powders and alcohol in cured fermented sausages

[mrphilips]

so i'm following the recipes online and from books, and i'm starting to grasp the rations in terms of culture, water, seasoning, spices and garlic. easy enough. but what i understand less, is the varying amounts of dextrose, milk powder and alcohol in the recipes.

for example, the authors Ruhlman & Polcyn include 1c of milk powder in one recipe for 5lbs, and 1/2c in another for the same amount. Dextrose varies from 1 to 4 tablespoons in different recipes. 1/2c wine, or none.

wine or booze, i understand have flavour profiles, but does the alcohol not have an effect as well?
would 0 alcohol be a problem?
is there a required amount of dextrose for the culture, but we can add more for sweetness?
no clue what to say about milk powder... is it a binder?
if so, what's with the variance - a looser texture versus a "meatier" one?
and i know there's an equation for how much cure to use, but i don't know it.

i see tidbits, but is there a single resource that can explain how one would calculate these levels? i want to start coming up with recipes of my own with a greater understanding. any suggestions would be appreciated.

[vagreys]

I can't tell you about the dextrose and milk powder, but I can give you the formula for how to calculate the amount of cure mix you need.

You will need to know:
- how much the meat and fat weigh
- the percentage sodium nitrite content of your cure mix
- the target concentration of sodium nitrite you want to achieve in parts per million (ppm)

Let:
M = meat weight
C = cure mix
N = % nitrite or nitrate in the cure mix
P = ppm sodium nitrite concentration target/limit

If you want to know how much cure to add:

C = (M * P) / (N * 1,000,000)

If you want to know how many ppm of nitrite/nitrate is in the meat:

P = (C * N * 1,000,000) / M

Example: You are making dry-cured sausage using 5000g of meat. You are using US Cure #2. US Cure #2 contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and 4% sodium nitrate. US limits for nitrite/nitrate in sausages are 156 ppm nitrite, and 1718 ppm nitrate. You want to know how many grams of Cure #2 to use to achieve 156 ppm of sodium nitrite. You also want to know how many ppm of sodium nitrate it will contain.

C = (M * P) / (N * 1,000,000)
C = (5000g * 156) / .0625 * 1,000,000)
C = 780,000 / 62,500
C = 12.48g

So, your sausage mix needs 12.48 grams of US Cure #2. Now, how many ppm of sodium nitrate will the sausage contain, if the Cure #2 has 4%?

P = (C * N * 1,000,000) / M
P = (12.48 * .04 * 1,000,000) / 5000
P = 499200 / 5000
P = 99.84 ppm

So, your sausage will contain 99.84 ppm of sodium nitrate.

Notes:
Units of weight for M and C should be the same (so if you use ounces, then express weights in ounces for both, same with lbs, grams, or kilograms). I use grams.

Percentage nitrite in the cure mix should be expressed as a decimal value (6.25% = 0.0625). If you are working with pure nitrate or nitrite then the percentage is 100% or a value of 1.

US Cure #1 contains: 93.75% sodium chloride, 6.25% sodium nitrite
US Cure #2 contains: 89.75% sodium chloride, 6.25% sodium nitrite, 4.00% sodium nitrate

UK Cure #1 contains: 94.118% sodium chloride, 5.882% sodium nitrite
UK Cure #2 contains: 90.703% sodium chloride, 5.669% sodium nitrite, 3.628% sodium nitrate

European Cure #1 contains: 99.4% sodium chloride, 0.6% sodium nitrite

PPM Limits vary by country and by cured meat product. I don't know where you are.

Hope this helps.

[Yannis]

is there a required amount of dextrose for the culture, but we can add more for sweetness?

All the dextrose you add will "consumed" by culture during fermentation and drying producing acid, so if you add more dextrose you will get more acid no sweetness.

[the chorizo kid]

i might suggest using a prepared commercial cure, either # 1 or 2. the marianski book calls for this, and it has always worked for me. the above math, although sophisticated and probably correct, sounds very complicated, and complicated things can [and frequently do] lead to error, as we all know. go easy on yourself. use 1/5 tsp cure per pound of sausage.

[grisell]

[---]
use 1/5 tsp cure per pound of sausage.

How do you measure 1/5 teaspoon without errors?

[vagreys]

i might suggest using a prepared commercial cure, either # 1 or 2. the marianski book calls for this, and it has always worked for me. the above math, although sophisticated and probably correct, sounds very complicated, and complicated things can [and frequently do] lead to error, as we all know. go easy on yourself. use 1/5 tsp cure per pound of sausage.

As Marianski implies, the 1/5 tsp approximation works if you are using US Cure #1 and trying to achieve 156 ppm sodium nitrite in the meat. It is certainly easy if that is the case. It wouldn't work, at all, with European Cure #1. You would end up with 19 ppm of sodium nitrite in the meat, which isn't enough to protect against botulism.

Our friend crustyo44 is using US Cure #1 he had imported to Australia, but wants to limit the sodium nitrite in his sausages to the Australian standard of 125 ppm. The 1/5 tsp approach won't work for him, either.

The maths I provided, in my reply above, are the formulas found in Marianski for use with prepared commercial cures. The benefit of learning the formulas is that they work for any cure, any quantity of meat, any weight measure, and any standard, in any country.

[wheels]

The formula(s) given by vagreys is very easy to put into a spreadsheet. Then with accurate scales it's easy to use the correct amounts.

Phil

[grisell]

The formula(s) given by vagreys is very easy to put into a spreadsheet. Then with accurate scales it's easy to use the correct amounts.

Phil

Sure, got that. I may be over-sensitive, but then it's better to write 10 teaspoons to 50 pounds if you get my point.

[wheels]

I get what you're saying - 1/5 teasp per lb isn't an issue if someone makes a 10lb batch, but is more so if someone decides to make just 1lb. I agree.

I don't want to start a riot, but using grams or lb/oz for recipes is far more accurate and in the long run easier. Percentages are also brilliant as they allow easy scaling of recipes. Although a Luddite in many ways, even I can see the benefits of grams/percent when calculating cures and sausage recipes - particularly those involving nitrite/nitrate.

Phil

[vagreys]

To get back to the OP's questions, and again, I'm looking at Marianski, it seems the rule of thumb, at least to start, for dextrose and milk powder:

1-3% dextrose

1-3% non-fat dry milk powder

I've not found anything like a formula for computing the amount of milk protein to add, but these are suggested ranges to start.

[wheels]

There a chart of additives here:

http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/SausageD ... Charts.pdf

HTH

Phil

[grisell]

I get what you're saying - 1/5 teasp per lb isn't an issue if someone makes a 10lb batch, but is more so if someone decides to make just 1lb. I agree.

I don't want to start a riot, but using grams or lb/oz for recipes is far more accurate and in the long run easier. Percentages are also brilliant as they allow easy scaling of recipes. Although a Luddite in many ways, even I can see the benefits of grams/percent when calculating cures and sausage recipes - particularly those involving nitrite/nitrate.

Phil

I agree totally.

I don't think we can impose the Metric System onto our fellows "over there" quite yet. Therefore, if one has the time, one should converse vice versa; there are good conversion tables on the net. Sooner or later the Americans will discover the advantages with division and multiplications with exponents of ten too, at least I hope so.

(No offense intended)

[DanMcG]

Sooner or later the Americans will discover the advantages with division and multiplications with exponents of ten too, at least I hope so.

(No offense intended)

No offense taken.
I don't ever see that happening here, at least not in my life time. It would make to much sense.

[mrphilips]

i'm from canada - we're ambidextrous AND polite (or so i hear), i use a mix of imperial and metric weights every time.

guys! these are great thoughts and a great link! thanks again!
i guess, now that i know sausage science rules, i want to see how they work from a taste and texture standpoint too... how is using 1% binder vs 3%, will more dextrose really add more tang (from the bactoferm), etc.

i'll take these calculations and facts and run with them, but feel free to tell me what you do in your work and why you'd suggest it in the recipes you come up with from the flavour/tetxure standpoint