Universal Cure Calculator.........

[daveomak]

 
Very usefull any chance of a guide to brine times?  For instance would brine times for a 1kg  salmon fillet be the same for 1kg of pork belly of the same thickness?

Usually a brine penetrates meat at the rate of 1/4" per day.....  Now that's from both sides of the meat...   I'm speaking of pork and beef now....    If you use a very salty brine, a shorter time in the brine and then a rest in the refer for a day or so, for the meat to come to equilibrium is in order...   Salmon is a different "animal" ....  I dry brine salmon....  I weigh 2% salt and sprinkle it over the fish.... in the fridge for a couple days, rinse and dry.... pellicle formation... then smoke.... 

When brining, I prefer an equilibrium brine so I can't overly salt the meat......

An equilibrium brine is..............

Weigh the meat, weigh the water, I like 1.5 - 2% salt depending on the meat....   add 2% salt for the given weight of water and meat...  let it ride.... in the refer for days following the thickness guide...   as a rule, use as little water as possible so the brine is a really salty concentration....  brines work better that way....

Dave

 

[Motorguy]

I've had a couple folks ask about equilibrium brining, below is a brief description that I wrote up.

Equilibrium brining is a method of brining that makes it impossible to over-salt or over-cure meat when using a reasonable percentage of salt and the proper amount of cure. In equilibrium brining the submerged meat and the cover brine (or cover brine and injected brine, in larger pieces of meat) act as a single system and are considered a single unit when calculating salt, sugar and cure amounts. Over time, the ingredients in the brine migrate into the meat until levels in the meat tissue and in the brine are balanced via osmosis and diffusion. Therefore, the calculation for ingoing salt, sugar and cure is based on the weight of the meat plus the weight of the water or other liquid used in the brine.

~Martin

Hi Martin. I have a beef jerky marinade I have used in the past for immediate consumption so I didn't worry about curing. I want to make a large batch that will be stored for a bit so I think curing is appropriate. If I understand correctly, your calculator can be used for brining by adding the weight of the liquid to the weight of the meat to enter into the calculator.

Here are my questions, normally, I only marinade the already sliced beef for about 2 hours which seems to be plenty of time for the meat to absorb the flavors. Is there a specific period of time beyond that I would need to marinade? Second, I rely on the salts in the marinade ingredients and don't add any additional salt. Can I ignore the salt amount the calculator specifies?

Thanks.

Jeff

 

[bigwheel]

If I was going to try this I would use a cup of Mortons Tender Quck and a cup of sugar per gallon of water. Overnight soak should be about right. Should be enough for 10-12 pounds of meat strips. Best of fortunes. Keep the brine ice  cold.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...at-preparation/jerky-and-food-safety/ct_index

 

[diggingdogfarm]

jsk53,

Yes, ignore the salt in the calculator in your case and jerky will cure VERY quickly when sliced thin.



HTH


~Martin

 

[samcanadian]

Hi guys, first post here.

I'm in Canada, and the form of Instacure we have here is what apparently is called Prague Powder 5-200.

The directions on the bag are as follows: Use at 0.31% to achieve 200ppm nitrite in the finished Raw product.  Use at 0.18% to achieve 120 ppm nitrite in the finished raw product.  This prague powder contains 6.4% nitrite and 92.5% salt

Now, will there be that much difference in 6.4% Nitrite in this product and the 6.25% in typical Instacure #1...especially when we are dealing in 5-10lbs of meat MAX?  Like, I'm not even sure if I'd be able to measure it that accurately to make a difference.

But, to get back to my question...do you have your calculator with an unlocked Nitrite bar so I could plus that 6.4% number in?

 

[daveomak]

Sam, afternoon.....

6.25 / 6.4 = 0.977

Soooooo, if you use Martins calculator, multiply the final number by 0.977 to get the correct number for your 6.4% nitrite cure...

Most stuff recommends 156 Ppm nitrite MAX... ground meats for sausage etc..... by our USDA.... FDA.... or whoever they are...

Bacon skinless 120 Ppm.... skin on 108 Ppm.... those are max numbers.... Dave


Do you know what the other 1.1% is in the mix ????

 

[diggingdogfarm]

@Samcanadian
I don't currently have the unlocked version set up.
You can use the calculator as is and just multiply the calculated cure amount by 0.9765 (6.25/6.40=0.9765) to determine the amount of 6.4% cure to use.

HTH

~Martin

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Oops...Dave just barely beat me too it!!!! :biggrin:


~Martin

 

[daveomak]

NOT BY MUCH !!!!!!!

 

[samcanadian]

Sam, afternoon.....

6.25 / 6.4 = 0.977

Soooooo, if you use Martins calculator, multiply the final number by 0.977 to get the correct number for your 6.4% nitrite cure...

Most stuff recommends 156 Ppm nitrite MAX... ground meats for sausage etc..... by our USDA.... FDA.... or whoever they are...

Bacon skinless 120 Ppm.... skin on 108 Ppm.... those are max numbers.... Dave


Do you know what the other 1.1% is in the mix ????

Dave, the rest of the mix is glycerine and sodium bicarbonate.

 

[samcanadian]

Sam, afternoon.....

6.25 / 6.4 = 0.977

Soooooo, if you use Martins calculator, multiply the final number by 0.977 to get the correct number for your 6.4% nitrite cure...

Most stuff recommends 156 Ppm nitrite MAX... ground meats for sausage etc..... by our USDA.... FDA.... or whoever they are...

Bacon skinless 120 Ppm.... skin on 108 Ppm.... those are max numbers.... Dave


Do you know what the other 1.1% is in the mix ????

@Samcanadian
I don't currently have the unlocked version set up.
You can use the calculator as is and just multiply the calculated cure amount by 0.9765 (6.25/6.40=0.9765) to determine the amount of 6.4% cure to use.

HTH

~Martin

You know, I'll be honest guys...I'm having a little bit of trouble figuring this out.

Simply put, I want to know how much of this stuff I'll need for 5lbs of meat total.

I mean, most recipes call for 5 grams of instacure for 5lbs of meat, so this is how I tried to work it out:

Weight of meat: 2267.95g (5lbs)

Cure #1 % Nitrite: 6.25%

Salt % desired: 93.75%

Sugar Desire: (I put zero here)

PPM: 156 (Well within the guidelines)

SO, that shows me with 5.66 grams of Cure #1 per 5lbs of meat, and multiplying that by .977 would show that I only need to put 5.52g's of my 5-200 blend in?

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Yep, that's correct.



~Martin

 

[samcanadian]

So basically no real difference at all from Instacure #1, unless I'm using huge amounts of it...which probably won't ever happen.

Ok guys, thanks for the help.  Much appreciated. 

 

[tc fish bum]

thanks so much martin, gonna do a bbb for the first time using equ. brine for the first time and you just answerd all my questions!

 

[mikewysuph]

Hey guys and gals. Just got my bellies (2 of them for a 3.46 lb total) and I'm ready to try my hand at some bacon!!!

Couple questions....so using the calculator, this is what I did:

For a 2:1 brine, I have

1,569 g of bellie means 784 g of water for a total of 2,353 g.

I add that to the calculator with salt % of 2.5% (why that percentage?)

And put in 1% for the sugars (again, why that percentage? I just used it because DDog used those percentages in his example on page 1).

Put in 120 ppm for the bacon.

Now to the calculator results:

I need 4.52 g of Cure #1

54.6 g of salt (what salt is the best for this? Regular table salt? Sea? Kosher?)

23.5 g of sugar (again, what can be used here? Brown, White?)

For a total of 2435.6 g.

Ok, I think the math part of this experiment is accurate. But the questions are plentiful:

I just got a $15 digital scale for measuring these amounts out, BUT the thing only goes to the tenths when weighing ounces, and does not at all go to decimals for grams.

So if I need 4.52 g of Cure #1, that's 0.15943 oz. How on earth am I supposed to measure out these miniscule amounts?? I need like a gram to 1/8 teaspoon conversion table.

Sorry for the noob questions and I'm sure the answers are on this forum somewhere. I just wanted to get some dialogue going without having to read 100s of pages.

Thanks all. I'm super excited!!

 

[daveomak]

About adding cure etc. when you need an odd amount..... for cure, weigh out 5 grams, as an example..... dissolve it in 500 mls of water..... be sure it is all dissolved..... For 4.5 grams of cure, (you have already figured this out, haven't you....) dump out 50 mls of water.... add the 450 mls / with cure to the brine bucket..... be sure to subtract that 450 mls when making the other additions....

Easy Peasy... do the same for any odd amount you want to get closer to the accurate amount... you can weigh the water.... 500 grams = 500 mls... or close enough...

 

[daveomak]

Now there is a method I use when I know I have several batches of the same meat to make up....
If I'm using 120 Ppm cure for bacon (that is 0,87 grams cure/#) and 1% sugar ( that's 4.5 grams sugar/#) and 2.5% salt/# ( that's 11.35 grams salt/#)

7 x 0.87 = 6.09 grams.... close enough.... so I multiply each amount x 7 ...... 4.5 sugar x 7 = 31.5 gms.... 11.35 gms salt x 7 = 79.5 gms...
Put the 6 gms cure and 31.5 gms sugar and 80 gms salt in a container and mix/ shake up really good.... you have a total of 117 gms of mix at 120 Ppm cure.... that will do 7 pounds of meat.... if you have a 2.5# slab to cure... 117 / 7 = 16.7 gms of mix per pound of meat..... 16.7 x 2.5 = 41.7 or 42 grams of mix for the 2.5# slab....

There are several methods to do this... Personally I like making my own mix in big batches... it's easier for me.... especially for things like Andouille when I know I'm making a lot of it.... seasonings, cure, spices, etc.... all my batches come out the same... Then when you make another batch, add your mix per amount of meat AND if you want more black pepper, just add pepper, no need to weigh it into your "mother" mix.... so to speak.....
Just be sure to label everything.... the container with the amount of each etc. so you will know in the future what you have.......

Sounds confusing.... could be.... hope I didn't screw it up.... but you get the idea behind making your own personal blend.....

Need help ??? I'm here......

Dave

 

[mikewysuph]

About adding cure etc. when you need an odd amount..... for cure, weigh out 5 grams, as an example..... dissolve it in 500 mls of water..... be sure it is all dissolved..... For 4.5 grams of cure, (you have already figured this out, haven't you....) dump out 50 mls of water.... add the 450 mls / with cure to the brine bucket..... be sure to subtract that 450 mls when making the other additions....

Easy Peasy... do the same for any odd amount you want to get closer to the accurate amount... you can weigh the water.... 500 grams = 500 mls... or close enough...

Wow Dave, you sure are smart! That's a great way of doing it, super easy.

That being said, see my new post in "Smoking Bacon"..... I took the easy way out.

 

[mikewysuph]

Now there is a method I use when I know I have several batches of the same meat to make up....
If I'm using 120 Ppm cure for bacon (that is 0,87 grams cure/#) and 1% sugar ( that's 4.5 grams sugar/#) and 2.5% salt/# ( that's 11.35 grams salt/#)

7 x 0.87 = 6.09 grams.... close enough.... so I multiply each amount x 7 ...... 4.5 sugar x 7 = 31.5 gms.... 11.35 gms salt x 7 = 79.5 gms...
Put the 6 gms cure and 31.5 gms sugar and 80 gms salt in a container and mix/ shake up really good.... you have a total of 117 gms of mix at 120 Ppm cure.... that will do 7 pounds of meat.... if you have a 2.5# slab to cure... 117 / 7 = 16.7 gms of mix per pound of meat..... 16.7 x 2.5 = 41.7 or 42 grams of mix for the 2.5# slab....

There are several methods to do this... Personally I like making my own mix in big batches... it's easier for me.... especially for things like Andouille when I know I'm making a lot of it.... seasonings, cure, spices, etc.... all my batches come out the same... Then when you make another batch, add your mix per amount of meat AND if you want more black pepper, just add pepper, no need to weigh it into your "mother" mix.... so to speak.....
Just be sure to label everything.... the container with the amount of each etc. so you will know in the future what you have.......

Sounds confusing.... could be.... hope I didn't screw it up.... but you get the idea behind making your own personal blend.....

Need help ??? I'm here......

Dave

Awesome info again Dave. Definitely the way to do it when you got alot going on. Thanks for taking the time for the write up! A keeper post for sure.

 

[samfor]

Hi All - 

I'm Sam from Armenia, a Kiwi a long way from home.

 My journey into curing started after I emigrated here (I'd been smoking various fresh meats for a number of years), when I discovered I couldn't buy bacon here, or very rarely. I discovered these forums early on and found them very helpful, along with the Universal Cure Calculator (thank you DiggingDogFarm) I've used it for several batches of bacon now (dry cure), a 6.5kg ham last Christmas, and various other experiments.

To cut a long story short, with a background in business, I'm now learning to code & as one of my initial projects I'm intending to write a mobile app similar to the cure calculator. I'm starting with Windows Phone & Android, to be followed later for iPhone, PC & Mac.

To start with it will have a cure calculator + recipe page (ability to save cure calc as a recipe with notes).

I'd be glad of feedback & suggestions that I can include as time goes on -  

Thanks!

Sam