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Re: Beginner and All Purpose Curing salt

PostPosted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 1:40 pm
by ComradeQ
rhiannon134 wrote:Brilliant, thanks. Hubby has some applewood that's seasoned so he wants to use that. Do we shut the lid on the bbq or just let it waft the smoke over the meat? Wondering how we keep it going for 8 hours... I guess hubby's going to be spending a day fire-tending!
Thanks, sorry for all the questions!


Questions are good, no worries! I would close the lid but make sure you have a thin stream of steady smoke. You won't need to touch the can except to maybe adjust the lid (cast iron pot or whatever you are using) so you can increase or decrease smoke. Maybe every 1-2 hours you just need to drop a handful of chips into the can, they will continue to smoke. No need to soak the wood chips, place them in dry, you want them to continue to slowly smoke over the very low heat generated by the few coals you placed in. The 3-4 hot coals will be enough to keep the wood smoking as long as you want while you are dropping wood chips in, no need to "tend" it as it will not go out. This method will not generate enough heat to notice and it will cold smoke beautifully. Remember, take pictures! ;)

Re: Beginner and All Purpose Curing salt

PostPosted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 1:57 pm
by wheels
rhiannon134 wrote:...I guess hubby's going to be spending a day fire-tending!
Thanks, sorry for all the questions!


You could always get one of these:

http://www.macsbbq.com/cold-smokers/pro ... -generator

It's what many members use for easy unattended cold smoking.

HTH

Phil

Re: Beginner and All Purpose Curing salt

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 12:12 pm
by rhiannon134
Hello! I'm back, with another question about curing using this Supersalz stuff...
The gammon I did in cider last year was okay, but not great. I think the cider was a bad idea...
I cured a ham a few weeks ago using the supersalz in a brine and that seems to have worked well, it is nice and pink and tastes pretty good. A bit tough but I think that's because I roasted it without boiling first.
I'm still a little unsure about the ratios with the curing compound though...

Do I have to weigh the pork legs before curing them? I assumed the usage rate for brine curing would be based on how much liquid I am using, rather than how big the piece of meat is. Am I wrong?
Is it meant to be 100g per litre or 22.4g per litre of water?

If anyone has a clue, I'd be most grateful!

BTW - we smoked the bacon as advised and it was excellent.

Re: Beginner and All Purpose Curing salt

PostPosted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 6:19 pm
by wheels
I'm glad to hear about the bacon.

Was it my cider ham cure you used? If so, did you adjust the salt/cure amount to take account of the Supersalz? Even so, it's a love it/hate it ham having the 'distinctive' spicing that it does.

Immersion cures are hard to calculate, particularly when curing smaller (non-commercial) amounts. There's not only the amount of cure to take into account, but also the ratio of brine-cure to meat, along with the length of time curing.

I'm currently working on a more 'general purpose immersion cure' calculator for smaller pieces of meat, but I've only done four trial pieces so far so am loath to recommend/publish it.

Sorry not to be of more help.

Phil