# pre-mixing instacure and salt?



## saigonjj (Nov 3, 2012)

I was using Morton's TQ before but have started using pink salt with my latest 2 cures (still curing).  I followed the advice seen on here, put the instacure, salt, and sugar in a mason jar, screwed the cap on, and shook the begeezus out of it for a couple of minutes.

Still, yesterday for example, I wanted to start a single pork belly which weighed in at around 780 grams, which calls for 2 grams of instacure, a tiny amount.  I'm worried (1) about inaccurate measuring since my scale reads in whole gram increments (so I could have anywhere from 1.6 grams to 2.5 grams and it would still read 2 grams) and also I wonder if that tiny amount of cure will distribute evenly no matter how much I shake it.  I was thinking of pre-mixing a larger amount of salt & cure for more accurate measurements and distribution.  I was even thinking of wizzing it up in my handheld coffee grinder to make some of the granules finer.

Do others do this?


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## diggingdogfarm (Nov 3, 2012)

Yes, it's usually called  'salt box' or dredge curing.

This is my mix:

All-Purpose Cure Mix

17.5 oz canning/pickling salt

5.5 oz granulated sugar

2 oz cure #1

This can be used at the same rate as Morton's Tender Quick, 1 tablespoon (14 grams) of mix per pound of whole cuts.
It's essential to use pickling salt so that the salt, sugar and cure particle size are all nearly the same.
The above mix provides 156ppm nitrite and 2.4% salt compared to MTQ' 3%
Mix well before using.

~Martin


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## zalbar (Nov 25, 2012)

I premix a big bag of salt, sugar and cure ahead of time so that I don't need to keep yanking the scale out and measuring every little thing. Rule of thumb I go by is 5% of the weight of my meat in my premixed cure.


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## venture (Nov 25, 2012)

Some say not..

I say yes....

If your mix contains no moisture, and....

If your mix is thoroughly mixed each time before using.

Good luck and good smoking.


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## zalbar (Nov 26, 2012)

I've got to reiterate what Venture mentioned about giving it a good shake before each application. My last batch I forgot to do that and a lot of the cure settled, being smaller grained than the kosher salt I mixed it with.


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## saigonjj (Nov 26, 2012)

Zalbar said:


> I premix a big bag of salt, sugar and cure ahead of time so that I don't need to keep yanking the scale out and measuring every little thing. Rule of thumb I go by is 5% of the weight of my meat in my premixed cure.


So I assume that 5% is based on the other ingredients that you put in your cure mix and by using 5% of the mix you are getting the proper amount of nitrite per weight of meat, is that right?


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## zalbar (Nov 27, 2012)

Hmmm, seems like it didn't post or something. Here it is again

Basic Cure:
 

1 pound/450 grams kosher salt
8 ounces/225 grams sugar
2 ounces/50 grams pink salt
Using 780 grams of your original pork belly, we would add 5% of that in mix.

780 grams x 5% = 39 grams

Put all in a bag, mix/rub thoroughly. Store in fridge flipping every day for a week to ten days or till flesh is firm.

You can also just take your pork belly and dredge it in the mix, shake off excess and throw in a bag.Generally that's what I do. Same results. May have to adjust it more or less at the end with water for salinity. Curing meat isn't an exact science. Don't be worried about being 100% exact to the milligram. People have been doing this for centuries without scales and weights. I honestly think you're stressing out about it too much. You'll be fine.


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## diggingdogfarm (Nov 27, 2012)

Zalbar said:


> Hmmm, seems like it didn't post or something. Here it is again
> 
> 
> Basic Cure:
> ...



Just a heads-up.

That's Polcyn and Ruhlman's mix formula and, unfortunately, they're sometimes quite careless when it comes to cure.

If you use that mix at 5% of the weight of the meat, we're talking *~237.5 ppm nitrite*, which is WAY over what's recommended for bacon.

~Martin


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## zalbar (Nov 27, 2012)

You could try 2.5% instead of 5%, 19.5 grams instead of 39. I've never had any problems with using 5%, though again, I normally just dredge my bellies and stack them.

~Z

------------------

Now that I start thinking about it. 2.5% would be under the recommended amount of 150-180 ppm

@Digging: Could you walk me through the math. I doodled some during lunch trying to calculate it and am not sure I'm doing this right.

Can someone check my math?

Using the above mix, 6.25% of the pink salt is sodium nitrate (NaNO3).

50 grams X 6.25% =  3.125 grams NaNO3

total weight of cure = 725 grams of which 3.125 grams is NaNO3

39 grams of mix would mean that 3.125 / 725 = .00431 per gram is NaNO3 x 39 grams = 0.168 grams NaNO3

The maximum recommended NaNO3 concentration from the FDA is 200ppm or 2 grams per 10kg meat or .2 grams per 1 kg or .0002 per gram

Taking 780 grams of meat x .0002 gives us a maximum recommended concentration of 0.156 grams and I'm at 0.168

Not going to kill me, but the 5% is off

If we were to lower that to a 4% by weight, we come out to 31.2 grams cure and a NaNO3 concentration of 0.13447 which may actually be a bit on the low side.

This is assuming my math is right. I'm horrible at math...

-----

And Dig's right, 120ppm for bacon, I was thinking of ham and sausage.


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## zalbar (Nov 27, 2012)

pls delete double post


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## chef jimmyj (Nov 27, 2012)

Gotta agree with Martin on this one. Zalbar's mix is fine but I would not use more than 2.5%to 3% of the meat weight...JJ


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## diggingdogfarm (Nov 27, 2012)

I calculated it by converting the imperial measurements to metric, another area where Rulhman/Polcyn are kind of sloppy.

2 ounces of cure #1 = 56.699 g. or rounded off to 57.

Since I've already done the initial calculation, it's easy to figure the ppm at other application rates.

So, since 5% would equate to ~237.5 ppm nitrite.
4% would be ~190ppm nitrite.
3% would be ~142.5ppm nitrite
2.5% would be ~118.75ppm nitrite.

It's good to stay between 120ppm and 156ppm when curing bacon short term.


~Martin


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## saigonjj (Nov 27, 2012)

I think this is a useful discussion.

So I think in my case I need to figure out my target nitrite level plus my target salt and sugar levels and create a mix from there.  I see the USDA minimum is 120 ppm, which is what DiggingDog says too, so that's probably a good starting point.  I've tried 3% salt the last few bellies and it's saltier than I'm used to, but in a good way.  I might it down to 2 - 2.5%.  I've been using regular table salt rather than kosher.  What is the advantage of using kosher salt?


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## diggingdogfarm (Nov 27, 2012)

saigonJJ said:


> What is the advantage of using kosher salt?



In this case, there's no real advantage over other appropriate salts, IMHO.
I have 3 different brands of kosher that I keep on hand, because they're all a little different texture wise, but I usually use pickling salt or sea salt for curing meats.

As far as the salt content goes, I prefer about 2.5% salt for bacon.
You can easily get about  that with the above mix I posted (use at a rate of 3% of the weight of the meat or as otherwise noted), or use the calculator on my web site to adjust the salt to whatever you prefer.

http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html


~Martin


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## rtbbq2 (Nov 27, 2012)

Here is a good site on Cures, curing, how to apply cure, temperature and more....Just wanted to share it with everyone....Very good to print a copy and save as your favorites....Smoke on 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/sausage-making/curing


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## smokensweet (Dec 12, 2012)

ok someone correct me if i am wrong, but isn't the purpose of using kosher salt to avoid the addition of anticaking agents and other impurities added to table salt that could affect taste/texture of meat?  also iodine... anyway, am new to all of this also, just remember from my research how important it was not to use table salt.


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## diggingdogfarm (Dec 12, 2012)

You should avoid iodized salt.
Not all table salt is iodized.
As far as the anti-caking agents go, they're usually not a problem.
Morton Kosher has an anti-caking agent added, Diamond Crystal Kosher does not, both are fine to use,
Un-iodized table salt is fine.
Canning and pickling salt is fine.


HTH


~Martin


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## saigonjj (Dec 16, 2012)

I opened my jar of pre-mixed cure last night to start curing some mini-hams out of pork loins and noticed a chlorine-like smell which I hadn't noticed before.  What could this be?  I did use regular table salt and in all likelihood it was iodized.  Could this be the cause, and is it anything to worry about?


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## diggingdogfarm (Dec 16, 2012)

What are all the ingredients in your mix?
Did you put anything in the mix that contains ascorbic acid or the like?


~Martin


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## saigonjj (Dec 17, 2012)

Just instacure #1, table salt, and light brown sugar.  Nothing else.


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## charcoal junkie (Dec 25, 2012)

Don't know if this will help or not.  http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ0974.html


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## saigonjj (Dec 28, 2012)

Started 3 small pork loins 2 weeks ago with my pre-mix.  Looks like all 3 have some degree of unpleasant smell.  One is probably OK but... 

I opened my jar of mix again and the chlorine-like smell is quite strong.  I don't know what I got in there but obviously it's not good.  Guess I'm going to start over from scratch.  This time I'll use kosher salt and white (not brown) sugar.  I'm even starting to doubt my pink salt, which is a couple years old and lost its pink color (although I know this is just a dye, but makes me wonder where it went nonetheless).


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## diggingdogfarm (Dec 28, 2012)

The problem is likely the moisture in the brown sugar causing a reaction.


~Martin


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