Wheels everyday ham

[johnfb]

I am going to attempt this recipe from Phil's blog

http://www.localfoodheroes.co.uk/weblog ... =my_weblog

I am curing it with Prague Powder #1, a mix of sodium nitrite & salt, but have just found out that I only have 25gm of it left so will have to adjust all the other ingredients to allow for this. The cure will be:


780gm Water

90gm Salt

97gm Sugar

25gm cure #1

4gm Spices (Juniper Berries, Cloves, Bay Leaf, Coriander Seeds, Parsley and Thyme)

TOTAL 996gm
My question is:
Can I use my all purpose curing salts for this recipe at a rate of 115grm to incorporate the 90grm salt and 25 grm cure # 1
Thanks

[wheels]

John

Just to check - are you referrining to Franco's curing salts or one from A. N. Other.

Phil

[johnfb]

From A.N. other.
Pack contains:Salt, preservitive Sodium Nitrite E250

Any advice???

[wheels]

I would ring them and ask the % nitrite level (if it's from Wesch....) ask for Tim - he's always been very helpful - in the meantime I'll see if I've got them.

Phil

[johnfb]

Ok, will do

Addition:
I spoke with Tim last week on this and asked him if I could use the curing salts in place of saltpetre, or cure, and salt in a recipe. He said there was no problem doing this and that their curing salts are what butchers use all the time.

[wheels]

John

I know they do - but they don't use my recipe - I'm not scared that you'd be adding too much cure in this case, but too little.

If the curing salt's only 0.5% nitrite, which many are (or less) you'll only be curing at 58PPM - which IMO isn't enough.

Phil

[wheels]

John

DO NOT USE - SEE BELOW FOR AMENDED CURE

I believe you are using Supracure - I can't lay my hands on the spec sheet for it but am sure it was 1% Nitrite, 2% Nitrate, although the Nitrate may have been reduced recently because of the changes to EU curing laws.

You could use it as directed on the packet of course, but if you want to make a brine, this would be OK:

1000 mls (1 litre) water
120g sugar (white/brown - whatever takes your fancy)
190g Supracure
The spices you fancy

This will give:

145PPM Nitrite
290PPM Nitrate (above current EU levels but below pre mid-2008 levels, and US levels)
1.44% salt (fairly low)
0.92% sugar (fairly high)

Because it contains Nitrate I'd pump and then cover brine for 14 days, to allow time for the saltpetre to 'do it's thing'.

It should make a sweet, comparatively lowish salt product - like my cure above does.

Phil

[johnfb]

Phil, I could hug you.
Thanks so much for all your time and effort...and patience on this.
At last I can use my cure for something other than bacon.
Yeehaw!!!!!



ADDITION
What size piece of pork would this be suitable for???Phil, if I was to do a big piece of leg can I simply double the quantities or treble and so on..???

[wheels]

Pleasure to help, John.

...and yes, you can scale it up. How much you need depends on the size of the container it's in. Ideally, during the brine cover period you want the meat submerged - although if it sticks out yo can always just turn it regularly.

You end up looking at every food grade container thinking, "I wonder what I could cure in that?"

With a reasonably close fitting box, I can cure a 7kg boned out leg in a 3 litre mix i.e. 3 times the above.

Phil

[johnfb]

Cheers once again.

Now my next project is to find a question you don't know the flippin answer to...

[saucisson]

The answer is 42...

What was the question?

[johnfb]

It's from one of my favourite films too.
I'll just get a towel before I answer it. Thumbs up!


Phil,
Can I use the above brine blend for your fab looking corned beef?

http://www.localfoodheroes.co.uk/weblog ... =my_weblog

John

[wheels]

42 Mr Dent

[johnfb]

Phil,
Can I use the above brine blend for your fab looking corned beef?

http://www.localfoodheroes.co.uk/weblog ... =my_weblog




Also...is the fridge ok to use for the 14 days???

[wheels]

John

I'll adjust the corned beef for you. Yes in the fridge is OK.

Just one caveat, I wouldn't normally use nitrate in cures for cooked ham or corned beef as I cook, slice, vacpac and freeze them, so I don't need the long term protection that nitrate provides. I know oddley uses saltpetre for flavour, altering his recipe would be much easier.

I would still actually ring Tim Wesch... if I were you, and confirm that the levels are 1% Nitrite and 2% nitrate. They're the figures I'm basing my calculations on. I've hunted high and low and can't find the spec sheet they sent me!

Phil