Pork Pressure or Not?

[RayClem]

If you want to be a good cook/pitmaster, get a good set of measuring cups and teaspoons/tablespoons. Cheap sets often include only the most common sizes.

Also consider getting an electronic cooking scale. Unlike older spring scales, these electronic scales are compact and relatively inexpensive. I have two scales: one with a max weight of 5000 grams/11 pounds and a precision scale that tops out at 500 grams, but is accurate to .05 grams. The later would be ideal for weighing pink salt.

Amazon.com : electronic cooking scale

Please do not confuse Himalayan pink salt which is used for seasoning vs pink curing sale which is 92.75% sodium chloride (table salt) and 6.25% sodium nitrite. The pink coloration is artificially added to prevent confusion with regular table salt. When curing meat, it is best to weight the meat on a larger scale and then weigh out the appropriate amount of pink curing salt on a precious scale.

BTW: Electronic scales are useful for many things around the house. You can weight packages to determine the appropriate postage. I like using loose leaf tea and use my precision scale for weighing out the correct amount of leaves. I also use the precious scale to weigh coins. Thus, these scales are a good investment.

 

[hickoryrokcih]

Yes, I am going to use "curing salt 1" I believe it is referred to as. It does not have the "nitrate" in it just "nitrite". My understanding is that the "#2 is for long time curing as in months. That is the way the nitrate changes, is what I understand. I had planned to use the "wet" method. I found an article that explained about what goes on and whys etc. I have time for some more reading. I will read the post in the link, I need all the help I can get. It seems to be a really big project, but, I like corned beef and have not had any for decades that tasted like what I thought it should taste like. So I will see. My ribs didn't turn out so great with the 321 recipe, but I read it can go either way. Thanks for you input.

DK

 

[RustyJake]

Look forward to seeing your progress. I started using wet brines, but space limitations made me seek out dry brining options. I would still use a wet brine if I did another ham. Dry brine method is a little easier do deal with in terms of refrigerator space for the curing time.
You are correct with the use of the different cures
My advice is to follow whatever method you are most comfortable with. Measure/weigh ingredients accurately. Some wet brine recipes call for a % injection into the meats, if your wet brine recipe has that step, don't skip it. Its6how the cure gets deeper inside the meat (ham recipes will have that step). I doubt that a corned beef recipe would, considering the thickness isn't much.

 

[hickoryrokcih]

I have what might be a stupid question, but with measure is it the same for spices by weight? Or, just the pink salt ratio?

I just answered my own question by taking a look at the recipe that you sent.

DK

In the link you mention that those are ingredients for a "dry brine" in your instructions? The guy in the thread said he was "wet brining" if I read it right.

Another question from reading is, You said you have no problem with it being too salty. I don't care for an extreme amount of salt, but will it be salty enough?

 

[RustyJake]

The recipe i showed is what I use. I have no idea what we're brine was used.
Using an equilibrium brine, with the correct ratios of spice/salt to meat, you won't have any issues with it being over salty. That's why using a scale as opposed to the teaspoon or tablespoon will yield you better results.
Some recipes you will find will include multiple rinses and soaks. These are being done to reduce the salinity. I have not had that issue with that dry brine equilibrium recipe. I have done it numerous times. I have left it as corned beef, and made pastrami from the corned beef.
I use an equilibrium brine to make bacon as well. You will find the equilibrium type of brine to be easier to work with and you'll have consistent results as long as you follow the gms/kg ratios.
That recipe I provided in the link will be a perfect amount of salt after you give the brisket a good rinse to get the spices and salts off the surface

 

[hickoryrokcih]

I'm following your recipe. I am waiting on some spices and the like from amazoom. pun intended. I've already written out the items and the amounts according to the weight of the beef. The remainder of my spices should I hope be here by the weekend.

 

[RustyJake]

As long as your scale can weigh small quantities, you will be golden. The equilibrium brine won't let you down.
Turn and massage the bag of meat daily in your fridge for the time as calculated by the rule of thumb I gave earlier and your brisket will be fully cured to the center.
Rinse off the spices and salts really well and then cook. Lots of recipes out there for cooking corned beef.

 

[hickoryrokcih]

My plan is to use my traeger elite. Do you suggest any kind of rub or any other special treatment for smoking? I plan on using hickory pellets as I love the flavor of hickory. The rub I used on the first brisket is probably too strong I don't want to kill the flavor of the beef after all of this. Don't mean to be a thorn but I would like this to turn out as good as the brisket did. Can't say how much I do appreciate it though.

DK

 

[RustyJake]

You can cook it like you would a brisket. Usually the corned beef is boiled.
Smoking it will take you into Pastrami
If you want, you can use a Pastrami rub. IF you do, and you are looking at buying commercial rubs, try and find one without salt, or as little salt as possible. The corned beef you have is already salted, no more required
Any rub you use should have minimal salt, and preferably no salt.
Here's the Pastrami rub I use
Pastrami Rub Recipe - Meathead's AmazingRibs.com https://share.google/iCLDLQymrACp0iWL2

If you wrapped in butcher paper on your previous brisket, this time you'll probably want a foil wrap for the meat. You could even opt for a metal or foil pan as well. You will want to add a bit of liquid to the wrap so you braise/steam the meat to finish it.

 

[RayClem]

As suggested by @RustyJake, I like using aluminum foil baking pans. They hold liquids well. I then cover the pan tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil to seal in steam. When you are finished, you can either wash the pan or toss it in the garbage. It is a lot easier doing this than trying to wrap in butcher paper or foil.

 

[hickoryrokcih]

@RustyJake Does that chart you recommended also work for pork loin chops. Or, is there different ratios for the spices. I'm pretty sure that I need 17.25 grams of salt for .69 Kg of boneless pork loin chops. But, I am not sure about the remainder of spices such as black pepper or paprika or brown sugar. Can you help me out here?

DK

 

[RustyJake]

You can use the same ratio/kg with the pork. Your 17.25 grams is correct, the rest of the ingredients would calculate the same.
You will wind up with a corned beef style pork roast. I haven't done this yet, but you have sparked my interest. Pork comes on sale a lot more often than beef.
Use the rule of thumb brine time calculation for determining how long to have it brine. You can go longer, if you need to have it work out for cooking convenience. I just wouldn't shorten the time.
If these are just chops, and they won't take long too cook, you could eliminate using the cure. The cure helps for larger cuts that are held in the danger zone for 4 hours or more (40°F to 140°F). You could theoretically smoke the chops for a couple hours and then reverse sear them to finish and be done and out of the danger zone.
Just make sure that you rinse these a couple of times. A 30 minute soak plus rinsing would help ensure that you've got the surface salt off. You want to ensure to get all the surface salt and spices off, these would be smaller cuts with more surface area exposed per portion, which could make the meat 'seem' salty.
You won't want to use any rubs containing salt, or at best minimal salt. Let each person salt to taste if needed.

 

[RustyJake]

I posted this a while back. This spreadsheet allows you to enter in the weight of your meat/protein and it automatically calculates the amount of spice and/or cure required. It has sausage recipes as well as some equilibrium brine recipes for corned beef and some other meats.
Its a zipped file. Once extracted, you can enter the weight of the meat at the top (the values in red). Then the rest of the values will populate based on what you've entered.
**These are not my recipes, they are a selection off of the web. Most are from Duncan Henry, and a few others that I wanted to save

 

[hickoryrokcih]

I forgot to say that I did not want to use the Curing salt, Just a simple rub/brine to refrigerate for a couple/several hours then on the pit.

Here is a link, I hope I am not violating a rule by posting this, that I found with useful info for me anyway.

Meat Curing Calculator for Curing Meat

Calculate the right amount of curing salt per pound of meat with our helpful tool. Ensure perfect results for your cured meats.

eatcuredmeat.com

see what you think or anyone else for that matter too.

DK

 

[RustyJake]

Yeah, I have seen that calculator before.
Here's another one that gives you the option to adjust the salinity of your brine

salt brining calculator

There are tabs available for calculating brining times as well as a gradient calculator. The equilibrium and brining time calculators are the only two I have used in the past

My spreadsheet is more for my sausage making and they are actual recipes as opposed to brining calculations