Tender Quick????

[thirdeye]

Great post overall Thirdeye, but as a reminder, TQ is not 98% NaCl. Rather it is about 65% by weight, with another 32% (ish) being sugar. This thread from us points to an online recipe for TQ, and the thread has some suggestions to make it more exact. The sugar is a big part of the reason why I prefer DQ powder since I like to substitue brown sugar some times.

dmp

ps, this is my official I was wrong statement: A few months ago I claimed I had an old bag of TQ which listed EG as an ingredient. I finally moved and unpacked all of my boxes last week, it is actually PG as others said. My bad.

Oops, you are right, I did not account for the sugar.... I stand corrected

 

[cowgirl]

Sometimes I like to give chops or loins or chicken a quick cure using TQ.. just for a couple of hours.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70569

adds a different flavor to the meat.

and a pork loin...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85365

 

[hb2301]

The first and ONLY time I used TQ was about 10 years ago when I decided to try it in a brine for a whole chicken. It was the first time I'd ever tried brining and I was torn between the recipe on the bag and recipes I'd seen in forums. I decided on the bag. The only thing I deviated was the time. I think I gave it 24 hours. It looked great when it came out of the WSM. When my wife and I took that first bite we just kind of looked at each other. It seems that I had created chicken ham! About a half hour later Dominos arrived at the door and we ate our dinner. Be careful with that stuff!

 

[SmokinAussie]

When Brining Chicken, which I do a lot, I've never used any curing salts because I didn't have any. I've also dry cured bacon without it, same reason. Beside's having to make sure you smoke up to the proper temps to avoid any chance of botulism... the results have been super. Chicken for some reason still gets "hammy" especially if you brine it too long, but still tastes great.. so tender and moist it's really worth the extra effort.

I've just found a source for Curing Salts 1 and 2 and have a kilo of each. My 3rd lot of Jerky was treated with Cure #2 which is for air drying only. It's resulted in a more moist result and a better colour and flavour.

I'm still not sure that you need curing salts for chicken brines or for short cures where the food is going to be cooked to recommended temperatures. But when you are cold smoking or air drying.. it's a definite must.

 

[bmanMA]

The last KCBS-sanctioned comp that I judged earlier this year made it very clear that they have added a provision preventing judging based on smoke rings because of products like this.

 

[SmokinAussie]

The last KCBS-sanctioned comp that I judged earlier this year made it very clear that they have added a provision preventing judging based on smoke rings because of products like this.

Which just makes sense. In a BBQ Comp, all foods are brought up to a finishing temperature, and are ready to eat right there, so curing salts really are not necessary, and in fact, they can mask the flavour of a real Q and influence the Smoke Ring.

I'm not up to speed on Tenderquick, but it seems to be a concoction of salt and sugar with a few nitrates and nitrites thrown in, so it's a safe bet. It's not gonna kill you. If you don't know what you're doing (honestly) it can give you some good results.

But if you want to get serious and Air Dry meats and salamies, or make hams and prosciuttos and chorizo's and summer sausages, it's probably not the ingredient of choise... I'm thinkin'... What ya thinkin....?

 

[dmprantz]

TQ is exactly as you think: table salt, sugar and relatively small amounts of nitrite and nitrate all combined. There is nothing wrong with using it to make cured meats such as the ones you mention and air dried. The key is you just have to know your ingredients and use recipes based on them. TQ has relatively small amounts of curing agents because it's designed to be added directly to meats or without additional salt. DQ has more so that you can "dilute it" yourself. Regardless, the point is use the one that the recice calls for or become enough of a chemist to make your own recipes, knowing the weight of what you are adding and the reason.

If you are just trying to create an artificial smoke ring, I would recommend TQ over DQ since it does have less curing agents and is less likely to actually cure the meat.

dmp

 

[Gowan]

TQ generated "smoke ring" is obvious to the experienced eye, especially with brisket. I'd think hard before I used it at a comp as the artificial appearance it creates could hurt you as much as help you at the judging table.

I did some experiments with it once and was able to create a ridiculous looking flat that was almost pure pink easily. You definitely need to use a light touch with TQ.

 

[thirdeye]

Which just makes sense. In a BBQ Comp, all foods are brought up to a finishing temperature, and are ready to eat right there, so curing salts really are not necessary, and in fact, they can mask the flavour of a real Q and influence the Smoke Ring.

I'm not up to speed on Tenderquick, but it seems to be a concoction of salt and sugar with a few nitrates and nitrites thrown in, so it's a safe bet. It's not gonna kill you. If you don't know what you're doing (honestly) it can give you some good results.

But if you want to get serious and Air Dry meats and salamies, or make hams and prosciuttos and chorizo's and summer sausages, it's probably not the ingredient of choise... I'm thinkin'... What ya thinkin....?

That's right. For that job you would be better off selecting a commercial product like Instacure #2 also known as Prague#2, and some manufacturers will have #2 in the name. These #2 curing salts contain nitrates and nitrites and over time the nitrate breaks down into nitrites, and then to nitric oxide. This slow breakdown allows for an extended cure time, because the products you're talking about (salami etc.) do NOT get cooked, and don't require refrigeration.

Instacure #1, is a more common cure (sometimes just called "pink salt"), it's a basic cure used to cure all meats that require cooking, smoking, or canning. Things like poultry, fish, bacon etc. These things require refrigeration.