All my recipes I've posted thus far have called for "cure #2". I've been asked a number of times by email what exactly this ingredient is. I figured I'd write a short post about it to clarify.
Cure #2, also called "Prague Powder #2", is a mixture of salt, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. Cure #2 is used on items that are dry cured over an extended period of time, like salumi or cured meats. The sodium nitrate in the cure breaks down over time to sodium nitrite and that is then broken down to nitric oxide, which acts as an oxidizing agent keeping the meat safe from our most evil of enemies, botulism. It's therefore CRITICAL to making safe cured meats. At least in my mind it is.
Cure #1 consists of salt and sodium nitrite only. The nitrite keeps the meat safe for a short period of time, and keeps the meat a nice red color as well as give it that "cured" taste. This is used in products that are made and then cooked and eaten quickly like fresh sausages. Don't confuse cure #1 with cure #2 they are NOT interchangeable.
You can buy both of these items very cheaply ($4 for 16 oz, which is enough for many years of sausage making) from many online sources. Just google the name of the cure you're looking for, you should find it very easily.
I don't feel like writing a scientific explanation, suffice to say that if you're not a risk taker and value your life, you should use cure #2 in your cured meats. Can you do without, maybe. I guess you could. Would I? Hell no.
Please don't email me telling me nitrates are bad for you. I don't feel like arguing, and it'll just prove you haven't done your research because there are more nitrates in a bowl of spinach than in a WHOLE salame.
Hope this helps.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Critical Ingredient - Cure #1 and #2
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
38 comments:
Eh, I've never used either of these cures. Of course, that's because nothing like that was ever in our family recipes for dried sausage or 'lonza' (coppa). Haven't died yet!
I'll likely pick some of these up now that I'll be making cured meats on my own and not with others.
-James O'Meara
Love your site - been following the adventures in curing for a while. Sounds like you are having great success.
I tend to think of pink salt as being the shorter cure - what you'd use in bacon and fresh sausages. Do I have it backwards?
Thanks
-N
Nick, i guess it depends on location. My cure #2 is actually pink, my cure #1 (sausages and bacons) is white.
Guess it depends on location/source.
Grazie, Jason.
Thanks for the comment on nitrates, spinach and salame, too. I may need that one down the line.
-Jennifer
Boy, just when you think that everyone's been able to agree on a standard to make things idiot-proof, someone apparently comes along and does things differently just to keep us on our toes.
Jason, are you sure your cure #2 is pink and contains both nitrates and nitrites? I see the picture you've included, from the Sausagemaker website, but everything else I know (every book on sausagemaking, every other website) says that ONLY cure #1, which, as you say, contains only nitrites, is tinted pink and called Tinted Cure Mix (TCM) or "pink salt."
If Insta-Cure is now tinting its #2 mix the same color as #1, this is dangerously confusing!
Larbo, you're right. I'm looking at butcher-packer and cure #1 is pink as well, and cure #2 is white.
I'm definitely sure that my cure #2 is pink. It's entirely possible that they put cure #1 in the bag and mislabeled it!
Now i'm confused as well.
I'll remove the reference to pink salt in the post, so as to not confuse people. I guess the lesson is just make sure you use the right stuff!
Looking at the Wedliny Domowe site, they say "Both Instacure 1 and Instacure 2 contain a small amount of FDA approved red coloring agent that gives them a slight pink color," so I guess Insta Cure is different from everyone else in tinting both their cures. Don't know how long they've been doing this, but it does mean that we shouldn't say "pink salt" or "tinted cure mix" anymore for our recipes. We should specify Cure #1 or #2, and everyone needs to remember that nitrites are for fast curing items (bacon, cooked sausages), while nitrite and nitrate together are for long-curing items (ham, raw salumi).
Good to know. I don't know what brand mine is.
I have Butcher-Packer, my #1 is pink, #2 is white.
That's weird Scott. Mine is pink for #2 and white for #1 (actually possibly an ultralight pink, it does list a red dye as a colorant).
Maybe they changed suppliers. Mine is from 2004./
Mine is only about 3 months old. I thought there was a discrepancy when I initially read your post. Now, I'm doubting myself, gonna go check to make sure.
Just checked mine from Butcher & Packer last year. DQ Curing Salt, what I would call pink salt or Cure #1, is cotton candy pink. Package labeled "D.Q. Curing Salt #2" has a subhead that reads "For Dry Cured Sausage Only" and is off-white.
However, looking at pictures from The Sausage Maker (www.sausagemaker.com) shows their "Insta Cure No. 2" as light pink. Could be that different suppliers color their products differently. If so, this is dangerously confusing.
Ahh, just re-read the comments and realized that Larbo had said the same thing earlier. Sorry for the repeat.
Anyone know if there is a difference between Cure #2 and Tender Quick ?
Thanks
Jake
Sorry there was an embedded hyperlink in there that didn't make it through, here is the link to Tender Quick:
http://www.mortonsalt.com/products/meatcuring/tenderquick.html
Thanks
Jake
Jake, the difference is in the fact that Tenderquick uses sugar as well as salt, and the % of nitrates and nitrites isn't the same as cure #2.
it isn't interchangeable.
As one who can easily drive to the Sausage Maker, I can tell you that both Instacure #1 and #2 are pink!
hey jason,
i appreciate the nit/spinach comment...man, some people just believe anything they read...also, just wanted to know if you use pink salt for your bacon. i used to but now that i've tried it a couple times without i actually like it better without. no real noticeable changes (quality/color) and it seems the pork flavor really comes thru without the overly 'cured' flavor (which i also like)...either way, i appreciate your comment!
I would like to read for myself about the amount of nitrates in spinach. If that is true I wont hesitate consuming my salami because of that. Can you tell me where I can find that fact on spinach?
Jhenry: i've never made my pancetta without cure #2. Given that it is a dry cured product that dries in the curing chamber i would hesitate to not use it, but that's just me.
If you're talking real bacon, smoked and all ,i've never actually made it
Anonymous the information can be found in "The Art of Fermented Sausages" book, which cites a European study by MAFF, number 158 year: 1998.
as well as by googling:
http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200603/000020060306A0023595.php
I've never tried any one of them!
Is it safe?
Thanks for the idea!
Hi Jason,
I have a question on something that isn't related to the current post.
Here is the question. I just got a bonelss leg of lamb and I'm going to be using your recipe to dry cure it. Why do you use powder garlic and not the "real" thing. I think it's cause of mold issues? Am I right? Sorry for asking it here.
Jane
there are some concerns with mold and the wet garlic, but given the amount of salt, it should be fine. I use powder b/c it is easier to measure, disperse and make into a cure mix.
Jason,
Thank You! You are such a big help.
Jane
Hi Jason, I live in Brazil and have been curing bacons for a while with something they call "salt cure", which is your cure #2, sodium nitrite and nitrate. I'm about to embark on my first lonzino, and am wondering if I can pull it off without the mold, which seems a bit hard to find around here. What about salames?
Adriana, making lonzino or salame without the mold should be perfectly fine. I just recently started using it, and i've always had good results.
good luck!
Thought you might enjoy this:
http://humblechef.blogspot.com/2009/05/important-message.html
heh, home made salami IS best!
Hi Jason
Love your blog and am ready to start making my first homemade....help where to I start! What would you recommend for this first time? Thanks
Mango Mama, i would start with pancetta:
http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/2008/08/pancetta-easiest-cured-meat-of-all.html
Thank you! Regarding the curing chamber - what do you suggest to use and what would the optimal conditions be?
Mango mama, i've answered this question in the pancetta posts, as well as whole posts dedicated to the curing chamber.
Please look at my archived posts.
I think you're waaaay over due for your next segment :)
Bill
Bill, i really am. I've just been so busy on weekends i haven;t had a chance to do much of anything.
Next project is a venison salame.
I was just ribbin' ya a bit (and maybe just a little proddin' too). :) I know you're busy but your work up to this point has been so captivating! I think I speak for several here when I say "WE WANT MORE!" LOL ;~) Lookin' forward to your venison salami segment.
Take care,
Bill
Jason, drop me an email when you are starting the venison. I was just given another piece by the butcher.
WOW!.... You published many ideas.
Thanks for the ideas....
--
Jhon
Home Security Systems no CREDIT CHECK everyone is approved
re: The color pink.
I once spoke to a plant inspector at Columbus Salame Co. in San Francisco, California and asked about the pink color of "curing salt" and was told it is added not to color the meat but to make sure it isn't confused with plain white salt which would be extremely dangerous. This makes sense to me.
Al Verona
Post a Comment