What Went Wrong??

[deb]

I had a go at making Oddley's Wiltshire ham recipe and it didn't turn out right.

Here's the recipe

Treacle 156 gm
Salt 156 gm
Black Pepper 5 gm
Beer 440 gm (440 ml Can of Beer)
Cure #1 20 gm (151 ppm Nitrite Ingoing)
Saltpetre 2 gm (257 ppm Nitrate Ingoing)
10 Juniper Berries

Weight of brine = 779 gm


The beer flavor in this cure really comes through so choose a beer you like.
Heat the beer to boiling point then add the salt, treacle and black pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, add Cure#1 and Saltpetre.
Weigh the brine and with preboiled water bring up to 779 gm. Now add the Juniper berries.
Put the meat and cure into a suitable container (non corrosive) and turn the meat in the brine. Leave the meat in the brine, in the bottom of the fridge, for 5 days per 500 gm or no less than 14 days Turning every day.

Note: Substitute 22g of cure#2, OR 4g saltpetre only, for the cure#1 and saltpetre.

I made the brine as detailed in the recipe, using the 4g saltpetre as that is what I have, but it didn't seem to cure properly.
The meat was just shy of 1kg and I left it in the brine, turning daily, for 15 days. It then sat in the fridge for a couple of days before cooking.

It wasn't a ham at all, more like a piece of pickled pork. It hadn't lost it's "porkiness (for want of a better description)" and when cooked it's colour was more that of cooked pork than the pink of ham.

I don't think there was anything wrong with the saltpetre itself as I cured a piece of brisket for salt beef and this seemed to go o.k.

Any idea what the problem was? This has been my only attempt at a ham and I really would like to get it right. This is something I would like to perfect as we eat a lot of ham in our house.

Thanks.

[Oddley]

Thats the problem with saltpetre only. If the bacterial conditions are not right due to a high meat ph, then it takes too long to convert to potassium nitrite. Thats why I like to use a combination cure, or nitrite only.

I think it might be a false economy to hold on to that saltpetre, that you have been trying to use up for a year now. I think it may be time to buy some cure #1, If you want repeatable results.

Saltpetre (as sodium or potassium nitrate) or nitrite curing salt (i.e. a homogeneous mixture of table salt and a maximum of 0.6% sodium or potassium nitrite) are used as curing substances. These are broken down in several steps to nitrogen oxide , which is bound to the muscle pigment myoglobi n (either to reduced myoglobin or to metmyoglobin). Legally prescribed limits for the nitrate or nitrite content refer mainly to the residual content in the product (cf. Additives Ordinance, Annex 7, point D.8.2).

Compared with nitrite, the addition of nitrate should result in a somewhat darker meat colour, a more intense flavour and more uniform colour throughout larger pieces of meat.

Nitrate is primarily used for curing longer-aged raw sausages and raw cured products. It is converted to nitrite by bac terial nitrate reduction (originating from micrococcaceae) with fairly high pH-values and then transformed through acid-dependent processes to nitrogen oxide and nitrate. Bacterial conversion itself is a tricky phase during curing and if excessive amounts are added or production conditions are less than optimal, this can lead to greatly increased nitrate levels in the end product due to insufficient development of the bacteria which create nitrate reduction. Care should also be taken that the first phase of the curing of longer-aged raw sausages and raw cured products is to a very high standard especially due to the high water activity values (a w ) and pH-values in the raw materials. Conversely, n itrate has the effect of delaying the bacterial reduction to nitrite when the correct environmental conditions are maintained so that higher nitrite concentrations in all phases of production can be prevented. This may be important mainly in connection with the recently noted prooxidative effect of the nitrite in that this seems to allow fat oxidation to speed up.

http://www.alp.admin.ch/en/fleisch/flei ... ologie.php

[Spuddy]

Hi Deb

The first thing that comes to mind is that the ham was too young.
The saltpetre needs time to convert to nitrites and this takes time. Also because the conversion of nitrate to nitrite is dependent on bacterial action then it is possible that your fridge was too cold.
Traditionally this type of ham would be hung for a month or two (even more sometimes) to mature.
If you want to quick cure it's probably best to use just cure#1 as cure#2 and saltpetre are better suited to air dried meats and long term cures.

Hope that helps.

[Spuddy]

oops Oddley you beat me!!

[Oddley]

Sorry about that!...

[Paul Kribs]

While on the subject, is there an optimum 'use by' time for cure#1, cure#2 and saltpetre?
I don't use it that much and have them in sealed bags in the cupboard at room temperature.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Spuddy]

Not really, provided they are kept dry. Although I wouldn't keep them for more than 2-3 years.

[Paul Kribs]

Thanks Spuddy, my cure #1 & #2 are about 5 months and the saltpetre about 2 months, so they should get used.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[aris]

So what is the optimum time for nitrate->nitrite conversion? For instance Spuddy, your basic salami recipe calls for Saltpetre - but your maturation time is only 2 weeks. I hung it for 4 weeks - would that have been enough time for the conversion process to take place?

I know there are alot of factors involved here - for instance the temperature - but assuming an average 12 degree C temperature what are the timelines for conversion?

Does using a starter culture make any difference to this conversion too?

[deb]

Thanks guys.

I was planning on getting some cure #1 and #2 in the new year. I remember something about Franco's cures being slightly different to those used on Len Poli's site and that he is going to have the new batches made up to be the same as Len's. I was just waiting for this as it would save me having to use any conversions should I choose to use the recipes on Len's site (which I intend to do).

I didn't realise that by using saltpetre I would be best off maturing the ham for a while. I'm a bit disappointed as I could easily have made the ham a lot earlier to allow for this. Ah well, never mind, we live and learn.

[Spuddy]

@ Aris

Assuming 12C then two weeks is an absolute minimum for sufficient conversion of nitrate to nitrite. (I quoted 14 days to 6 months depending on calibre)
There will be practically no conversion below 3C and a great deal of conversion at around 30C (in your salami this would have occurred during the first four days in the fridge 3-5C and in the next 24-48 hours during the fementation stage 25-30C).
As they dried you will have noticed a gradual reddening which indicates that the nitrite is present (although this is more gradual with saltpeter).

If you are using casings with a calibre of less than 38-40 then Cure#2 may be more suitable.

[aris]

On my salami's I noticed that there were bits which were red, and others which were not (when looking from the outside). Is this a problem?

so, if one were to make a dried sausage with something even smaller - like sheep casings, would cure#1 probably be the most appropriate?

[Spuddy]

No, Cure#2 is recomended for anything airdried. You should only use Cure#1 for products that are to be cooked.

[deb]

Have I got this right? If I use cure#1 only in things that need to be cooked, such as hams for boiling/baking, once out of the brine they DO NOT need any further curing time. Just let them dry off for a day or two and they'll be fine to cook?

Thanks.

[Spuddy]

Yes.