Please chime in with your thoughts.

[Virginiasmoke]

I finally got all of my supplies and I'm ready to go with my first bacon.

I'm looking at two recipes and am unsure of which way to go. Normally I don't give a second thought to substituting and customizing recipes but I've been warned against that when it comes to curring salts.
I'm using InstaCure #1. The package recommends 1 tsp per pound of ground meat ( I assume that applies to a whole pork belly as well ).

This recipe:
•2 oz. Kosher salt (about 1/4 cup)
•2 tsp. Cure #1 (aka pink salt, InstaCure #1, Prague Powder #1)
•1/4 C. Maple sugar or packed brown sugar
•1/4 C. Maple syrup
•5 lb. fresh pork belly
Shows 2tsp per 5 lb of meat.
But the Insta Cure package recommendation tells me 5 tsp for the same 5 lbs of meat.

This recipe for a basic dry cure:
•1 pound/450 grams pickling salt
•8 ounces/225 grams granulated sugar
•2 ounces/55 grams pink salt (InstaCure #1; or DQ Powder; or Prague Powder #1; or Cure #1; or TCM)
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
And 1 TBSP per lb of meat is recommended.

My question is... are all of these amounts of Insta Cure #1 safe to use? It looks like the Insta Cure itself is recommending the largest amount of cure.
Also... does the curing salt ( as little as 2 tsp per 5 lbs ) contribute largely to the overall saltiness of the finished product?

[Jarhead]

Don't know on whole meats. Harry will be the man to ask.
It seems a bit high to me, BWTFDIK?
Ground meats and jerky require 1 oz of pink salt per 25# of meat
_________________
Gunny 3073/4044/8411

Jarhead's World Blog
KCBS CBJ & HMFIC Debbie's Q Shack

[Virginiasmoke]

What "seems a bit high"? The posted recipes or the Insta Cure amount?

[Jarhead]

I "think" there are two TBS per oz of pink salt. (3 tsp=1 TBS). Help me Harry!
_________________
Gunny 3073/4044/8411

Jarhead's World Blog
KCBS CBJ & HMFIC Debbie's Q Shack

[Virginiasmoke]

Thanks. Maybe Harry will chime in.
If nothing else... I'll go with the first recipe. The author is pretty accomplished with this I think.

[Idaho_Roper]

[Jarhead]

Thanks for saving me Idaho_Roper
_________________
Gunny 3073/4044/8411

Jarhead's World Blog
KCBS CBJ & HMFIC Debbie's Q Shack

[Virginiasmoke]

Thanks I think... That just adds more questions. Why am I seeing anywhere from 1 tsp to 5 tsp of #1 per 5 lbs of meat?
I'm gonna stop over thinking this and just do it with Harry's recommendation.
I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

[Hell Fire Grill]

There shouldent be any guessing about it.

The correct ratio for cure #1 is one level teaspoon for five pounds of meat.

Read this:
http://thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46469

[Harry Nutczak]

1 level tsp per each 5-pounds of meat when using instacure #1.
4 ounces of instacure is enough to cure 100 pounds of meat.

2 tsp per each 5 pounds is double the amount required for instacure,

On the recipe you have listed at the bottom of your post, the 1TBS/Pound seems ok, but only when the cure is already mixed with the salt and sugar. But here lies the problem, salt, sugar, and the cure will separate out, and unless you are using the entire batch you mixed, you may be too light or too heavy on the cure if it settled. In instacure the nitrites are bonded at a molecular level so the active ingredient cannot settle out, same thing with TQ.
an FYI, in instacure, (as with all commercial cures available to us) is mostly plain salt, only 6.25% of that cure is actually the active ingredient. as little as 1/3rd of a tsp of the active ingredient in instacure is a fatal dose for an adult male.
This is why it is imperative that accurate measurements are taken, and recipes are not fudged. Weigh everything, and check your measurements twice if needed.

Morton's obviously realized a need for Tender-Quick so people doing home curing would not need accurate scales to do this safely, they could use rough measurements of their TQ product, and not need to worry about poisoning themselves or being short on cure and growing a deadly toxin by accident.

I still use TQ at times, especially when I am working with batch sizes less than 5 pounds because the measurements are not as critical as using Cure #1 (instacure, DQ cure #1, ETC ETC ETC)

Sorry for taking so long to answer, but I have been busy cooking all day, I finally got a little break.
_________________
Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

[Inner10]

Good post Harry, very informative.

I had no idea accuracy was that important.