What is the ratio of curing salt to beef

[Wizzy17]

Help please I am trying to make corned beef at home for the first tme. My curing salt instructions and other research says 5 tsp per 25 lbs meat

Micheal Ruhlman's recipe says 5 tsp for 5 lbs of beef.

My cut of beef is 5 lbs......surely 5 tsp is too much?

What is the correct ratio?

[CafeteriaFraiche]

It is in fact not too much. If you've been reading folks fears online about nitrate salt, it's understandable that one might get the willys. I've used Ruhlman's recipe before and it's lovely. You need the proper amount of pink salt to yield the flavor you want out of cured meats...It's why prosciutto tastes different (and looks different) than any standard cut of pig. I follow all of his recipes to a to a T and have never been let down. I get concerned with any tweeking to curing recipes for the sake of sanitation, without enough pink salt, you may create a fun swimming party for all the bacteri-friends that your cow part came with. Press-on friend. It's so tasty.

[Wizzy17]

The recipe says the pink salt isn't necessary so I am not afraid of contamination if I omit it but I do want for the meat to have the pink colour. At the same time the warning on the cure label which says, "Use as directed, more is not better and it can be toxic." is a bit foreboding. Hence the reason I want to be sure that I am using the correct amount.

[jpr54_1]

i make corned beef and pickled veal tongue-
I use the curing(pink) salt but i boil meat-at 2 times-draining liquid each time

[jpr54_1]

"both potassium nitrate and nitrite(prague powder) convert to nitric oxide by microorganisms and combine with meat pigment myoglobin to give the cured meat color'

The Joy of Smoking and Salt Curing

[carbonaraboy]

Prosciutto is not cured with pink salt, it is cured with Prague Poweder aka Cure #2:

http://www.sausagemaker.com/11250inst...

All dry cured meats us #2.

As long as your meat is submerged in the brine and refrigerated, you will be fine. As stated before, if you do that, you don't need pink salt but it does make it colorful and I think the flavor is enhanced (never did side-by-side, but I have done both).

[CafeteriaFraiche]

*Except for the Ruhlman dry cure recipes that call for Pink Salt

[jpr54_1]

5 tbs pickling salt
!/2 tsp saltpeter -Potassium nitrate

Linda Ziedrich-The Joy of Pickling

[scubadoo97]

Potassium nitrate is not used much anymore. Sodium nitrate and nitrite are used much more often

[jpr54_1]

i need to check my pink salt-i am not sure which i have

thanx

checked i have sodium nitrite-curing salt
do i need to adjust amount?
i bought the salt at www.savoryspiceshop.com

[jayt90]

That is a great link resource, scuba. I also like some extension departments at Agricultural colleges in Missouri and West Virginia Tech, when converting one type of cure to another.
Wizzy, a rub is more intense than a brine, so 5 t for 5 lb should be OK. I don't think Ruhlman offers a brine recipe, but there are lots around, to confirm the one you have.

[Wizzy17]

This is the Michael Ruhlman recipe I am following http://leitesculinaria.com/5912/recip... He has another on his website that says 4 teaspoons of pink salt. Both are brines not rubs.

[scubadoo97]

Sounds too high to me. You using cure #1 or tender quick?

If you have not seen this site it's a good resource

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/show...

[Wizzy17]

I am using cure #1 Thanks for the link will go take a read now.

[Wizzy17]

scubadoo97 thanks much. The info here says 1tsp of #1 cure for 5lbs of meat which is what my cure instructions say so I am going to err on the side of caution and go with that. The recipe says the pink salt is optional anyway so the worst that can happen is that the meat may not be very pink.
Thank you to every one who has responded to my query.

[scubadoo97]

After reading that page I posted it talks about how cure #1 can be used in a rub or brine. The amounts recommended appear to be related to use as a rub.

I also found this off the Bradley smoker forum which is more in line with Rhulman's rec
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index....

[todao]

Are you dry curing it or are you using a brine?

[Wizzy17]

I am using a brine.