# Curing Question



## K9BIGDOG (Sep 18, 2019)

Ok guys, I have an appx. 11lb pork belly I picked up at Costco.  I also have the 1.75lb package of maple bacon cure from Cabelas.  The package says that the contents mixed in 1 gallon of water will cure 20lbs of meat. Should take 5-7 days.  My question is, do I need to cut down on the amount of cure mix for less than 20lbs of meat or is it safe to cure that size belly in that full brine mixture?


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## daveomak (Sep 18, 2019)

*THIS COULD BE INCORRECT BASED ON WHAT I FOUND ON THE CABELA'S SITE.*.

you have 795 grams of curing stuff...  Good for 20#'s of meat + 8.35#'s of water...  So, 28.35#'s of brine = 12,871 grams of brine.. + 795 grams of cure = 13,666 grams of total brine cure and meat..
795/13666= 0.58 5.8% is the amount to add for a brine cure meat+water weight in grams...
So, 11#'s of belly X 454 X 0.0058 0.058= 290 grams of cure mix for 11#'s of belly
AND... if you cure it in one pint of water (500 cc's or grams) 500 X 0.0058 0.058= 29. grams of cure mix for the water...
290 grams + 29 grams = *319 grams cure mix for the belly and 500 grams of water...   *
Zip bag it.. put in refer at ~38 Deg. F..  turn daily for 12-14 days and you are golden...
Using that method, your bag of curing stuff will last for ~ 25 each 11# hunks of meat...

NOW....  Does the cure mix note the amount of nitrite it has in it... ???


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## daveomak (Sep 18, 2019)

I also have the 1.75lb package of maple bacon cure from Cabelas. The package says that the contents mixed in 1 gallon of water will cure 20lbs of meat

What I found on Cabela's site...

*Cabela's Bacon Cure*




(4)
This savory aroma has a perfect blend of maple flavor, sugar and other bacon-curing ingredients that’ll get the whole camp up and at ’em. *Mix 1 lb. with 1.75 gallons* of water to cure approximately 20 lbs. of bacon.

...


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## K9BIGDOG (Sep 18, 2019)

I think the package says it's a 1.75# package, to be mixed in 1 gallon of water, but regardless I just want to know if I can safely cure an 11lb belly with it using either the whole 1.75# package in a gallon of water or if I'm reading it wrong, the 1lb package in 1.75 gals of water.  No way I can fit that whole belly in a ziploc bag and get away with only a pint of water.  It maybe would fit in one of the 2.5 gallon ziploc bags but I don't think only a pint of water would do it.


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## K9BIGDOG (Sep 18, 2019)

Also, I have a brining bucket (The Briner). Is it ok to cut the belly in half and put both halves in the bucket together?  I think it'll fit better like that rather than try to squeeze that whole 11lb slab in there in one piece.


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## daveomak (Sep 18, 2019)

1.75 GAL X 454 = 6634 GRAMS WATER + 454 GRAMS OF CURE = 7,088 GRAMS OF CURE/BRINE 
20# MEAT X 454 = 9,080 GRAMS MEAT + 7,088 CURE/BRINE = 16,168 GRAMS OF STUFF

454 / 16168  = 2.8% cure mix used to cure stuff...

So, (11#'s of belly X 454) + 500 gms water X 0.028 =  *154 gms of cure mix* for the belly and brine...


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## PolishDeli (Sep 18, 2019)

Copy of a live Chat with Cabels customer service is below.  
They are telling me that this product is 0.5% sodium nitrATE.
They also say  sodium nitrATE in the Q&A on the products web page.

I'd not use this product because: 
"...nitrate is no longer permitted in any bacon..." -USDA

-------
Dawn B.: Hi, my name is Dawn B., how may I help you?
PD: Hello, I have a question about Cabela's Bacon Cure.
Specifically, I’d like to know how much sodium nitrite is in the cure.
Also, how much sodium nitrate?
Dawn B.: I will see if I have that information readily available
 Dawn B.: It looks like .50 percent
PD: sodium nitrite = 0.5%?
 Dawn B.: Yes, that is the only information that I have
 PD: and sodium nitrate = 0%?
Dawn B.: No, all I have is sodium nitrate .5% for the ingredients
 PD: ok, thank you for your help.  Any chance you can send me an msds for this product?
Dawn B.: What is an MSDS?
 Dawn B.: Data sheet?
Dawn B.: We do not have that readily available
 PD: yes, safety data sheet.  Thank you all the same.  Have a nice day
-------


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## daveomak (Sep 18, 2019)

Cut the belly into 1/2's or 1/3's....  It will save refer space and money...

My belly from a couple days ago.....  Done in zip bags...


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## daveomak (Sep 18, 2019)

Kind of makes you not want to do business with Cabela's...


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## K9BIGDOG (Sep 18, 2019)

Ok, doing some more research I found that the product is made for Cabelas by PS Seasonings.  Contains .54% sodium NITRATE. And it is a 1.75# package to be dissolved in 1 gallon of water.  

So my question comes back to: Can I just mix this stuff up and cure UP TO 20lbs safely (I realize I'll be wasting some product on a smaller amount of meat) or do I have to somehow reduce the amount of water and cure mix?  As long as the ratio is safe I don't mind just using the whole package in a gallon of water and going from there.


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## daveomak (Sep 18, 2019)

You CANNOT use sodium nitrate...  It has no effect on botulism toxin... 
Nitrate must be used as a rub on meat and hung at ~55 deg. F for months to allow the natural bacteria in the meat to convert the nitrate to nitrite... 
Nitrate is a very slow curing process...
When using nitrate when curing, it MUST contain a portion of nitrite to do the immediate curing before the nitrate converts to nitrite..

* CURING INFORMATION BY NEPAS*
By pops6927, Mar 6, 2017 | 1 Comments | 3.3K Views | Instructionals

Watch this Article
Great information by NEPAS:

CURES - Cures are used in sausage products for color and flavor development as well as retarding the development of bacteria in the low temperature environment of smoked meats.

Salt and sugar both cure meat by osmosis. In addition to drawing the water from the food, they dehydrate and kill the bacteria that make food spoil. In general, though, use of the word "cure" refers to processing the meat with either sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate.

The primary and most important reason to use cures is to prevent BOTULISM POISONING (Food poisoning). It is very important that any kind of meat or sausage that will be cooked and smoked at low temperature be cured. To trigger botulism poisoning, the requirements are quite simple - lack of oxygen, the presence of moisture, and temperatures in range of 40-140° F. When smoking meats, the heat and smoke eliminates the oxygen. The meats have moisture and are traditionally smoked and cooked in the low ranges of 90 to 185° F. As you can see, these are ideal conditions for food poisoning if you don't use cures. There are two types of commercially used cures.

Prague Powder #1

Also called Insta-Cure and Modern Cure. Cures are used to prevent meats from spoiling when being cooked or smoked at low temperatures (under 200 degrees F). This cure is 1 part sodium nitrite (6.25%) and 16 parts salt (93.75%) and are combined and crystallized to assure even distribution. As the meat temperate rises during processing, the sodium nitrite changes to nitric oxide and starts to ‘gas out’ at about 130 degrees F. After the smoking /cooking process is complete only about 10-20% of the original nitrite remains. As the product is stored and later reheated for consumption, the decline of nitrite continues. 4 ounces of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 100 lbs of meat. A more typical measurement for home use is 1 level tsp per 5 lbs of meat. Mix with cold water, then mix into meat like you would mix seasonings into meat.

Prague Powder #2

Used to dry-cure products. Prague powder #2 is a mixture of 1 part sodium nitrite, .64 parts sodium nitrate and 16 parts salt. (1 oz. of sodium nitrite with .64 oz. of sodium nitrate to each lb. of salt.) It is primarily used in dry-curing Use with products that do not require cooking, smoking, or refrigeration. This cure, which is sodium nitrate, acts like a time release, slowly breaking down into sodium nitrite, then into nitric oxide. This allows you to dry cure products that take much longer to cure. A cure with sodium nitrite would dissipate too quickly. Use 1 oz. of cure for 25 lbs. of meat or 1 level teaspoon of cure for 5 lbs. of meat when mixing with meat. When using a cure in a brine solution, follow a recipe.


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## daveomak (Sep 18, 2019)

The Butcher's pantry has the best prices...  It's owned by a member here.. 
Order some #1..  Maybe order some STPP for injecting some meats later..

https://butcherspantry.com/product-category/curing-ingredients/

..


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## bregent (Sep 18, 2019)

K9BIGDOG said:


> Ok, doing some more research I found that the product is made for Cabelas by PS Seasonings. Contains .54% sodium NITRATE. And it is a 1.75# package to be dissolved in 1 gallon of water.



I would guess that it is mislabeled and is really nitrite, otherwise they have opened themselves up to huge potential food safety issues. But you CANNOT guess about this. I would just get some Cure #1 and use one of the tried and true cure recipes from this site - brine or dry rub - and forget the Cabelas cure.


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## daveomak (Sep 18, 2019)

PS Seasonings Maple Cure.....
*INGREDIENTS*
Open tab

Salt, Maple Sugar, Sugar, Sodium Nitrite (0.84%), With Less Than 1% Glycerine (Prevents Caking).

This is what I use for my bacon...  I use it as a dry rub at 2% rate..  9 grams per pound of meat...   12-14 days in the refer in a zip bag for 9-10 days then on a wire rack to dry for the remainder...

2% renders the meat at ~168 Ppm nitrite...   200 Ppm nitrite is allowed for dry rub bacon...


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## smokerjim (Sep 18, 2019)

I usually just use pops brine, simple and good. if you want the maple flavor maybe just sub the maple sugar for the sugar in his recipe. just an idea if you want to go the brine route.


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## daveomak (Sep 18, 2019)

My dry rub recipe is....
salt, 1.75% Kosher salt....
sugar, 1% white sugar or demerara sugar for some molasses flavor or maple sugar (1$ an ounce)
cure #1...  0.25%

That makes for 2% salt and the 1% sugar is low enough it won't burn when cooked...  I found at 2% sugar, I could taste the burnt sugar...

Sprinkle the mix evenly over the meat and refer for up to 2 weeks...
Then cold smoke...


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## K9BIGDOG (Sep 19, 2019)

Just an update: I called PS Seasonings and pointed out the Nitrite vs. Nitrate discrepancy,  The woman I spoke to was very polite and promised to get back to me after checking with someone.  She did call me back later and said that in fact it is Sodium Nitrite in the Cabelas cure/PS Seasonings Sweet Bacon cure and they would be fixing the mistake on their website.


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## daveomak (Sep 19, 2019)

Great !!!   That's a STUPID mistake...  It should be recalled..


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## smokerjim (Sep 19, 2019)

daveomak said:


> Great !!!   That's a STUPID mistake...  It should be recalled..


what Dave says


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