# Making pork loin hams



## fullborebbq (Sep 8, 2019)

Ran across this recipe. Just wondering if the ratios are correct to brine 10 lbs of pork loin.

*Brine Recipe*

Water...................................1 gallon
Pickling Salt.......................1 cup
Sugar....................................1/4 cup
Prague #1 (Cure)...............1/3 cup
Pickling Spice.....................1 tsp
Cloves...................................1/2 tsp


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## fullborebbq (Sep 9, 2019)

the search here for Pop's brine leads to dozens of post of people using pops brine. Not the actual recipe itself. Unless I am missing something....


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## Steve H (Sep 9, 2019)

Haven't seen that recipe before. But the amount of cure seems high. I'm used to 1 Tbs per gallon of water. This recipe is calling for over 5 tbs.


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## DanMcG (Sep 9, 2019)

Here's Pop's brine recipe.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pops6927s-wet-curing-brine.110799/

I'm a little rusty with my brine calculations, but somebody will be along to help ya out. 
And at a glance the amount of cure seems high.


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## BrianGSDTexoma (Sep 9, 2019)

I use Pop's for corned beef and ham.  Very good.


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## fivetricks (Sep 9, 2019)

1/3 cup! Yikes. That's pretty high. 

10 lbs of meat = 4480g
1 gal water = 3732g

1.13 g/lb water/meat = 16.221 g of cure #1


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## PolishDeli (Sep 9, 2019)

That recipe is fine.  It’s based on the %-pickup equation.  If you do a 10% injection, the NaNO2 will be about 150ppm.

If you interpret the recipe in terms of the equilibrium equation; yes the Cure#1 levels will seem too high. For loins however, that is not the recommended method, as per the USDA.


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## daveomak (Sep 9, 2019)

fivetricks said:


> 1/3 cup! Yikes. That's pretty high.
> 
> 10 lbs of meat = 4480g
> 1 gal water = 3732g
> ...


*16 grams =~ 1 TBS....*


PolishDeli said:


> That recipe is fine.  It’s based on the %-pickup equation.  If you do a 10% injection, the NaNO2 will be about 150ppm.
> 
> If you interpret the recipe in terms of the equilibrium equation; yes the Cure#1 levels will seem too high. For loins however, that is not the recommended method, as per the USDA.


*Inject 10% the weight of the meat.. That's a mobetta way to go..*.


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## Steve H (Sep 10, 2019)

My head is spinning!!! I learned another method thanks to 

 daveomak
  My next batch of bacon will be using this method.


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## fullborebbq (Sep 13, 2019)

just weighed out a loose filled 1/3 cup of Instacure #1 = 2.6 oz.
Well within the 3.84 oz. per gallon max as stated in the Pop's post link above.


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## daveomak (Sep 13, 2019)

fullborebbq said:


> just weighed out a loose filled 1/3 cup of Instacure #1 = 2.6 oz.
> Well within the 3.84 oz. per gallon max as stated in the Pop's post link above.




Did you calculate the Ppm nitrite in the meat using 1/3 cup of cure#1 ??
USDA recommends ~120-156 Ppm nitrite...


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## daveomak (Sep 13, 2019)

fullborebbq said:


> just weighed out a loose filled 1/3 cup of Instacure #1 = 2.6 oz.
> Well within the 3.84 oz. per gallon max as stated in the Pop's post link above.



It also says, "use 4 oz. per 100#'s of meat"...  Therefore, 2.6 oz. should be used in 65#'s of meat... 
Are you curing 65#'s of meat ???


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## PolishDeli (Sep 13, 2019)

All of the recipes and instructions in this thread look good by my math (if you take into account the type of cure they are intended for).  
Summary below:



 fullborebbq
 (OP) recipe:  1/3cup Cure#1 per 1 gal water
This is for injection curing.  A 10% pump yields 145ppm NaNO2

DQ Curing Salt instructions:  4oz/100lb meat.  
This if for dry curing and it yields 156ppm NaNO2

 DQ Curing Salt instructions:  24lb/100gal water for 10% pump.
This is for injection curing.  It yields 175ppm NaNO2

Pops brine (maximum):  3.84 oz Cure#1  per 1 gallon
This is for injection curing.  A 10% pump yields 175ppm NaNO2

 Pops brine (minimum):  1 tbsp Cure#1 per 1 gal water 
This is for equilibrium curing 
10 lb of meat will have 125ppm NaNO2
5 lb  of meats will have 175ppm NaNO2



 fivetricks
:  16.2g Cure#1 per 1gal water and 10lb meat
This is for equilibrium curing and yields 122ppm NaNO2


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## fullborebbq (Sep 20, 2019)

daveomak said:


> It also says, "use 4 oz. per 100#'s of meat"...  Therefore, 2.6 oz. should be used in 65#'s of meat...
> Are you curing 65#'s of meat ???


The measurements I used are for wet brine, not dry cure.


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## daveomak (Sep 21, 2019)

Well, for a brine including meat...  
50#'s of meat and 15#'s of liquid would be just right for 2.6 ozs of cure#1...


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## fullborebbq (Sep 23, 2019)

Here is the instructions from the instacure#1 container.
Insta Cure™ No. 1 is a simple, easy-to-use cure for any meat that requires cooking, brining, smoking or canning. This includes smoked sausage, poultry, fish, ham, bacon, luncheon meats, corned beef, pâtés and plenty more. Formerly known as Prague Powder No. 1, the Sausage Maker’s blend is a basic cure containing salt, 6.25% sodium nitrite and an anti-caking agent.

Curing meat helps to prevent common food poisoning caused by Clostridium botulinum and other related bacteria. Cured meats are safely preserved and tend to take on more complex, robust flavors and colors. The Sausage Maker recommends using one level teaspoon per five pounds of ground meat. Five pounds Insta Cure 1 will process approximately 2,400 pounds of meat.

For a basic bacon or ham brine (not including additional flavor ingredients), mix:


1 gal. water
4 oz. (½ cup) Insta Cure #1
1 lb. 5 oz. (1¾ cup) salt
1½ oz. (2¼ Tbsp.) sugar
Net weight: 5lbs. sodium nitrite cure


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## daveomak (Sep 23, 2019)

4 oz. cure#1 = ~112 grams cure#1...   Good for ~ 100#'s of meat..  add in the 8# gallon of water, and that indicates it's enough to cure ~90#'s of meat in the one gallon brine/cure mix...
I would not use Sausage Maker's directions...


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## zwiller (Sep 23, 2019)

Seemed odd at first but once I converted to using weight instead of volume I finally felt comfortable with my curing calcs.  Also use metric.  That said, pretty hard to beat the results and simplicity of Pops.  I use his low salt version.  One thing many do not realize is his use of sea salt.  Half it for table salt.  Once again, another reason weight works better...


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## daveomak (Sep 23, 2019)

Salt additions should be weighed to have consistency between types of salt

Salt Type ..........................................Weight of 1/4 cup (grams)

Morton’s Table Salt..................................... 76.0
Morton Pickling Salt.................................... 74.0
La Baleine Coarse Sea Salt.........................66.8
La Baleine Fine Sea Salt............................ 64.8
Morton’s Kosher Salt.................................. 62.0
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt..................... 45.2
Maldon Sea Salt......................................... 33.2


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## fullborebbq (Sep 23, 2019)

I think It is all sinking in..........slowly....... So i guess I need an equalizing brine for the pork loin hams?? 2" thick...


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## indaswamp (Sep 23, 2019)

Here ya go, hope this clears the confusion on the differing amounts of cure you see in different recipes...
https://curedmeats.blogspot.com/2013/02/equilibrium-cure-vs-excess-salt-cure.html

I will add here that the salt travels faster with the excess salt method...it has a higher diffusion rate, and it will equalize faster. BUT, the time factor is the issue; you need to know exactly when to pull it out of the salt so it does not absorb too much salt. This is the reason so many here at SMF use the equilibrium cure method. As long as you calculate the cure correctly, there is no way to over cure it....the meat and liquid will equalize with the same concentration of cure.


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## fullborebbq (Sep 23, 2019)

I have used a similar method to make Canadian style bacon. My preference is to make a moister ham for luncheon meat. I did the originally posted recipe with 5 lbs of pork loin in brine for 4 days. it was then smoked at 180 Degrees for 2 hour then 225 until IT hit 160. it was pink all the way through and had good flavor. I just wanted to make sure I was not over doing the Instacure #1content.


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