# Tender Quick or Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure questions



## teeznuts

Hey everyone! Its been a few years since I've been on here. The now ex wife was always on my @ss about taking pics of food and wasting time on this website. The good news is I don't have to deal with that anymore and I plan to be on here much more often.

So I used to make lots of belly bacon and BBB using the Morton Tender Quick and Plain Sugar Cure products. Its been a few years since I did any curing and I want to make some belly bacon. I got a couple bellies and went on the hunt for some cure. From what I can tell the original Plain Sugar Cure has been discontinued. I picked up a bag of Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure and regular Tender Quick at a local butcher shop but now I have questions. The packaging on the Tender Quick appears different than I remember and the back says to cure for 4-8 hours up to 24 hours. It doesn't make mention of time per inch. Am I dreaming or did it used to have different instructions?













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__ teeznuts
__ Dec 27, 2016






If I can't figure out the tender quick issue I will give the smoke flavored sugar cure a try













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__ teeznuts
__ Dec 27, 2016






Any Tender Quick or Morton users please chime in. As I recall Bear was like the resident expert on regular TQ but if anyone else uses it I'd appreciate the refresher.


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## tropics

I have used it for BBB and Belie bacon Welcome back

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/241579/belly-bacon-start-1-28-16

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/241226/bbb-started-1-6-16

Richie


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## daveomak

One of the Morton's products does NOT have nitrite in it....   read the label...   it is not safe for sausage etc...  short term curing...

You must use a nitrite product for short term curing...


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## boykjo

I am a tender quick user and I agree with you... That's odd..... . When I do belly bacon I dry cure for 14 days turning the meat daily. IMO Morton has shady instruction on the bag how to use their product. You need to go to their web site to learn how. look at their recipes like Canadian bacon. it says to cure for 3 to 5 days Also It doesn't mention on the bag to use 1 1/2 tsp per lb of *ground* meat and that's why it gets such a bad rap about being too salty when the people mistake the 1 Tbs per lb of meat for whole meat. IMHO I believe TQ is superior to cure # 1 but that's me. Once you learn how to use it, its gooooooooood

I assume that short curing time is for things like pork chops and smaller cuts of meat

Joe


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## boykjo

DaveOmak said:


> One of the Morton's products does NOT have nitrite in it....   read the label...   it is not safe for sausage etc...  short term curing...
> 
> You must use a nitrite product for short term curing...


Dave, do you know what product that is? Curious......


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## daveomak

[h3]On several sites, it is listed as "Discontinued item"....    maybe they don't make it any longer.....[/h3][h3]  [/h3][h3]  [/h3][h3]Butcher & Packer[/h3][h3]Home  :  Discontinued Items  :  Morton (R) Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure Mix  eof breadcrumb   bof upload alerts   eof upload alerts [/h3]
bof Form starteof Form startbof Category Icon eof Category Icon bof Prev/Next top position 
Product 90/147















eof Prev/Next top position
bof Main Product Image 
larger image
eof Main Product Image
bof Additional Product Images eof Additional Product Images
bof Product Name[h1]Morton (R) Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure Mix[/h1]eof Product Namebof Product Price block [h2]$11.00[/h2]eof Product Price block bof free ship icon  eof free ship icon  bof Product description 
Morton Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure mix is formulated especially for dry curing large cuts of meat like hams. It contains salt, sugar, sodium nitrate, propylene glycol, caramel color, natural hickory smoke flavor, a blend of natural spices and dextrose (corn sugar).
eof Product description bof Product details list  
Model: MSSC
[h3]  [/h3][h3]  [/h3][h3]  [/h3][h3]This is taken from Wedliny Domowe website...[/h3][h3]  [/h3][h3]Morton[emoji]8482[/emoji] Salt Cures[/h3]
In addition to making common Table Salt the Morton[emoji]174[/emoji] Salt Company also produces a number of cures such as Sugar Cure[emoji]174[/emoji] mix, Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure[emoji]174[/emoji] mix, Tender Quick[emoji]174[/emoji] mix, and Sausage and Meat Loaf[emoji]174[/emoji] seasoning mix. To use them properly one has to follow instructions that accompany every mix.

Our commonly available cures contain both nitrite and Nitrate.

Curing AgentNitrateNitriteCure #1NoYesCure #2YesYesMorton [emoji]174[/emoji] Tender QuickYesYesMorton [emoji]174[/emoji] Sugar CureYesYes
Morton [emoji]174[/emoji] Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure
Yes
No


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## boykjo

DaveOmak said:


> [h3]On several sites, it is listed as "Discontinued item"....    maybe they don't make it any longer.....[/h3][h3]  [/h3][h3]  [/h3][h3]Butcher & Packer[/h3][h3]Home  :  Discontinued Items  :  Morton (R) Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure Mix  eof breadcrumb   bof upload alerts   eof upload alerts [/h3]
> bof Form starteof Form startbof Category Icon eof Category Icon bof Prev/Next top position
> Product 90/147
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> eof Prev/Next top position
> bof Main Product Image
> larger image
> eof Main Product Image
> bof Additional Product Images eof Additional Product Images
> bof Product Name[h1]Morton (R) Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure Mix[/h1]eof Product Namebof Product Price block [h2]$11.00[/h2]eof Product Price block bof free ship icon  eof free ship icon  bof Product description
> Morton Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure mix is formulated especially for dry curing large cuts of meat like hams. It contains salt, sugar, sodium nitrate, propylene glycol, caramel color, natural hickory smoke flavor, a blend of natural spices and dextrose (corn sugar).
> eof Product description bof Product details list
> Model: MSSC
> [h3]  [/h3][h3]  [/h3][h3]  [/h3][h3]This is taken from Wedliny Domowe website...[/h3][h3]  [/h3][h3]Morton[emoji]8482[/emoji] Salt Cures[/h3]
> In addition to making common Table Salt the Morton[emoji]174[/emoji] Salt Company also produces a number of cures such as Sugar Cure[emoji]174[/emoji] mix, Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure[emoji]174[/emoji] mix, Tender Quick[emoji]174[/emoji] mix, and Sausage and Meat Loaf[emoji]174[/emoji] seasoning mix. To use them properly one has to follow instructions that accompany every mix.
> 
> Our commonly available cures contain both nitrite and Nitrate.
> 
> Curing AgentNitrateNitriteCure #1NoYesCure #2YesYesMorton [emoji]174[/emoji] Tender QuickYesYesMorton [emoji]174[/emoji] Sugar CureYesYes
> Morton [emoji]174[/emoji] Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure
> Yes
> No


Thanks. Yeah I dont even see their sugar cure or smoke flavored sugar cure on their site anymore. just the tenderquick...


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## BGKYSmoker

boykjo said:


> Thanks. Yeah I dont even see their sugar cure or smoke flavored sugar cure on their site anymore. just the tenderquick...


So my big un opened bag is a collectors item?

WOOO HOOO


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## browneyesvictim

I guess I'll just have to keep making my own. Oh...  wait! I just have a recipe for the regular TQ. Hmmmm....


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## Bearcarver

Hi Teeznuts,

All I ever used was the Tender Quick.

They always said the "Sugar Cure" was interchangeable with Tender Quick, but the "Smoke Flavor Sugar Cure" wasn't.

All I can say is I don't go by much in the Morton instructions & recipes, because most of their recipes go right to a 350° oven & don't get slow smoked.

The main thing is 1TBS (1/2 ounce) of TQ per pound of whole meat.

And 1/2TBS (1/4 ounce) of TQ per Pound of Ground Meat.

If you need a refresher on Dry curing with TQ, and curing times calculating, go to any of my cured items on my "Step by Step Index" below:

Just click on *"Bear's Step by Steps"*.

Bear


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## boykjo

nepas said:


> boykjo said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks. Yeah I dont even see their sugar cure or smoke flavored sugar cure on their site anymore. just the tenderquick...
> 
> 
> 
> So my big un opened bag is a collectors item?
> 
> WOOO HOOO
Click to expand...

looks like it.. I might pick up a bag while its still available online


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## mr t 59874

Having nearly 60 years of smoking foodstuffs and 40 years of curing pork bellies, I in no way consider myself an expert at either and far from perfect. After much research on the proper amount of time taken to fully cure pork belly using Morton Tender Quick.  It was decided to talk to the USDA directly. After doing so, I was reassured, once again, that my method of curing pork belly was spot on.  The USDA representative I talked to recommended when curing pork belly with MTQ, using the dry rub method, that the 7 day per inch thickness guideline is used (14 days for two-inch thick slab).  This guideline is the same recommended by Morton. As I only use the dry rub method on pork bellies, no other method, cut of meat, or cure was discussed other than time sequences.

Notable notes:

1. The main determination in cure timing is the method in which pork bellies are cured.  Core injection being the fastest, then brining or immersion process, while curing with a dry rub takes the longest amount of time to achieve a full cure.

2.  Nitrite reacts with myoglobin or muscle cells only, not fat. 

3.  Salt in a cure adds flavor to the fat while reducing the water activity (aw). 

Questions:

USDA phone number  1-800-233-3935

Additional information:

Fully cured pork bellies provide a long shelf life at room, refrigerator and freezer temps.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/co...077cc76/Bacon_and_Food_Safety.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

For dry-cured products, cure 7 days per inch of thickness.

http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2648.pdf

A belly two-inches thick should cure in 14 days.

http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-2055/ANSI-3994web.pdf

 "Effect of Frying and Other Cooking Conditions on Nitrosopyrrolidine Formation in Bacon"

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...at-preparation/bacon-and-food-safety/ct_index

Further information: 

Mr. T's "Sugar Cured Bacon"

Salt vs Sugar Absorption Rate?

Calculating bacon cure time using Morton[emoji]174[/emoji] Tender Quick[emoji]174[/emoji] or Sugar Cure[emoji]174[/emoji] (Plain or Smoke Flavored)


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## teeznuts

Thanks Bear. I figured you'd jump in on all things TQ. I appreciate it.


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## teeznuts

Thank you to all for the replies. Morton has been frustrating over the years as I've gotten different answers depending on who answers the phone there. They have also contradicted things that are in their home curing book so I feel more comfortable asking my fellow smokers than I do asking Morton.


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