Tenderquick Buckbboard Game Plan

[mrsmoklestein]

Well, after dethawing and trimming a bone-in shoulder roast, I have five pounds neatly trimmed up.

Im planning on doing a dry cure with Mortons tenderquick after discovering conventional #1 curing salts arent available in my local stores.

1 Tablespoon Tenderquick
2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper

.....per every pound of meat. I know people typically weigh curing salt but this amount of cure on another site seems to work well for people and I cannot find a tenderquick recipe that uses weight. I also plan to inject local maple syrup every inch or so per "Oldfatguy" and his youtube tutorial.

My thickest piece is about 3 inches and the rest are about 2 1/2 inches. So Im planning on a nine day cure followed by a three hour water sit, 24 hour rest in fridge to form pellicle, then the smoke til 140-150.

Sound good? Too much sugar? What do you think?

 

[Bearcarver]

Sounds Fine!
My Step by Steps all have the weighed amount of TQ to go with the weighed amount of meat.
Just click on "Bear's Step by Steps".

However With TQ it doesn't have to be as perfect as it does with Cure #1, so using TBS & tsp measurements are fine for using Tender Quick.

For 3" thick, I would rather see about 10 or 11 days in cure, flipping each day, but 9 days is probably OK.

Bear

 

[SonnyE]

Where's Bear? We need Bear over ahere...
Bear uses TQ.

I think TQ is considerably more forgiving that Cure #1 is. Cure #1 requires accuracy.
As far as sourcing it, I got mine through Walmart online. A 1 pound plastic jar can go a hugely long way.
If I remember correctly (IIRC), Walmart had it to me in 2 days.
(This ad shown a Jar of #2, I reported the error to Walmart. Make sure you get #1. #2 is for other stuff like sausage.)

Walmart is at war with Amazon, so they bust a move to get it done.

Edit In:
Oh, there's Bear. Thank You Bear!

 

[mrsmoklestein]

Sounds great, thanks for the help! Just a few questions though...

The 24 hour rest to form the pellicle in the fridge....I assume I leave the meat uncovered?

The one to two day rest in fridge after smoking....do I cover the meat then?

 

[Bearcarver]

Sounds great, thanks for the help! Just a few questions though...

The 24 hour rest to form the pellicle in the fridge....I assume I leave the meat uncovered?

The one to two day rest in fridge after smoking....do I cover the meat then?

Yes, I leave it uncovered to get a Pellicle. If you don't get a good enough pellicle, you can put it in the smoker for an hour without Smoke--That helps. Or you can put it in front of a fan, if you don't have a cat that jumps up on counter tops.

After smoking I like to cover for two reasons:
#1 So you don't make Mamma's Fridge smell as smoky.
#2 To hold the great tasting Smoke in the meat awhile longer.

Bear

 

[bill ace 350]

Well, after dethawing and trimming a bone-in shoulder roast, I have five pounds neatly trimmed up.

Im planning on doing a dry cure with Mortons tenderquick after discovering conventional #1 curing salts arent available in my local stores.

1 Tablespoon Tenderquick
2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper

.....per every pound of meat. I know people typically weigh curing salt but this amount of cure on another site seems to work well for people and I cannot find a tenderquick recipe that uses weight. I also plan to inject local maple syrup every inch or so per "Oldfatguy" and his youtube tutorial.

My thickest piece is about 3 inches and the rest are about 2 1/2 inches. So Im planning on a nine day cure followed by a three hour water sit, 24 hour rest in fridge to form pellicle, then the smoke til 140-150.

Sound good? Too much sugar? What do you think?

You're good to go with your measurements and cure time.

 

[SonnyE]

Or you can put it in front of a fan, if you don't have a cat that jumps up on counter tops.

LOL!!!
Sounds like a voice of experience there, Bear.

While She was away, I discovered the last day of a sale on a 4.3 Cu. Ft. Whirlpool Fridge. Rather than face the wrath of stinking up 'Her' fridge, I chose to face the cold shoulder for buying myself a curing fridge.
So if I stink up my fridge, I have Bacon scented Beer cans. :rolleyes: Could be worse....
Makes you want to chew and lick the damn cans, though.