# Right amount of cure #2



## noxwaste (May 18, 2017)

So I've read that 1 tsp of cure #2 per pound of meat when curing jerkey, etc. One teaspoon of the stuff equals 6 grams. So, I had 8 pounds, 11 ounces of roast earlier I cut up (rounded up to 9 pounds since it was so close) and I put 54 grams of cure #2. Two questions... When they say 6g of cure per pound, they are talking about pound of meat product, not to include the marinade, right? And second question, I got a little rambunctious and decided to cut/marinade tonight to smoke Saturday morning. Should curing for two nights (turning all the product over tomorrow and re-mixing) cause any harm anywhere? Or will that just ensure the meat to be safe, since I don't like my jerky tough and prefer it to be a bit chewy?

Thanks!


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## chef jimmyj (May 18, 2017)

Cure #2 is for long term DRY curing, weeks or months. These are things like salami, sopessata and pancetta. There is NitrIte and NitrAte in cure #2 that uses bacteria to slowly convert NitrAte to NitrIte at 55°F allowing to long cure safely. The Nitrite does the actual work of curing. 
Thin slices of meat for Jerky uses Cure #1, Nitrite, and is fast acting. Over night in this case as the meat is so thin. Cure #1 is used at 1 tsp per 5 pounds of meat. This is the same for Cure #2. Not 1 tsp Cure #2 per pound!

So, where did you get a recipe for Marinated Jerky using 5X too much Cure #2? There are hundreds   of guys here that make Jerky and thousands of posted recipes all using Cure #1...JJ


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## noxwaste (May 18, 2017)

Chef JimmyJ said:


> Cure #2 is for long term DRY curing, weeks or months. These are things like salami, sopessata and pancetta. There is NitrIte and NitrAte in cure #2 that uses bacteria to slowly convert NitrAte to NitrIte at 55°F allowing to long cure safely. The Nitrite does the actual work of curing.
> Thin slices of meat for Jerky uses Cure #1, Nitrite, and is fast acting. Over night in this case as the meat is so thin. Cure #1 is used at 1 tsp per 5 pounds of meat. This is the same for Cure #2. Not 1 tsp Cure #2 per pound!
> 
> So, where did you get a recipe for Marinated Jerky using 5X too much Cure #2?...JJ


SHIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTT I remembered just now that the cure #2 IS 1 tsp per 5 pounds. Mother fuggerrrrrrr.... Okay, so, I mixed the cure #2 in with the marinade and meat about 2 hours ago. Do you think I'd be okay just rinsing all of that off? Or have I done damage already??


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## tardissmoker (May 18, 2017)

Rinse NOW! Then defer to J J for whether it's salvageable or not. Waiting will only allow over curing and it may become toxic.


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## chef jimmyj (May 18, 2017)

Yes, you will be fine washing/soaking a few minutes and starting over. BUT...Use Cure #1. It is for dry or marinated quick curing like jerky....JJ


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## chef jimmyj (May 18, 2017)

To answer your other question, letting the meat marinate 2 days is no problem...JJ


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## noxwaste (May 19, 2017)

Well, I knew letting it marinate in just marinade would be fine. I've marinaded for 4 days before and the meat was perfectly fine.. I was worried about marinading for two days with cure #2. Even though you say to use cure #1, I do not have any on-hand, so will cure #2 work in it's absence? Or is this stuff too toxic for jerky? I've used it for jerky before, and was perfectly fine, but just because I can eat raw chicken once and not get salmonella does't mean I can always eat raw chicken, know what I'm sayin?

Edit: I have a coworker with some cure #1. So I'll place my order today and then use some of his for this batch. All should be well. :)


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## chef jimmyj (May 20, 2017)

Cure #1 is designed for quick time curing like jerky, bacon and sausage like Kielbasa. Will cure #2 work for Jerky? Sure, in a pinch as it does contain a sufficient amount of Nitrite. The problem? The Nitrate in #2 is not fully converted and has been linked to some cancer and other issues. Will it kill you? No but like tightening your Wheel Lungs with a Tire Iron rather than an Adjustable Wrench, use the right tools for the job...JJ


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## BGKYSmoker (May 20, 2017)

1 level tsp of cure 1 or 2 per every 5lbs of meat. half the meat 2.5 lbs would use 1/2 tsp cure.

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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## noxwaste (May 20, 2017)

I almost considered having this thread deleted so that horrible information doesn't get out, but hopefully it can be used for at least a little bit of information in the future when someone decides to research the differences of cure #1 and cure #2 and their appropriate applications. Thanks for your help Jimmy!


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## chef jimmyj (May 20, 2017)

No problem. Good to leave it up. Every once in a while this comes up. Guys buy the wrong cure or given the wrong cure from a friend. We explain the difference and proper use and a whole bunch of newbie members get to learn the difference. It is not a huge deal, well 5X too much is, but Morton Tender Quick has some Nitrate in it like #2 and it has been used a hundred years for jerky and other quick curing...JJ


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## BGKYSmoker (May 20, 2017)

Let me get this right.

Your making jerky with cure 2? How long in the marinade with the cure. Rinsing or soaking will not remove the cure once it has broken into nitric oxide

Nothing wrong with that but no matter how thin or thick your jerky it will be hard.

GL with how you recover.


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## noxwaste (May 22, 2017)

nepas said:


> Let me get this right.
> 
> Your making jerky with cure 2? How long in the marinade with the cure. Rinsing or soaking will not remove the cure once it has broken into nitric oxide
> 
> ...


The meat was only in the cure/marinade mixture for about 2 hours. I emptied the marinade then rinsed all the meat with water. I did not add any cure #1 to the batch the following day, though, as I figured any amount of cure #2 still left behind should have been enough to act as cure #1. I also had the meat marinating in a fairly salty mixture, and on top of that, I smoked the jerky for about 8 hours. So, I'm thinking it's pretty safe to eat...


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## shyzabrau (May 22, 2017)

nepas said:


> Prague Powder #1 [...] This cure is 1 part sodium nitrite (6.25%) and 16 parts salt (93.75%) and are combined and crystallized to assure even distribution.
> 
> Prague Powder #2 [...] 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.)


To be pedantic, cure #1 is one part sodium nitrite and FIFTEEN parts salt. (Your percentages are correct.) Cure #2 is one part sodium nitrite (6.25%), 0.64 parts sodium nitrate (4%), and 14.36 parts salt (89.75%). The total is for sixteen ounces, not added to sixteen ounces of salt.


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