Using pre-blended cures for different purposes

[Phil]

Hi,

I've looked around for an answer for this question and I can't seem to find one. It's my first post in this forum, having hovered around for a while, so please be gentle with me

I've finally started making my own pancetta recently, with inspiration from here. I've been using a pre-blended curing mix that I bought online at sausage making.org. The result tastes just fine but I need to work on my meat trussing skills ! I now have a reasonable supply in my fridge and freezer so won't be making any more for a few months at least.

I was wondering what to do with the rest of the cure blend I have sitting in my cupboard.

Could I use my cure mixture to corn some beef brisket that I have in the freezer, or should I simply buy a bespoke cure for my brisket and save the other mix for when I finally run out of pancetta?

If it's ok to go with the the mix can I just add the other ingredients like coriander and the like?

[LoftyNotions]

Hi Phil. Welcome to eGullet. I'm not a big fan of cure mixes, but putting that aside, from a standpoint of curing meat, you could give it a go. I don't know what is in the Sausagemaking.org mix, but the basics, i.e. salt, and instacure are very similar in all the recipes I use. From a safety standpoint, you're probably ok using your mix.

From a spice / taste standpoint, my Pancetta recipe calls for Sugar, black pepper, juniper, garlic powder, bay leaf, cayenne and thyme. My Pastrami recipe calls for coriander seeds, black peppercorns, mustard powder,Cinnamon, fennel, cloves, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf.

So, can you use it? Probably. Will it produce corned beef flavors? It depends on how you modify the mix.

Whatever you do, after it's cooked up, it will probably taste good. Let us know what you did, and how it turns out.

Larry

[gfweb]

There are two main cure mixes, Instacure 1 and 2. #1 is for shorter cured meat that will eventually be cooked and #2 is for cured meats over a longer period that won't be cooked. They differ in that #1 has only nitrite and #2 has nitrate and nitrite, a mixture suitable for longer curing.

#1 would be the one for corned beef.

My corned beef recipe uses clove, allspice, cinnamon, bay leaf, mustard seed,coriander, garlic and black pepper. And Salt and instacure #1.

I use round rather than brisket since its less fatty, and, after a 7 day cure, cook it for 48hrs at 55 C. It ends up really tender and pretty moist. I am very happy with it.

Edited August 25, 2011 by gfweb (log)

[Phil]

Hi, thanks for the replies. I will probably give this a go next week when I've sorted out what additions to make to my mix.

However, I'm now slightly confused. I went to check what was in the mix so that I could better understand what to add etc. I seems the one I have contains: salt, sugar, pepper, rosemary and both E250 and E251. Lofty Notions, I think that I'm beginning to see why you don't like pre made mixes. Does this mean I'm using a #2 mix that's designed for raw eating? I must confess to having tried a tiny slice before I rolled the last one I made and it was tasty.

If this is a #2 mix have, will I need to get one that only has Nitrite for my salt beef? Or should I be really brave and start blending my own?

Edited August 25, 2011 by Phil (log)

[gfweb]

I googled Lofty Notions and found nothing related to curing. What's the source?

I'm sure that some differ, but I find Instacure perfectly fine for my purposes. Its dirt cheap and is the standard for home curing. It is safe and easy to get. Its just NaCl and nitrate with a pink dye added so you can't mistake it for table salt and poison yourself.

[LoftyNotions]

gfweb, thanks for bringing up the Instacure #1 versus cure #2 issue.

I believe E250 and E251 are european or UK designations for Sodium Nitrite and Sodium Nitrate, respectively. What Phil is using is likely the European version of the US Cure #2, containing both nitrite and nitrate.

One additional factor I hadn't considered is that the pancetta mix might contain more salt than a corned beef mix would. If you follow the package directions, you might end up with a very salty corned beef.

I'm a lot less inclined to recommend trying it after actually thinking about it. I wouldn't be afraid to eat it, but it might not taste very good.

Larry

[gfweb]

Oh. You are Lofty Notions! Like a goof I thought that was the source of his cure. DUH

[Phil]

Thanks again both of you. I've done some more research and I definitely appear the have a #2 mix for a recipe that should be #1!!

I think I'll still try it on the brisket, just for the sake of learning something from the process. I'll report back with my results.