# Cure in marinates and brines



## pugsbrew (Oct 14, 2018)

OK, I understand how to use cure when dealing with dry rubs and sausage additions.  Where I'm having a problem is when mixing up a marinate.  I've used Pop's brine a number of times, but this is not what I am shooting for.

Let's say I want to make a marinate and want to add cure.  How do I figure out how much cure to add, to the marinate, for the amount of liquid I use?  Let's say, for example, I want to make a quart of marinate, how do I calculate the amount of cure needed?  I assume the proper liquid to cure ratio is important, as not to dilute the cure %.

Maybe I'm making this harder than it should be, but cure brines/marinates seem to be all over the place.

Thanks


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## wh42 (Oct 14, 2018)

I follow pops brine recipe a lot and rarely make a gallon of it. 4 quarts in a gallon so if you're only making a quart, cut the ingredients by 3/4. So 1/4 TBSP of Cure.


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## crazzycajun (Oct 14, 2018)

Interesting about using it asa marinade what cuts of meat are you trying to get a “hamy” flavor to. Or are you using it because your going to be in the danger zone?


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## petewoody (Oct 14, 2018)

pugsbrew said:


> OK, I understand how to use cure when dealing with dry rubs and sausage additions.  Where I'm having a problem is when mixing up a marinate.  I've used Pop's brine a number of times, but this is not what I am shooting for.
> 
> Let's say I want to make a marinate and want to add cure.  How do I figure out how much cure to add, to the marinate, for the amount of liquid I use?  Let's say, for example, I want to make a quart of marinate, how do I calculate the amount of cure needed?  I assume the proper liquid to cure ratio is important, as not to dilute the cure %.
> 
> ...


Are you trying to make a marinade or a wet cure. A marinade is used to add flavor to the exterior of the meat and, in some cases, to tenderize the meat. If you are making a wet cure, you need to add the weight of the meat plus the amount of water used to cover the meat and add cure at the rate of 0.25%. If you do a forum search on equilibrium cures or curing you will find a lot of threads. There is also a handy calculator provided by a member DiggingDog online. If you could expand on your request there a large number of knowledgeable people on the forum who can help you further.


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## pugsbrew (Oct 14, 2018)

petewoody said:


> Are you trying to make a marinade or a wet cure. A marinade is used to add flavor to the exterior of the meat and, in some cases, to tenderize the meat. If you are making a wet cure, you need to add the weight of the meat plus the amount of water used to cover the meat and add cure at the rate of 0.25%. If you do a forum search on equilibrium cures or curing you will find a lot of threads. There is also a handy calculator provided by a member DiggingDog online. If you could expand on your request there a large number of knowledgeable people on the forum who can help you further.



Well, good question.  I want to add flavor and add cure at the same time.  Adding cure because of the danger zone.  Now, I've never worried about cure and jerky before, but after reading all the info here.......

Anyway, I want to make enough marinade/cure concoction to ensure I have enough for a qty of meat.  I've read thru a lot of posts, and I'm not finding the info.  I'll keep looking.

I've used the DiggingDog calculator for dry curing.  I just don't see where it deals with liquids.

Anyway, I'll keep looking.


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## petewoody (Oct 14, 2018)

pugsbrew said:


> Well, good question.  I want to add flavor and add cure at the same time.  Adding cure because of the danger zone.  Now, I've never worried about cure and jerky before, but after reading all the info here.......
> 
> Anyway, I want to make enough marinade/cure concoction to ensure I have enough for a qty of meat.  I've read thru a lot of posts, and I'm not finding the info.  I'll keep looking.
> 
> ...


Refer to this thread:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/universal-cure-calculator.124590/
The calculator can be used for dry cure or an equilibrium cure. In the latter you add the weight of the liquid to the weight of the meat.
Have you perused the Jerky section of the forum. I do recall the subject of how much liquid per pound of meat has been discussed.


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## pugsbrew (Oct 14, 2018)

petewoody said:


> Refer to this thread:
> https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/universal-cure-calculator.124590/
> The calculator can be used for dry cure or an equilibrium cure. In the latter you add the weight of the liquid to the weight of the meat.
> Have you perused the Jerky section of the forum. I do recall the subject of how much liquid per pound of meat has been discussed.



Thx.  I have perused, I guess I have not hit the correct discussion yet.

edit Actually that thread is EXACTLY what I needed.


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## daveomak (Oct 15, 2018)

NEVER use less than a gallon of Pop's brine/cure recipe...  the amount of cure to meat will be inadequate.. there are 3 tsp. per TBS...  you will be adding less than 1 tsp.   that amount will not safely cure 2#'s of meat in one quart...



wh42 said:


> I follow pops brine recipe a lot and rarely make a gallon of it. 4 quarts in a gallon so if you're only making a quart, cut the ingredients by 3/4. So 1/4 TBSP of Cure.


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## pugsbrew (Oct 15, 2018)

daveomak said:


> NEVER use less than a gallon of Pop's brine/cure recipe...  the amount of cure to meat will be inadequate.. there are 3 tsp. per TBS...  you will be adding less than 1 tsp.   that amount will not safely cure 2#'s of meat in one quart...



So, is there a limit to how much meat you can put in Pop's 1 gal brine?


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## daveomak (Oct 15, 2018)

To get the proper ratio of cure#1 when wet brining....   Ppm is based on weight...  
1 gram put into 1,000,000 grams is 1 part per million...   it doesn't matter if it's all meat or all water or 1/2 meat and 1/2 water...   It's the total weight of all the stuff combined to get the correct Ppm...

So, like *petewoody* noted, ...  _The calculator can be used for dry cure or an equilibrium cure. In the latter you add the weight of the liquid to the weight of the meat_.

If you want a 1 quart mix of a curing brine, a quart weighs ~ 2#'s or ~ 910 grams...   If you have 3#'s of meat to add, that makes 5#'s of water and meat...  at ~156 Ppm mix, that's ~5.7 grams of cure#1 or 1 level tsp. of cure#1 you need to add to the brine liquid....
If you want to cure a 5# hunk of meat in 1 quart water, that's 7#'s of stuff and 7.7 grams of cure#1 or 1.5 tsp of cure#1 needed in the quart of water... 

I use the numbers....  I add *1.1 grams* of cure for every pound of meat + water + whatever to get the correct amount at ~ 156 Ppm nitrite...

About the salt and sugar in the brine...  I use the numbers...  2% salt and 1% sugar...  added to the total weight of the brine + meat....  any spices to add are OK...  that seems to work well for the salt and sugar.. 
Same time in the brine and fridge...  7 days per inch of thickness...  inject anything over 2" thick with all the brine it will hold then back in the zip bag to finish the 2 weeks...
Injecting really helps the sugar...   It's a large molecule and doesn't penetrate the meat as fast as salt....







	

		
			
		

		
	
 sodium chloride .....  
	

		
			
		

		
	






	

		
			
		

		
	
Glucose sugar....


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## wh42 (Oct 20, 2018)

daveomak said:


> To get the proper ratio of cure#1 when wet brining....   Ppm is based on weight...
> 1 gram put into 1,000,000 grams is 1 part per million...   it doesn't matter if it's all meat or all water or 1/2 meat and 1/2 water...   It's the total weight of all the stuff combined to get the correct Ppm...
> 
> So, like *petewoody* noted, ...  _The calculator can be used for dry cure or an equilibrium cure. In the latter you add the weight of the liquid to the weight of the meat_.
> ...




Learn something new, sorry for giving out false info. I mainly meant for when used as more of a marinade or overnight brine when you aren't actually looking to cure the meat. When doing bacon and such I do use the recipe for a full gallon of brine though. I see exactly what you mean when you say the proper ratio has to be achieved for the curing process though. Thanks for the extra info! Especially the info about proper PPM, I have a reader to measure PPM in liquid so that's a useful tidbit of information.


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