# Question regarding cure and pops brine(Canadian bacon)



## tomolu5 (Feb 23, 2013)

I mixed up a batch of pops brine last night
1-gal water
1 cup sea salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 TBS cure#1
1 TBS garlic powder
1 TBS onion powder
1 TBS molasses

This weighed in at 8 lbs
I put a 3.33 pound pork tenderloin in there. (Cut into thirds and injected in middle) its is currently in my beer/meat fridge which I adjusted to 37 degrees.
	

		
			
		

		
	








My question is : is this enough cure? My understanding(NEWBIE) is you need enough cure for your entire slurry( which ended up right at 13 lbs) which according to digging dogs calculator is 13.1g. I'm not sure where that falls in the tablespoon world that I live in, but if need be I can borrow my dads gunpowder scale and do the math. By m crude math of 1 level tsp per 5 lbs., I am just a tad heavy on cure I guess...hmmm. maybe I just answered my own question??? Thoughts???
as a note, I went ahead and blindly put it in the brine knowing that I could add more cure if needed.
Also, it is 2&1/4" thick a its thickest, how many days in the brine? Was gonna go 12 unless I can pull it at 8, that would be cool.

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## fpnmf (Feb 23, 2013)

Well..are you using Pops methods or Dogs???

You are good to go with what you have if you did Pops method..

Put something on top of the meat to hold it under water..

  Craig

12-14 days is what Pops method sez..

real simple curing brine:

 for every 1 gallon of water, add:

1/3 - 1 cup sea salt (depending if you're on a lo-salt diet)

1 cup granulated sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji]

1 cup brown sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji] brown sugar mix

1 tbsp cure no. 1 pink salt

stir thoroughly until clear amber color, pour over meat, inject if necessary to cure from inside-out as well as outside-in

weight down with a partially filled 1 qt or 1 gal. ziploc bag or bags to keep meat immersed

Curing times vary with meat, but generally overnight to 2-3 days for chickens and turkeys, 8-10 days buckboard bacon, 10-14 days belly bacon, pork shoulder, whole butts, 3-4 weeks whole hams, 10-20 days corned beef (fresh beef roasts, briskets, rolled rib roasts, etc.)   If whole muscle is more than 2" thick, then inject so it can cure i/o as well as o/i, and/or in and around bone structures, etc.

You can add any other flavorings you'd like, this is just the basic curing brine. 1 heaping tablespoon of cure is about 1 ounce.


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## tomolu5 (Feb 23, 2013)

FPNMF. Thanks, I forgot to mention that I weighted the down, other than that, I guess its pops method I'm following. There just wasn't a time frame listed for Canadian bacon on the post you copied, so Vasily just wasn't sure, trying to learn is all. I plan to hot smoke two of them, I may just cold smoke one for comparisons sake.

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## diggingdogfarm (Feb 23, 2013)

I don't think I've ever mentioned the details of my loin curing method, but I do have a calculator.

So, are folks using a level or heaping tablespoon when making Pops' brine?
I always assumed it was a level tablespoon.

A heaping tablespoon can vary quite a bit in quantity depending on the design of the tablespoon.

~Martin


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## tomolu5 (Feb 23, 2013)

Thanks martin, I went level on the tablespoon.

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## snorkelinggirl (Feb 23, 2013)

DiggingDogFarm said:


> I don't think I've ever mentioned the details of my loin curing method, but I do have a calculator.
> 
> So, are folks using a level or heaping tablespoon when making Pops' brine?
> I always assumed it was a level tablespoon.
> ...


For an immersion cured and possibly injected product like Canadian Bacon, what is the ppm of sodium nitrite that we are shooting for?


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## diggingdogfarm (Feb 23, 2013)

Most folks use 156ppm, which is fine.
Here are the limits set forth by the "rulers" at the USDA as far a *commercial *curing goes.
It's important to fully understand the definitions of what's being cured before using those numbers.
The USDAs definitions don't always match the common definition used by most folks.













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__ diggingdogfarm
__ Feb 12, 2013


















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__ diggingdogfarm
__ Feb 12, 2013








~Martin


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## mountainhawg (Feb 23, 2013)

Even though I do most of the cooking, I have not used measuring spoons in years until I started using them with Cure #1. Been going with 1 level tablespoon in Pop's cure. Before I just grabbed a kitchen teaspoon or tablespoon for measurements or jut eyeballed it. But with all the justified warnings here on using cure #1, better be safe than sorry. Getting a scale though for Dogs formula/calculator for dry brines.


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## tomolu5 (Feb 24, 2013)

Yep, a scale is on my list, I need a good accurate one for weighing the meat/brines, and a small one for seasonings and cure. Just waiting till the come up on the list, can't spend it a at once...


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## daveomak (Feb 24, 2013)

Another point about DigginDogFarm's calculator that make it unique......   You can change the Ppm concentration you wish to use.... Just mouse over it or delete the number and type in a new number.... If you want 200 Ppm cure, delete the 156 and put in 200 and the calculator will adjust for the new calculation....  The same for the salt and the sugar...    Now, how can you beat that.....


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## tomolu5 (Mar 8, 2013)

Okay, so fourteen days later(today) I pulled my little bundles of joy from their salty bath, I then trimmed all of the stuff that didn't look like I wanted to eat off of them. I split the meat into two batches, one to cold smoke, and one to hot smoke.
	

		
			
		

		
	










 Now I couldn't help myself but to get a little bit of Jeff's rub involved, so I cut off a little piece from each batch for experimental reasons. I used maple syrup as my "glue" to hold Jeff's rub in place, and coarse black pepper on the others
	

		
			
		

		
	






This is the cold smoke batch
Many thanks Jeff

Tom


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## tomolu5 (Mar 8, 2013)

And were back. I took the cold smoke batch out to the mes, and let it sit on the rack for an hour or so, then I will light the Amnps from both ends with maple pellets, and let it run its course. Some time around mid morning I will pull the little chunk with Jeff's rub on it, as with its small size that will likely be sufficient smoke, and refill the Amnps.

I took the hot smoke batch and gave it the same treatment, then put it on a rack and into the refer to dry out and rest while waiting for its turn in the mes
	

		
			
		

		
	















Many thanks Jeff

Tom


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## tomolu5 (Mar 8, 2013)

Uh oh, its been in there about 2-3 hours, and I checked it when I was letting the dogs out, and my Amnps went out. Not sure why, maybe just because my chip loader side was facing the house, and only a foot away(bad airflow???). So I relit it, real good, and spun my mes so the chip loader was facing the predominant wind. I also turned it on, and the smoker was at 32 degrees, so I set it for 100(minimum) for 10 minutes. I figured this would get the cabinet up a few degrees, and create draft. Hope she stays goin!

Many thanks Jeff

Tom


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## woodcutter (Mar 9, 2013)




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## tomolu5 (Mar 9, 2013)

Dang thing went out again last night, but it did atleast burn a whole row. I remember having trouble with the maple pellets last time too. So this morning I nuked them for three minutes, stopping at each minute mark to stir them. Had some abs pipe laying around, so I made a makeshift mod(warning, cold smoke only) and she's still grooving 4 hours in
	

		
			
		

		
	







Many thanks Jeff

Tom


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## tomolu5 (Mar 9, 2013)

Okay, it took all day, those maple pellets just didn't want to burn. I went and pulled the small chunk that was wearing Jeff's rub, I'm gonna guess that this stuff had 4 hours of smoke last night, then 4 or so rest, then about 4 in the smoke, 2 or so without, and the last 6 hours with smoke, all thin and blue. I sliced the one with Jeff's rub, and fried a piece off
	

		
			
		

		
	










The flavor was different than I expected, but that was because of the rub. Tasted very good, maybe just a little too lean. I'm going out right now to pull the bigger pieces but I won't be slicing them tonight, gonna let them rest in the refer, and hope the smoke flavor distributes throughout the meat. Will post up a photo in just a minute

Many thanks Jeff

Tom


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## woodcutter (Mar 9, 2013)

The smokiness will simmer down after a day or 2. Looks good!


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## tomolu5 (Mar 9, 2013)

Many thanks Jeff

Tom


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## tomolu5 (Mar 10, 2013)

Many thanks Jeff

Tom


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## tomolu5 (Mar 10, 2013)

That's how the stuff sliced out, right now the other half is in the smoker, hot smoking that, although  I did give it two rows of maple smoke while I slept last night. At any rate, the texture and flavor was great! I'm not sure if it was the brown sugar, the maple syrup, or the maple pellets used for the smoker, or all three but that dark sweet flavor really came through in the finished product. I will definitely be doing this again, only compliant that I have is I need to start with a fattier loin, not really any grease coming off of this stuff when cooking, had to add oil to the skillet. I won't be messing with the kyrovac loins any more, just buy those nice one shaped like a bread loaf from the grocer.

Many thanks Jeff

Tom


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## daveomak (Mar 10, 2013)

Loin looks really good...  I think you have mastered it....  Good job...  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






...   Dave


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## tomolu5 (Mar 10, 2013)

Thanks Dave, but I've only wet my feet, I have much to learn

Many thanks Jeff

Tom


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## mountainhawg (Mar 11, 2013)

tomolu5 said:


> Thanks Dave, but I've only wet my feet, I have much to learn
> 
> Many thanks Jeff
> 
> Tom


Yes, they do look really good. I feel the same as you with the curing of meats, but this is a great place to learn.


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