Homemade Sausage Making

el Ducko wrote: Cure #2
This cure is a blend of salt and sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate. The salt is added as a carrier and to make it easier to measure. In the United States it is dyed pink, so chefs and the home user will not mistake it for salt or sugar. It goes by several different brand and generic names, but they all have the same formula of 89.75% salt, and 6.25% sodium nitrite, and 4% sodium nitrate (1 pound of salt, plus 1 ounce of sodium nitrite, plus .64 ounce of sodium nitrate).

For what it's worth, here in America, there are at least three different Cure #2 formulas.

6.25% nitrite and 1% nitrate. (SausageMaker)
5.67% nitrite and 3.63% nitrate. (Butcher & Packer)
6.25% nitrate and 4% nitrate. (Allied Kenco)

Thanks for the good info, Bob.
What a mess! I sure hope they put the concentrations on the label.

Baconologist wrote:For what it's worth, here in America, there are at least three different Cure #2 formulas.

6.25% nitrite and 1% nitrate. (SausageMaker)
5.67% nitrite and 3.63% nitrate. (Butcher & Packer)
6.25% nitrate and 4% nitrate. (Allied Kenco)

Bob, those seem to be significant differences. Duk, our chemical engineer, would know better than me. Are they to be applied differently or used the same way?

Shuswap wrote:

Baconologist wrote:For what it's worth, here in America, there are at least three different Cure #2 formulas.

6.25% nitrite and 1% nitrate. (SausageMaker)
5.67% nitrite and 3.63% nitrate. (Butcher & Packer)
6.25% nitrate and 4% nitrate. (Allied Kenco)

Bob, those seem to be significant differences. Duk, our chemical engineer, would know better than me. Are they to be applied differently or used the same way?

I'd sure do the calculations before using 'em. ...but then, I always do the calculations anyway. (Into each life a little math must fall.) As you know, add up the whole recipe's weight (if you are working in volumes, weigh 'em as you add 'em), then calculate how much cure you'll need.

Start off with the formula

• ppm nitrite = 1,000,000. * (0.0625 %nitrite) * (gms cure) / { (grams rest of recipe + grams cure) }

For you folks who don't care for algebra, solving for grams of cure added works out to

• gm cure = (ppm nitrite) (gm rest of recipe) / {(1,000,000.) * (0.0625 % nitrite) - 1.0}

So, for example, if you wanted 150 ppm of nitrite in a recipe that weighs out to 1.238 kg of mince plus spices plus whatever, you would need

• gm cure = (150) * (1,238 gm rest-of-recipe) / { (1,000,000.) * (0.0625 %nitrite) - 1.0 }
  = 2.97 grams cure.

For the nitrate, just plug in percent of nitrate and the amount of cure that you just calculated, into that top formula. In this case, for Sausage Maker`s 1% nitrate,

• ppm nitrate = 1,000,000. * (0.01 %nitrate) * (2.97 gm cure)/{ (1,238 grams rest of recipe) + (2.97 grams cure) }
  = 23.9 ppm nitrate

Respect those curly brackets in the denominator, now, folks. Ignoring them will throw you off, but maybe not too badly. However, if you get a nonsensical answer, chances are that you didn't strictly follow 'em.

...great question, Phil: why the differences? It would appear that they were all formulated for different sausage recipes, for different curing times. Bob or anyone... care to comment? For you fermented sausage types, this is really good stuff to know.
Duk

Made the Breakfast Sausage and Gravy yesterday and this morning. The sausage was a little bit salty, I believe because the Pork Butt had a 12% solution. Once added to the gravy though no other salt was needed. I should have thinned the gravy out, it really thickened once I plated it.

None the less it was very good and tasty.
Just didn't get around to making the sourdough starter, I am going to get that going today.

Next up tonight is the "Hip-Shot" hamburgers.

Enjoy the pictures.

Pork Butt


Pork Butt Cubed and ready for the chill


Grinding 3/8" plate


Grind


Mixed


Sausage N Gravy


Plated

WOW! You nailed it. Can't get any better than that. Hip shot burgers are tasty. Good luck

SalP - looks mighty good! Even though biscuits and gravy are not a Canadian thing I am going to make it to use my "chunky breakfast sausage" made at the start of this course along with some chili and pizza. DW took to biscuits and gravy on our visits to your great state

I am getting ready to brine the pork loin for Canadian Bacon. I have a 3.5lb pork loin. From Chuckwagons Smoked pork loin, it is using a 10 lb pork loin. Since i have about a 1/3 of thw weight then i should divide the ingrediants by a 1/3. The original recipe has:
10 lbs Pork Loin
3T Cure #1
4 qts Ice water
3/4C Sugar
2T Mapleline
1C Salt
I figured 1/3 of this is:
1T Cure #1
1.2 qts Ice water
.225C (1/4C) Sugar
.6T Mapleline
.3C (1/3C) Salt
And I would inject 1/3 lb of the brine.

Do my figures look correct?
Yes they do ~ (CW)
Could I make the full amount for the 10 lbs and just use 1/3 of the brine?
Absolutely! (CW)
Thanks for everyones help. This is a great way to learn and have feedback.
Sal, those photos are magnificent! Are you a professional photographer? Your projects look just exquisite and delicious. Good going pal! Nice work. (CW)

Sal

SalP wrote:... Since i have about a 1/3 of thw weight then i should divide the ingrediants by a 1/3. ...
And I would inject 1/3 lb of the brine.

Do my figures look correct?
Could I make the full amount for the 10 lbs and just use 1/3 of the brine?

Looks good to me, Sal. ...but then, I'm just a duck.

But seriously, the numbers are fine. I would check, before I mix anything, that 1.2 quarts of water, minus 1/3 pound of water, covers your pork loin in whatever container you plan to use. If it does, great.

If it doesn't cover, however, I would fill with water until the loin is covered, weigh out the water, then mix based on a bit more than that amount of brine. You want a slight excess of brine so the meat will be covered, so round it up a bit to the next easy-to-measure amount. ...say, if you require just under 3 quarts of water to cover, mix up { (3 quarts) / (4 quarts) } or .75 of the brine recipe. Inject the same 10% amount, which is still 1/3 lb of brine. That 10% figure is important because it's 10% of the meat weight, not the brine, and that's what establishes the concentration in the meat.

An ocean of brine would be fine. An excess amount of brine is not important, because it is discarded. Not enough brine, though, means that the meat won't be covered, and the mix-plus-loin won't "equalize."

Thanks Duk. After looking at the pork loin, the amount of brine and the vessel to hold them. I am going to use what's in the recipe.

Sal

The Hip Shot Hamburgers turned out very good and tasty.
Since it's Hatch Chile time I added some before forming the burgers.

I know that 5 lbs of ground meat in the basic KitchenAid mixer is max, anything more and it would overflow. I had to put on the splatter shield and hold it down while the meat and ingrediants were dancing together.

Let me know if I am putting too many pictures up.

Getting ready to brine the pork loin. These last two projects were almost instant gratification. Now have to wait to enjoy.

Grinding


Mixed


Pressed and ready


Grill


Meal


Sal

Looks great! I started out with a kitchen aid and it works great. I only changed when the amounts got larger. On the pork loin I fillet them so they are under 2 inches in height. That way I didn't have to inject them. I only brine them in the solution. This was OK with CW. Greater mines then mine would have to chime in before it is OK.

Chuckwagon, I just joined the forum can you tell me how to join project KB.
Thanks Steve

You're IN Steve... welcome aboard! ~CW~

sfisher wrote:Chuckwagon, I just joined the forum can you tell me how to join project KB.
Thanks Steve

Chuckwagon is absent at the moment but hopefully will return soon !!!!