TenderQuick Recipe

[dmprantz]

I have speant many hours trying to learn and approximate the TenderQuick formula, and I've seen other ppl on here ask for it too. For me the goal was always to take TenderQuick recipes and substitute DQ, salt, and sugar. I think I had a good approximation at one point, but I found this site which spells out a good substitute. Thought it would be useful to some one else, especially the BBB faithful. The recipe calls for #1, but I think that to be closer to TQ you should use #2...and add a drop of antifreeze:)

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?p=691#post691

dmp

[dodgeramsst2003]

Looks like a good recipe, but be careful substituting #2 for #1, especially in bacon. #2 is used for aged fermented meats such as salami, pepperoni etc, and should not be used for such things as bacon. I don't use it in any meat that will be cooked, but that's my choice. I only use #1 in sausage, ham, bacon etc. I don't do any dry cured aged meats so have had no need for #2. You may know this already, but I don't want a newbie to do something potentially harmful. Below is a quote from Rytek Kutas book:

" Insta cure #2 should not be used for cooked or smoked bacons. It has been found that very small amounts of sodium nitrate ( Insta Cure #1) are required to cure bacon. A combination of sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate in cured bacon has been found to produce nitrosamines ( cancer-producing cells) when fried at high temperatures. This problem exists only with bacon, and not with ham, sausage, luncheon meats, or any other cured meats"

[dmprantz]

I'm aware of the claims regarding nitrosamines you are making, and while some people consider Kutas to be the curing god, the above quote is wrong. #1 contains nitrite and #2 contains nitrite and nitrate. I was only referring to the fact that TQ has both so #2 would be closer to TQ.

dmp

[dmprantz]

A couple other things: According to Wikipedia's posted research, nitrosamines are caused by nitrites, not nitrates, so your risk is largely the same. The difference between the nitrites and the nitrates is that nitrates break down into nitrites over time to give you longer shelf lives, but once you run out of nitrites, you run out of nitric acid, which allows C. Botchulin spores to proliferate....Some people also claim that nitrates have more nitrogen which is bad, and that is wrong in both ways: Notrates have more oxygen ions not nitrogen, and nitrogen by itself is inert. Anyway, the risk is most pronounced by frying, so if you don't fry your food, you are supposedly safer.

Daniel - who prefers to season his corned beef with MSG and then fry it in a galvanized pan.

[dodgeramsst2003]

Just so we're clear, the quote doesn't state that #1 has nitrates and nitrite, just that #1 is used for bacon, and that the presence of nitrates and nitrites in food that will be fried is bad. The wording could have been better in the book, but I didn't want to ad-lib. Rytek's book is good, and it goes in depth explaining how the nitrates break down into nitrites during the curing process, hence the potential for nitrosamines, which would concur with the wikepedia findings. You're essentially getting double the nitrites ( not really, but you get the idea) when using #2 due to the breakdown.

Tenderquick has its places, and your recipe is a good replacement for it, I'm not knocking it, I just want the people new to curing to use the right product for a given application.

[dmprantz]

Fair enough. I understand and agree. Any one attempting to cure should know the ins and outs of it, along with its potential risks. I'm not trying to get some one in without knowing all there is, but if you want to replace TQ in a recipe with DQ, IC, PP, etc, #2 is closer, regardless of the risks.

dmp

[thirdeye]

Guys, just to put everything in perspective, I think that we need to look at the concentration of the products being discussed......

Tenderquick does in fact contain nitrites and nitrates, The TOTAL amount is 1%. Pink salt (aka Prague #1, Instacure#1) on the other hand contain 6.25% nitrite. These numbers will have a huge effect when curing since one is 6 times stronger than the other.

I'm also confused on the abbreviation "DQ". What does that refer to?

[dmprantz]

I'm not sure what the DQ stands for except that the stuff I have (from Butcher and Packer) is called "D.Q. Curing Salt." It's the same thing as Prague Powder, InstaCure and TC powder. Consider this: The recipe I posted (which I didn't create) is 2/26 = 7.69% curing salt by weight. If that curing salt is #2, it is 9% nitrite/nitrate. 9% of 7.69% = .69% total nitrite/nitrate. The total percentage on TQ is 1% as you say, so the recipe isn't an exact 1 for 1 as TQ has more total. Looking just at Nitrite, my #2 is 5.67% nitrite, so the net percentage is .44%. If your powder has 6.25% nitrite, then you are looking at .48%. Once it's all mixed up, you are looking at less total cure, slightly less nitrite, and a good bit less nitrate even if you use #2. Not sure what this means except that it isn't exact. If you use 1/2 oz less each of sugar and salt, then you'll be closer.

dmp