# Heimann Pinaple Flavoured Cure Salt can be uses to make bacon ?



## fishyink (Oct 17, 2013)

Hi, Have been poking around this forum for a while and thought its about time to sign up =).

I have just made a cold smoker attachment for my Weber and would like to have a go at curing and making bacon.

I have had a hard time trying to find Cure salt #1, when i went to my local butcher and told them what i wanted to do they order me in Heimann Pineapple Flavored Pumping Compound which contains 6.8% sodium nitrate, mineral salts, antioxidant, preservative, canola oil, flavor (pineapple)

Can this be use for a dry rub cure ?.

My plan was to make maple/honey bacon from a recipe i found.


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## fishyink (Oct 18, 2013)

I went ahead and used the pineapple flavored cure.

i followed this recipe i found online:

This recipe will cure 10 lbs of meat

*Ingredients*

1 Cp  Salt

4 Tablespoons  #1 Cure Salt (pink Salt) - (replaced with the pineapple cure)

1 Cp  Brown Sugar

1 Cp  Maple Syrup (not maple flavored pancake syrup!)

1 Cp  Honey (I use Mesquite honey)

Will let you guys no how it turns out.


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## chef jimmyj (Oct 18, 2013)

HOLD ON!!!! If the Pineapple stuff has Sodium Nitrate with an "A" and not Sodium Nitrite with an " I ", it IS NOT interchangeable with Cure #1!...Please double check the package...JJ


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## fishyink (Oct 18, 2013)

Sorry yes, a typo. I just checked the packet it says nitrite. so all should be good ?


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## s2k9k (Oct 18, 2013)

Chef JimmyJ said:


> HOLD ON!!!! If the Pineapple stuff has Sodium Nitrate with an "A" and not Sodium Nitrite with an " I ", it IS NOT interchangeable with Cure #1!...Please double check the package...JJ



And check that percentage too! Cure #1 is 6.25% sodium nitrite.....6.8% would be way to high for that recipe!


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## boykjo (Oct 18, 2013)

PHEW......!....6.25%........ nitrite... another typo... its easy to do


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## chef jimmyj (Oct 18, 2013)

NOPE! I looked again at your Recipe. Cure #1 is used at 1 " teaspoon " for each 5 Lbs of Meat and that is at 6.25% Nitrite. Your stuff is Stronger! And you're using enough for 60 Pounds of Bacon!...JJ


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## s2k9k (Oct 18, 2013)

boykjo said:


> PHEW......!....6.25%........ nitrite... another typo... its easy to do



Thanks Joe! It's early! I was thinking the TBS/tsp like JJ just mentioned.

(I forgot, I'm supposed to stay out of food safety discussions, I'll go back to my corner now)


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## daveomak (Oct 18, 2013)

Fishyink said:


> Hi, Have been poking around this forum for a while and thought its about time to sign up =).
> 
> I have just made a cold smoker attachment for my Weber and would like to have a go at curing and making bacon.
> 
> ...





Fishyink said:


> I went ahead and used the pineapple flavored cure.
> 
> i followed this recipe i found online:
> 
> ...


6.8% nitrite versus 6.25% nitrite...... you are adding about 9% more nitrite using the pineapple cure mix......   

Also, bacon should be cured at about 108 Ppm nitrite...Skin on bacon.......  Skin off bacon, about 120 Ppm nitrite....  those are maximums and 10% less or so is fine...   

The recipe you found on line is incorrect for adding the amount of cure #1...    

For sausage, 1 tsp for 5 pounds is recommended.... for 10 #'s sausage, 2 tsp recommended....  

For bacon, you need to use about 75% of what is recommended for sausage...  

Sooooooo   an approximate amount of "Pineapple Cure" would be about 70% of 1 tsp for 5 #'s of bacon or about 1.4 tsp for 10 #'s of bacon...

That being noted, a grams scale would be an asset when curing any foods....   You will need to figure the density of a liter of the pineapple cure and measure accordingly for a safe amount of your cure to add..... 

If you would like, you can PM me anytime.....   

Dave


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## fishyink (Oct 18, 2013)

Here is the recipe i found online.
http://thekitchenchronicles.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/bmr-bacon-cold-smoked-honey-maple.html

i halved the recipe as i only had 2.25 kg of pork belly.

Should i wash the cure off and start again?. and how much pineapple cure should i add as this stuff is stronger than #1 cure


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## daveomak (Oct 18, 2013)

Fishyink, morning......    The problem, as I see it, folks hire "kids" or "those not in the know" to type out their recipes on their blogs or what ever...

*Should i wash the cure off and start again?. and how much pineapple cure should i add as this stuff is stronger than #1 cure*

Yes, rinse and soak the bacon to remove what has been added...  It will not hurt the bacon as brining is a method that is acceptable to cure it..  Since 2.25 kg is 4.95 #'s  about 3/4 tsp would be appropriate.... 

3/4 tsp is difficult to measure...  and I'm not sure about the canola oil penetrating the bacon, or releasing the cure to be absorbed by the bacon, my limited knowledge (none) of using the "pineapple cure" could not be construed as safe....  the amount I recommended, is assuming the cure will be transferred to the bacon....   not sure if that is true.....  

Sooooooo   an approximate amount of "Pineapple Cure" would be about 70% of 1 tsp for 5 #'s of bacon or about 1.4 tsp for 10 #'s of bacon...

OK, here goes.....  the average density of canola oil is 0.92 grams/ milliliter...  considering the other stuff added to the pineapple cure, I will assume it's density is now 1 gm/ml....  

5#'s or 2270 gms meat at 120 Ppm nitrite, you need 0.27 gms nitrite to cure the bacon...

1 gram of PC(pineapple cure) has 0.068 grams of nitrite...  

0.27 / 0.068 = 3.97 or *4 mls of PC for 5#'s of bacon*.....  That's the correct amount of nitrite for 5#'s of bacon.... don't know how you will add that or if it will absorb into the meat.....    

Sorry, I'm not smart enough to know what you can do or how to add the PC to the bacon....  Maybe you can mix it with more canola oil and rub it on the meat to get a uniform distribution and hopefully a uniform penetration of the cure...

OK more reading..... *Canola oil 1 drop is 1/20 of a ml*...   so... *80 drops would be approximately 4 mls.*.....  There you go.... Now you know as much as I do.....  Good luck.....   take pictures.....

Dave

*edit.......  1 tsp  =   4.93 mls*


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## chef jimmyj (Oct 18, 2013)

The instructions are Vague! It makes 2Cp of Cure then says just rub it all over...Then what? Put the belly in the Bag and what to do with what will likely be 1.75Cp of leftover Cure? Add it to the Bag and that is Way Too Much. Leave the extra out and you have no clue how much cure is actually on the meat!...Bad Recipe!...JJ


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## fishyink (Oct 18, 2013)

Thank you for the replies guys, Much appreciated.

I have washed the pork belly and soaked for 5 minutes. Re-done the Cure mix with 1spn of cure. All of the mixture rubbed in and had about half a cup left over which i just put into the bag.

looks like i will have to get scales that measure in smaller increments (mine is 1g)

I have Tracked down a online supplier and ordered some cure salt #1, So i can use this for the next batch.
Can any one recommend a good dry rub recipe for me to try on my next batch ? There are so many recipes out there and as i found how accurate are they.
 

Would i be safer to hot smoke this batch as i used the pineapple cure #1 which we are unsure if its will do the job ?.
My plan was to cold smoke it for 12 hours. at room temp (15-29c)

as i am new to this any tips are greatly appreciation.

Kind regards

Neil


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## daveomak (Oct 18, 2013)

You will need to let the belly sit in the refer for about 10-12 days for the cure to penetrate the meat....   Then you can slice off a rasher and do a test fry for salt etc. and you will be able to see if the cure penetrated completely through the meat....  If it has penetrated completely, go ahead and cold smoke or hot smoke etc....  It will be fine.....  

Dave

spelling error edit.....


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## chef jimmyj (Oct 18, 2013)

You will be fine cold smoking at those temps. 12 hours of smoke will do nicely...JJ


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