Pastrami dry cure calculator

I have a left over chunk of brisket flat that I'd like to use to make pastrami.

I make bacon regularly, and always dry cure as it's tidier and I think it's easier to be more precise which I prefer due to the nitrite.

Unfortunately I can't seem to find a good pastrami/corned beef dry cure recipe online - only ones talking about using eg a 5-8lb brisket with X amount of cure. I guess I could probably work out a ratio from that based on the size of my brisket (probably about 4lb), but hoping I can be a bit more exact that that.

Question - is there anything different about curing beef than curing pork? Can I just use the same calculator for brisket that I use for pork?

This is the one I use for bacon: http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html which suggests for 4lbs (1816grams) I'd need 4.5grams of nitrite. Is this about right?

Thanks

curing brisket

Best Answer

No difference in pork vs. beef...you are looking for 0.25% pink salt #1 per pound to clear the safety hurdle for preservation of cured meat. So, I would say your calculation is correct from a preservation perspective. Here is another site for verification.

However, for pastrami, you will cure under refrigeration, hot smoke (around 220F), then continue to cook to an internal temperature of around 180F, and after cooking, refrigerate. You might also steam the pastrami before serving...so you don't need the full preservation impact of pink salt in this case. The main outcome of the curing salt is color and texture. You might prefer to go a little lighter on the curing salt. See Greg Blonder's site and recipe for his explanation and process.

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Can you dry cure pastrami?

Pastrami Dry Cure Ingredients: (Original)I always get better results by using a dry cure, instead of using a wet brine cure. To prepare it, you'll need 1/4 cup each Morton Tender Quick, dark brown sugar, packed and freshly ground black pepper.

How do you calculate curing salt?

If brining, it's a base of 40% water ratio to the weight ie. 1L=1Kg therefore 1 Kg of Meat would need 400 ml of water....Meat Curing Calculator Tool \u2013 Equilibrium Curing & Brining.Meat Curing Calculator ToolMethodEquilibrium Wet Brining or Equilibrium Dry CuringPink Curing Salt1.59 g or 0.056 ozSea Salt15.88 g or 0.56 ozWater0.181 litres or 0.048 gallons7 more rows

How much cure do you need in dry curing meat?

How Much Cure to Use. Generally dry cures are used at about 3-4% of the weight of the product. More or less may be used depending on the thickness of the product, the density of the proteins and connective tissue, and the desired texture and flavor.

What happens if you use too much prague powder?

So here's the deal. Curing requires a very specific curing-salt-to-meat ratio. Too much results in excess sodium nitrite which isn't good for you, and too little could result in spoiled meat which is just gross. The rule is always one teaspoon of Prague Powder #1 per five pounds of meat, ground or otherwise.

how to make PASTRAMI | Home Cured Pastrami Recipe

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