www.sausagemaking.org

Cure #1 6.25% for US 0.6% for Europe.

Is this nothing more than a concentration level or do people in the U.S. use this higher % to cure the same weight of meat.

So when following a US recipe with my Polanski #1 will I be ok, as the % of nitrite would be about 90% less?

You'll notice that recipes using the 6.25% also have a large amount of salt added, while your Polanski already has the additional salt added in the cure. So to answer your question, No you can't directly use your cure in the amounts found in a 6.25% cure recipe, with out doing some math to get a safe level of nitrite in your product

So the US want a 6.25% in their meat, where Europe want 0.6%.

If you compare the permitted nitrate levels in ppm in the US and EU you'll find they are broadly similar. Look at exactly what's in each cure, as nitrate/nitrite levels will be different as Dan has indicated, and take the total amount of salt into consideration.

Hey Fingers, this might help explain the difference;


I use my 2.5 gram of cure and add 15-20 grams of salt to it, while you use 26 grams of cure and add No salt.
So if you wanted to use a recipe that uses a 6.25% cure just remove the cure and the salt in the recipe and add your cure, useing what you would normally use as a safe amount.

Edit, Here's a link to the cure calculator .
http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage ... calculator

Fingers wrote:So the US want a 6.25% in their meat, where Europe want 0.6%.

No. The amount in the meat is measured in parts per million and the US, UK and EU have restrictions on the amount in the meat that are similar (156 ppm, 150 ppm, and 120 ppm, respectively). American cure #1 (6.25%) is more concentrated than UK cure #1 (5.88%), and UK cure #1 is more concentrated than all-purpose curing salt (0.6%). We all want similar amounts in the meat. Americans use less of their concentrated cure and dilute it with plain salt. UK curers use a little more of their concentrated cure than the Americans and dilute it with plain salt. People using all-purpose curing salt don't add any plain salt to their cure because it is already diluted. The amount of salt and nitrite going into the meat is about the same - a little less nitrite if you use the all-purpose curing salt but usually enough to keep the sausage safe.

For a kilogram of meat, I could use 2.94 grams of US Cure #1 plus additional salt, or 3.12g of UK Cure #1 plus additional salt, or about 19g of all-purpose curing salt and no additional salt, and still end up with the amount of salt I want in the sausage and enough nitrite to keep the sausage safe.

You ask a good question. Calculating the amount of cure needed is the most complicated part of curing meat, in my opinion.

...and I've just realised why I'm a member here. That's the best explanation you'll get to explain the differences.

Maybe post the recipe you want to use and someone here will advise the amount of your cure/salt that you should use?

Phil

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-making/curing

This is the info that has me a little confused, chart near the bottom. 'There are different cures in European countries, for example in Poland a commonly used cure goes by the name “Peklosól” and contains 0.6% of Sodium Nitrite to salt.'

I have bought these which contradict that info and contain 6.25%

http://www.homecuring.co.uk/product_inf ... ucts_id=83
http://www.homecuring.co.uk/product_inf ... ucts_id=82

Edit that above*

I was getting thrown with it not being pink, and outside of the US, AND the name Prague Powder. It seems I have bought the US cure which is also known as, Prague Powder, which is 6.25%.

SO

If I am curing sausage can I stick to 27.5g salt + 2.5g Cure #2 per KG of meat. Would this provide a fail safe cure then its just spices and herbs to taste?

Yes. You could even have the salt go as low as 21 g for a sausage that takes more than two weeks to dry. I remember someone lost 50 pounds of meat because they misunderstood what the cure concentration was.

Ah ok, so the length of curing can dictate the amount of salt required, and I guess the finished taste. I guess only experience is going to provide the preferred level of salt. Would it be that the longer the curing the less salty the flavour would become? Personally I like food well (properly) seasoned.

The help here is great folks, thanks very much.

Fingers wrote:Would it be that the longer the curing the less salty the flavour would become? Personally I like food well (properly) seasoned.

Other way round I believe. The longer you cure, the more salty it is.

Fingers wrote:Ah ok, so the length of curing can dictate the amount of salt required,

No; length of time curing dose not dictate the amount of salt required .....

What dictates the amount of salt/cure to be used is the weight of the piece to be cured

and I guess the finished taste.

Somewhat

I guess only experience is going to provide the preferred level of salt.

In a sense; yes but remember you have to start somewhere

Would it be that the longer the curing the less salty the flavour would become?

No; again one needs to do a EQ cure ---- 2.5% salt x weight of the meat in grams --- the cure is done the same way 0.25% cure x weight of meat in grams

This way you will not have something that is overly salty no matter how long you leave it in the cure -- you may or may not find 2.5% salt to your liking --- myself I use 2% salt on about 99.999% of all things I cure -- the one thing that never changes is the cure % which is 0.25%

kil2k wrote:

Fingers wrote:Would it be that the longer the curing the less salty the flavour would become? Personally I like food well (properly) seasoned.

Other way round I believe. The longer you cure, the more salty it is.

If one has not used what is called an "EQ cure" then yes this is true