Some Pics Of my pastrami

[Oddley]

I made some salt beef using Len polis recipe for pastrami without the garlic in the brine. I used the 5 pints of brine for 2 pieces of brisket a 4lb piece and a 2lb piece. the 4lb bit in 4 pints brine the 2lbs in 1 pint of brine. After some 16 days in brine I cooked the 2lb bit of brisket. these are the images.

This is after 13 days I was just giving it a turn.


This is it just cooked after 7 1/2 hours at 250oF the metal stick you see in it is the insertion thermometer reading 165oF.


This image tells it's own story. After all that it was very good but I found the spice coating a bit to much. I calculated the finished meat had 78 ppm Nitrite

[Parson Snows]

Oddley

First of all congratulations on your Salt Beef, though the photos closer resemble an �Irish Spiced Beef� more than a typical Salt Beef/Corned Beef. As long as it tasted good whatever.

Now down to the questions, clarifications etc.

In the US either immersion cured or massaged/pumped products such as corned beef etc. are based on the following

MAXIMUM INGOING nitrite level is set at 200 ppm
MINIMUM INGOING nitrite level is set at 120 ppm

Though your product probably isn�t for resale I would recommend that you still use the above for your guidelines/guidance.

For your batch the finished meat nitrite level would be CONSIDERABLY LESS than the 78 ppm of ingoing nitrite used, therefore I would recommend having some friends round to sample your �first try� so that it isn�t hanging around too long. Don�t worry about this LOW level too much for this batch. I say this as you cooked it straight after taking it out of the brine so that you are really not relying on the �Cure� to stop the meat from spoiling, as it�s now cooked. It will however, NOT KEEP AS WELL as a properly cured sample, that�s why I said have your friends around so that it gets used up.

Questions
1) Which side of the Atlantic is �LDC� on? I ask as you just mention �4 pints�. Curious as to if these are 16 oz US pints or 20 oz Imperial pints.
2) You didn�t mention whether you injected the meat prior to placing it in the brine. If you did what was the capacity of the brine/meat pump?
3) Was the brine overhauled (basically stirred/re-mixed)? If so at what durations (number of days)?
4) Sixteen days in the brine also sees somewhat excessive if it was pumped. For the size being considered I would have used five (5) days per inch of thickness if it wasn�t pumped (immersion cured) and a total of five (5) days if it was. After this period I would also recommend removing the meat from the brine, covering it in cling film (or similar) and place it in the refrigerator (not more than 40 �F (4 �C)) to sit for a period of one (1) day per pound of meat weight to allow for the salt to equalize throughout the product before cooking it.
5) Did you soak the brisket in cold water overnight prior to cooking it?
6) The 7 � hours at 250 �F (121 �C) cooking time (internal temperature 165 F� (74 �C), medium to well-done) seems somewhat excessive for a 2 lb (≈ 1 kg) brisket. I would have thought more in the region of 1 � to 2 hours should have done it with a resting period of 20 to 30 minutes at the end of the cooking time.

Sorry but I wasn�t aware that you were making some at the time that we were discussing nitrites etc. I�ll post a complete calculation for this within the next week.

Kind regards

Parson Snows

[Oddley]

Parson thanks for taking the time to reply I will try to do what I can to answer any questions that you have put. I used the calculation and the example we discussed in a previous post

Example:

4lbs Brisket
4 pints water (Imperial)
10 % pump
32 grams Prague Powder #1 (@5.8824%)
80 gm salt
20 gm sugar

10.0222663139 * 0.5 / 2.204 6 = 2.273 kg + ((80 gm +20 gm +32 gm)/ 1000)) = 0.132 + 2.273 = 2.405 kg

The original formula said Weight of Pickle in Grams. .: 2.405 kg = 2405 gm

ppm = ( 32 * 5.8824 * 10 * 1000000 )/ (100 * 100 * 2405)

ppm = 78.27

In the US either immersion cured or massaged/pumped products such as corned beef etc. are based on the following

MAXIMUM INGOING nitrite level is set at 200 ppm
MINIMUM INGOING nitrite level is set at 120 ppm

Though your product probably isn�t for resale I would recommend that you still use the above for your guidelines/guidance.

The product is for home consumption. I have read that in the USA the levels are 120ppm - 150ppm for hams etc. So i'm a bit confused if you have it handy have you got a link to the amounts allowed.

1) Which side of the Atlantic is �LDC� on? I ask as you just mention �4 pints�. Curious as to if these are 16 oz US pints or 20 oz Imperial pints.

As you can see from the example all ingredients are in Imperial or grams.

2) You didn�t mention whether you injected the meat prior to placing it in the brine. If you did what was the capacity of the brine/meat pump?

I did not pump the meat so was a immersion cure. I read that the meat natrually takes up 8-10% of the brine. I did not know this fact before I started the cure so didn't keep an acurate account of the weight of the raw meat . So used 10% in calulation.

3) Was the brine overhauled (basically stirred/re-mixed)? If so at what durations (number of days)?

The meat was taken out and turned every day. There was no deliberate stirring. The brine was not changed.

4) Sixteen days in the brine also sees somewhat excessive if it was pumped. For the size being considered I would have used five (5) days per inch of thickness if it wasn�t pumped (immersion cured) and a total of five (5) days if it was. After this period I would also recommend removing the meat from the brine, covering it in cling film (or similar) and place it in the refrigerator (not more than 40 �F (4 �C)) to sit for a period of one (1) day per pound of meat weight to allow for the salt to equalize throughout the product before cooking it.

Thanks for the advice.

5) Did you soak the brisket in cold water overnight prior to cooking it?

No why? the meat was not at all salty.

6) The 7 � hours at 250 �F (121 �C) cooking time (internal temperature 165 F� (74 �C), medium to well-done) seems somewhat excessive for a 2 lb (≈ 1 kg) brisket. I would have thought more in the region of 1 � to 2 hours should have done it with a resting period of 20 to 30 minutes at the end of the cooking time.

I followed the recipe for internal tempreture and cooking temp, 7 1/2 hours is how long it took to reach the internal temp of 165�F. I have read that an internal temp of 155�F is the minimum acceptable temp to steralize the meat. After being cooked the meats texture was very good and I should imagine perfect for sandwiches.

Sorry but I wasn�t aware that you were making some at the time that we were discussing nitrites etc. I�ll post a complete calculation for this within the next week.

I am looking forward to having an arsenal of formula to take the guesswork out of curing. Thanks again for taking the time to put down your thoughts