvers recipes on this site. He's a go to for Tenderquick recipes. If as I suspect you have the analog smoker ( Go to Masterbuilt site ) check out mods. for your model. I saw in roll call your smoking plans and for doing trout or jerky and anything else with smoker temps between 160 & 180 you will have to at least put a disposable drip pan on lower shelf to block direct heat fron element or you will grill your meat before it gets much smoke flavor.

 

[daveomak]

I plan on calling sportsmans as soon as they open.  If they do not have it in store, I guess I will just go ahead and buy some from amazon, I am sure the roast will be fine sitting in the fridge for a couple more days. If I do end up ordering some, would you recommend pink salt or tenderquick?

I would recommend Cure #1.... It is more flexible when making up "recipes".... Bacon uses from 0.78 - 0.87 grams per pound in a brine and up to 1.45 grams per pound when a dry rub is use... depends whether skin is on or off.... then you can adjust the salt accordingly....
You do not have that flexibility with Morton's Tender Quick....