Question on this method of making Bresaola

[Rain41]

I'd like to try this recipe for Bresaola that calls for the meat to be submerged in wine for two weeks before being coated in salt, wrapped in cloth and hung to dry for another two weeks. This recipe doesn't use Prague powder at all, and while I've had home dried meat without Prague #1 or #2, I'd like to add Prague #2 to the recipe for that added bit of safety.

So my question is, will Prague #2 work in this recipe if I add it to the meat with the salt after it comes out of the wine? If so, do I calculate the amount of #2 based on the weight of the meat after it is out of the wine? Will I also be able to leave it to dry for more than two weeks?

Bresaola recipe:

Bresaola

Bresaola is air-dried, salted beef that has been aged for up to three months until it becomes hard and turns dark red. You'll need a bucket and 3 metres of muslin cloth for this recipe.

www.sbs.com.au

 

[indaswamp]

Wine is acidic in the range of 2.9~4.2 and will react with the Nitrite and Nitrate much like the cure accelerators ascorbic acid, Sodium erythorbate (erythorbic acid) or Encapsulated Citric Acid (ECA). If it is just a surface coating of wine on the meat, I do not know how much cure will be lost to reaction with the acidity of the wine if you try to cure the meat after immersion.

I do not know the purpose of the immersion in wine for 2 weeks. It may be to clean the surface of the meat in the acid of the wine...

You might try curing the meat first, and then once the cure is inside the meat, do a short soak in wine (30 minutes or so) to coat the meat with wine, then dry. But I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me will be along to help you.

 

[SmokinAl]

I'm no expert, but I've made a couple of batches of bresaola, and I always used cure #2.
I think you are taking on an unnecessary risk by not using cure #2. But some of these recipes on the web are really screwed up. Where did you get the recipe at. If it came from SMF or an SMF member, then I would say it's OK, cause we keep a close watch on the recipes posted for safety reasons.
Al

 

[Rain41]

@ indaswamp

Soaking the meat in wine is to flavor it. I did find a recipe that called for using Prague powder after the meat was soaked in wine for one night, but it was some food blogger's recipe and they even admit to not using Prague powder when they made it (because they "like to live dangerously" according to the blogger) so I didn't find it a very credible recipe to use. It was also the only wine recipe that listed Prague powder. That's why I wanted to ask about the use of Prague powder with wine since it would seem, for safety sake, it would be included at some point in the curing process. I hadn't considered it might be because the cure would react to the wine. Thank you for pointing that out! I'll keep that in mind when curing in the future.

@ SmokinAl

The recipe came from sbs.com.au (link is in the first post), which is a broadcasting channel. I don't think a TV station would put out a recipe that could sicken their viewers and open them to potential lawsuits, but I still don't want to try this recipe unless I can figuring out if I can add the Prague powder to it.

 

[chef jimmyj]

You can add the Cure #2 to the Salt based on the weight after the Wine soak, to be precise, though I doubt there will be a dramatic weight increase.
Acidic ingredients like Ascorbic and Erythorbic Acid is used as a Cure Accelerator, it speeds the conversion of Nitrite into Nitric Oxide, the active form of Nitrite. Acids also enhances and preserves the finished color.
Below is some detailed info from the National Center for Home Food Preservation...JJ

Curing and Smoking Meats for Home Food Preservation

 

[Rain41]

@ chef jimmyj

Thank you for the info! I think I'll test this recipe with Prague added to the salt on a pound or two of meat and see what comes out. I'll post the results before tasting anything in case, as a newbie in Bresaola making, I miss something someone more experienced might catch.