# 2nd guessing amount of cure #1



## mowin (Feb 15, 2017)

I started dry brining my bellies today.  Only my 2nd time doing bacon, and I don't remember the amount of cure being so little. 

I weighed each piece,  and used DiggingDogs calculator to convert #'s to grams.

My heaviest piece was 4.56 lbs, or 2068.3708 g. 

I weighed out 6.51g of cure #1 @ 6.25%. (Gram scale, calibrated today)

Now heres whats has me 2nd guessing myself. 

I'm reading to use 1 level tsp for evety 5# of meat. However, 6.51g of cure #1 isn't even close to  1 tsp. (Knowing the weight of the belly is slightly less then 5#). 

Am I over thinking this?


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## chef jimmyj (Feb 15, 2017)

1 teaspoon table salt is 6.08g...Close enough to Cure #1. I ran 2068.37 at 156 ppm and get ,5.16g cure needed. No big deal if you used 6.51...JJ


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## dirtsailor2003 (Feb 15, 2017)

1 teaspoon of cure #1 weighs 6.67 grams. 

I'm not seeing a problem.


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## DanMcG (Feb 15, 2017)

Use 1.1 grams of cure per pound so 4.56 would be 5 grams of cure. thats about the same as 0.25 %


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## atomicsmoke (Feb 15, 2017)

0.25%...0.25%...0.25%....So easy to remember. Also easy to calculate with mental math: a quarter of the weight, then move decimal point to the left twice.


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## mowin (Feb 16, 2017)

Thanks for the help guys. 

I wieghed 1 level tsp of my cure, and i was 7.1g.   Now i know 100% that my cure was labled 6.25%. (Original packaging gone). But before ordering I verified with the manufacturer that it was indeed 6.25% as that is what is so often mentioned here in SMF. 

I guess it still amazes me that such a tiny amount can cure a 4.5# hunk of meat....


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## crankybuzzard (Feb 16, 2017)

berefood said:


> mowin
> 
> A little bit of posion goes a long way


Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy.

Paracelsus


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## jessejames (Mar 18, 2017)

Don't feel bad I'm always second and triple guessing myself when we make our venison sausage. Since it's cold smoked at no higher than 48° and we rely strictly on the cure to make the sausage safe to eat. No cooking at all involved. 

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