Curing

ikedaboy

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Hey I was just wondering if anyone knew where one could purchase curing salt or curing ingredients around the Hamilton/Ancaster/Brant County area(s). I had some Morton Sugar Cure given to me from a friend to make some bacon and I want to do it again, and again, and again (lol). Any info would be great! Thanks all!
 
Any butcher/ packer supply store will sell cure by the pound packages. It can have several names, insta-cure, ultra-cure, ect. Its basically sodium nitrate fused with table salt to a mixture of 5%. You can also purchase other cure/sugar mixtures for flavoring such as ham/bacon cure, pepperoni, and hundreds of types of sausage mixtures.

A pound of cure ( 5% sodium nitrate) is about 5 bucks and can cure 4 or 5 hundred pounds of meat. bacon cure is about 7 bucks and will do a 10kg batch of bacon.
 
you can even buy some at the butcher counter at your local supermarket, lablaws, metro, etc'.

just ask one of the senior guys at the counter. it is not a sale product but they use it and im sure they will be able to sell you or even give you a small quantity of what they have.
 
Try Highland Packers. Head east on Hwy. 20and take a left onto Tapleytown road. go about a mile. You won't miss it.

I know the place. I'll give em a call tuesday. I've tried ALL the local supermarkets and no one carries it. I can't use certain premixed stuff as I am allergic to MSG and ALOT of pre packaged cures have it in them espically pepperette and sausage cures. I am just looking for nitrite/nitrate salts so I can make up my own cure.
 
Try The Sausage Maker in Buffalo NY.
They will ship everything to Canada except sausage casings.

ht tp://www.sausagemaker.com/meatcuring.aspx

I have used also used Stuffers Supply in BC, so that I can get casing from them
ht tp://www.stuffers.com/
 
I know the place. I'll give em a call tuesday. I've tried ALL the local supermarkets and no one carries it. I can't use certain premixed stuff as I am allergic to MSG and ALOT of pre packaged cures have it in them espically pepperette and sausage cures. I am just looking for nitrite/nitrate salts so I can make up my own cure.

thats a very dangerous idea. Cure #1 is usually 6.25% sodium Nitrite in salt, They dissolve it in water , dissolve the salt in the water then dehydrate it so the nitrite is evenly distributed, just weighing it out adding it to salt could result in an uneven mixture that could be deadly. Just buy the cure from a dealer. "Stuffers.com" in BC sell it in canada.
 
thats a very dangerous idea. Cure #1 is usually 6.25% sodium Nitrite in salt, They dissolve it in water , dissolve the salt in the water then dehydrate it so the nitrite is evenly distributed, just weighing it out adding it to salt could result in an uneven mixture that could be deadly. Just buy the cure from a dealer. "Stuffers.com" in BC sell it in canada.


If you find it dangerous for you, then you shouldn't do it. For the rest of us its really simple. Buy a 500gr package of cure with 5% sodium nitrate and follow the directions on the package. Its neither dangerous or rocket science for the rest of us. There is nothing dangerous about curing your own bacon or sausage.
 
If you find it dangerous for you, then you shouldn't do it. For the rest of us its really simple. Buy a 500gr package of cure with 5% sodium nitrate and follow the directions on the package. Its neither dangerous or rocket science for the rest of us. There is nothing dangerous about curing your own bacon or sausage.


exactly lol. The store mentioned in the thread has what I need. I phoned them and got all the info I need. Taking a drive there on saturday morning to pick up a few things and we're all set!
 
If you find it dangerous for you, then you shouldn't do it. For the rest of us its really simple. Buy a 500gr package of cure with 5% sodium nitrate and follow the directions on the package. Its neither dangerous or rocket science for the rest of us. There is nothing dangerous about curing your own bacon or sausage.

You should be using sodium nitrite not sodium nitrate.
Cure#1 is sodium nitrite and salt
Cure#2 is sodium nitrite, sdium nitrate and salt.

They are not interchangable.
 
You have missed my point. Using store bought cures is safe, What is dangerous is trying to make the cures yourself from pure nitrite chemicals. The actual amount of pure sodium nitrite used is very small Most scales cannot weigh it out accuratley for small batches. A fatal over dose is very possible.
 
OMG! lol.

I think someone else misunderstood lol. I am not going to make nitrite salts I am look for JUST the salts to mix into my own spice blends b/c of the extra additives that are in the prepacked cure mixes for sausages and pepperettes. I've made bacon and sausage before just not for myself, mostly helping family and friends with theirs (and getting some in return :D ). I know what I am doing I just didn't know where to get it from. I know now, so thanks everyone for the help, and I got a good laugh from the confusion in the thread for sure haha.
 
Highland Packers carry's curing salt. Picked some up on the weekend. Sausage season is upon us once again!
 
Using Sodium Nitrite and Sodium Nitrate

Nitrates and nitrites have gotten a bad rap. During the mid 1970’s, I remember a series of articles published by an attention-seeking reporter trying to establish a name for himself – he was a sensationalist. Indeed, he stirred up and excited the American public, putting fear of nitrates and nitrites into the average consumer. The fact remains, the National Academy of Sciences (Research Council) states that when used in proper concentration (established legal limits), nitrite does nothing to directly harm consumers. Did you know that vegetables contain more nitrites than sausage? In fact, vegetables contain higher concentrations of nitrate than any other foods in our diet. Spinach, lettuce, and beets, are full of the stuff.

Nitrate in itself is not successful in producing the curing reaction. Sodium nitrate must be reduced by lactic acid bacteria (micrococcaceae species), or other natural means, to be effective. In other words, nitrate breaks down into nitrite - and nitrite breaks down into nitric oxide - the substance that actually cures meat. Modern science has not produced a substitute for sodium nitrate or sodium nitrite used as agents to preserve meat and destroy clostridium botulinum.

Nitrates and nitrites must be used with caution. Both are considered toxic in larger amounts and for that reason, strict limits on their use have been established by the USDA. In the United States, the amount of added sodium nitrite lies within the range of 50-200 mg. per kilogram, and sodium nitrate in the range of 200 to 600 mg. per kg. How much is lethal? A fatal dose of potassium nitrate (saltpeter) is about 30 grams (two tablespoons). Merely 1 gram of sodium nitrite (about 22 milligrams per kilogram of body weight) will cancel your clock! That’s only about 1/3 of a teaspoon! It takes a little more for sodium nitrate to keep you permanently horizontal – one full teaspoon will do the trick!

It is important to note that in various countries, the formulas for nitrate and nitrite cures vary greatly. The strength of nitrates and nitrites themselves do not vary. It is the amount added to a salt carrier that makes a cure stronger or weaker in comparison to others. For instance, In Poland, the nitrite and salt cure called Peklosol is available at only 0.6% nitrite. In Germany, it is called Pokelsalz and contains the same 0.6% nitrite content in salt. In Sweden, folks call their product Colorazo at 0.6% nitrite. In France, it’s Sel nitrite’ at 0.6% nitrite. These cures contain only sixty-hundredths of one percent nitrite. Note the placement of the decimal point. Although the cure is not pink in color (it is white), a consumer would find a product much too salty to be palatable if it were to contain ominous amounts of nitrite. In America, Cure #1 contains 6.25% sodium nitrite, and 93.75% salt – ten and a half times stronger than most European cures, with the exception of some of those in the UK containing 5.88% sodium nitrite.

One curing agent must never be confused with the other within any recipe and one certainly must not be substituted for the other. Moreover, both cures are never used together in the same recipe. Notice that formula #1 contains only nitrite while formula #2 contains both nitrite and nitrate. If you mix, cure, and smoke sausage, it becomes your responsibility to follow directions mixing exactly four ounces of Prague Powder with one hundred pounds of meat, or for us home consumers, precisely two level teaspoons mixed with a little water for even distribution, for each ten pound batch of sausage. If you are mixing only five pounds of sausage, add just one level teaspoon of curing salt. For dry-curing whole pieces of meat muscle, we multiply the amount of cure by 4. This allows a “pick up” of about ten percent or approximately 156 parts per million in the final product. Please measure carefully and remember that any recklessness in mixing these salts may potentially injure someone.

Man discovered anciently that when salt was added to meat it improved its flavor, color, and shelf life. Then somewhere in time, sodium nitrate came into use as a naturally occurring contaminant of salt. Chile and Peru have massive deposits of sodium nitrate (NaNO3). Not to be confused with sodium nitrite (NaNO2), the substance is also found in leafy green vegetables. Acting as powerful antioxidants, nitrates and nitrites reduce oxidative rancidity. However, when added directly to meats, sodium nitrite is primarily responsible for the inhibition of pathogen growth including that of clostridium botulinum - the bacteria causing botulism poisoning. Nitrate in itself is not successful in producing the curing reaction. Sodium nitrate must be reduced by lactic acid bacteria (micrococcaceae [kocuria] species) or other natural means to be effective. In other words, nitrate breaks down into nitrite - and nitrite breaks down into nitric oxide - the substance that actually cures meat. Modern science has not produced a substitute for sodium nitrate or sodium nitrite used as agents to preserve meat and destroy clostridium botulinum. As these salts are poisonous used in proportionately greater amounts, companies have continually tried to improve upon them though their efforts have been futile.

Cure #1 is used to cure all meats that require cooking, smoking, and canning. This includes poultry, fish, hams, bacon, luncheon meats, corned beef, pates, and many other products.
Note that Prague Powder Cure #1 in the United States, contains 6.25% sodium nitrite (NaNO2), and 93.75% sodium chloride (salt). As this formula contains no sodium nitrate (NaNO3), there is no waiting for nitrate to be broken down into nitrite and it is effective immediately in curing meat. In the United States, Cure #1 is manufactured using one ounce of sodium nitrite added to each one pound of salt. When used in the curing process, only 4 ounces of cure is added to 100 pounds of sausage. Two level teaspoons will cure 10 lbs. of meat.

Cure #2 is used in dry-cured sausages and whole-muscle meats where curing time allows the nitrate to gradually break down into nitrite. Cure #2 in the United States, contains one-ounce (6.25%) sodium nitrite (NaNO2), with .64 ounce (4%) sodium nitrate (NaNO3), and 89.75 sodium chloride in 1 lb. of salt. Why so much nitrate? Remember, it is actually nitrite reducing to nitric oxide that cures meat. After two weeks dry-curing, only about a quarter of the 6.25 % sodium nitrite remains in the meat. Nitrite is simply too fast. In salamis requiring three or more months to cure, a certain amount of sodium nitrate must be added to the recipe to break down over time. Since micrococcaceae species are inhibited at low pH, sausages relying on nitrate reduction must be fermented by a traditional process. Therefore, nitrate is still used by many dry sausage manufacturers because sodium nitrate (NaNO3) serves as a long time “reservoir” of sodium nitrite (NaNO2).

Potassium Nitrate (Saltpeter)

Saltpeter is 100% potassium nitrate (KNO3). Although it is used in various cures throughout the world, it is no longer included in cures in the United States (with the exception of only a few applications) as it is thought to produce cancer-causing nitrosamines when cooked at higher temperatures. Commercially, with only a few exceptions, it has been banned by law since 1975. A fatal dose of potassium nitrate is merely 30 grams. Sodium nitrite will cancel your clock at only about 22 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. You can plainly see why these cures MUST be handled correctly.
 
Couldn't find TenderQuick anywhere and went to or called every grocery store in the area. Highland Packers has all the stuff for curing.


Hey BigGuy, I'm not gonna get into a huge debate about nitrate/nitrite here. That has been argued to death all over the interwebs. Thanks for the write up though I'm sure new forum memebers will enjoy reading.
Anything and everything on this planet is bad for us in excessive amounts. I'm not worried about nitrites in my diet, something in the area of 70% of the nitrate/nitrite we get in our diet is from vegetables not cured meats. I'm sure there isn't a doctor on earth that would tell someone to stop eating veges lol. Toxic levels for adults ranges from 30-35g of nitrate and 22-23mg/kilogram of body weight for nitrite, which is equivalent to devouring about 18.5lbs. of cured meat all at once. (I'm sure some of us could do it too lol).
 
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