Pink Curing Salt vs Morton Tenderquick for Bacon???

Q-Dat · Jun 19, 2011

Ok I have never cured Bacon before. Last night I bought a 6.5 lb pork belly that will soon begin the transformation into what I hope is some righteous tasty smoked Bacon.

I have both products so I can use either one. Just wanted to see if anyone has a preference.

So how bout it Brethren? Which would you use and why?

Q-Dat · Jun 19, 2011

Does it even matter?

Smiter Q · Jun 19, 2011

From the MORTON site:

http://www.mortonsalt.com/faqs/meat_curing_faq.html

jaymo · Jun 19, 2011

Pink Salt (aka. Prague powder no.1, TCM, etc) contains 6.25% nitrite. Mortons TQ contains 0.5% nitrite and 0.5% nitrate.

They serve similar functions, but nitrAtres don't actually do the curing. NitrIte breaks down pretty quickly as it cures. Nitrate slowly breaks down into nitrite over time, providing a constant supply of nitrite for long cures. Thus, only curing salts containing both are used for long-term dry curing, etc.

As you can see from the percentages above, they have VERY different levels of nitrite, so be careful to use the recommended amounts per lb of meat. That said, either will work. I made my first few slabs of bacon recently using this recipe from thirdeye's blog using Morton TQ. It turned out great! I'd recommend using that as a good place to start. From there you can play around with different seasonings as long as you keep the proper amount of cure per lb of meat constant.

Home made bacon is really good! Have fun!

SmokinAussie · Jun 19, 2011

I have not used Tenderquick, only because I've never seen it for sale here. No problems with Cure#1. Has been terrific. You could break that belly into 2 parts and do both in seperate Ziplock bags. Then you could let us know what you find!

Cheers!

Bill

jaymo · Jun 19, 2011

Bill, out of curiosity, is the Cure #1 you get over there the same 6.25% nitrite?

jestridge · Jun 19, 2011

You also can use plain old salt people been doing it for 100's of years

Q-Dat · Jun 19, 2011

SmokinAussie said:
I have not used Tenderquick, only because I've never seen it for sale here. No problems with Cure#1. Has been terrific. You could break that belly into 2 parts and do both in seperate Ziplock bags. Then you could let us know what you find!

Cheers!

Bill

That's a very good suggestion. I think I will do just that.

SmokinAussie · Jun 19, 2011

jaymo said:
Bill, out of curiosity, is the Cure #1 you get over there the same 6.25% nitrite?

Yep, it is actually High Mountain Cure, from the USA.

Cheers!

Bill

mwmac · Jun 19, 2011

I have used Ruhlman's Basic Cure (kosher salt, sugar, Prague 1); Hi Mountain; and Morton's Tender Quick. My experience has been that they all turn out a very good bacon. Going forward, I will be using Tender Quick or Ruhlman's simply for the $ savings over Hi Mountain.:thumb:

Q-Dat · Jun 19, 2011

Any suggestions on the best way to put a Jalapeno flavor into it?

I have Jalapeno powder, or I could use the liquid from a jar of pickled.

mwmac · Jun 19, 2011

Q-Dat said:
Any suggestions on the best way to put a Jalapeno flavor into it?

I have Jalapeno powder, or I could use the liquid from a jar of pickled.

I would not add the pickled jalapeno juice:shocked:. If you are dry curing your bacon, jalapeno powder should work well or just try adding some diced fresh to the ziploc.

jaymo · Jun 19, 2011

I would just add the jalapeno powder in with the other seasonings in the dry cure. The amount to use really depends on the heat level of the powder and your personal preference though. That's one of the great things about homemade bacon. You can do whatever flavors you want! I'm looking at trying to make curry bacon next.

Q-Dat · Jun 20, 2011

Yeah I figured the powder would be the way to go. The vinegar would probably cause problems.

Q-Dat · Jun 21, 2011

Ok as of last night the belly is in the fridge curing.

I just thought of something though. It's summer time in south Louisiana so that means it is breaking HOT!!!

I had planned on using the tin can/ soldering iron to smoke it, but will it be too hot outside to safely smoke this thing? Does the cure take care of any potential hazards?

Would I be better off hot smoking it to 150* internal?

jestridge · Jun 21, 2011

go to the drug store get some salt peter mix it with salt get same results

chad · Jun 21, 2011

Q-Dat said:
Ok as of last night the belly is in the fridge curing.

I just thought of something though. It's summer time in south Louisiana so that means it is breaking HOT!!!

I had planned on using the tin can/ soldering iron to smoke it, but will it be too hot outside to safely smoke this thing? Does the cure take care of any potential hazards?

Would I be better off hot smoking it to 150* internal?

Have the same heat problem here in Florida. I'd work early in the day or later in the evening so you can keep the temps around 180-200 and "hot smoke" it. Though if your smoke box is not enough (about 180 or so) go ahead and use the tin can/soldering iron to smoke. In this case, heat is heat and the smoke is a separate issue!!

I'm going to do some jerky and sausage this weekend and will be fighting the heat to keep it below 200. My black steel cookers can be 170 or better sitting in the sun. I'll be using the insulated electric box for this project.

Q-Dat · Jun 21, 2011

Maybe I will try this in my Bubba Keg with a big bowl of ice sitting under the pork belly. Hmmm might even try some dry ice. The store I work at sells it cheap.

boatnut · Jun 22, 2011

jestridge said:
go to the drug store get some salt peter mix it with salt get same results

from wikipedia- salt peter
In the process of food preservation, potassium nitrate(salt peter) has been a common ingredient of salted meat since the Middle Ages,[5] but its use has been mostly discontinued due to inconsistent results compared to more modern nitrate and nitrite compounds. Even so, saltpetre is still used in some food applications, such as charcuterie and the brine used to make corned beef.[6] Sodium nitrate (and nitrite) have mostly supplanted potassium nitrate's culinary usage, as they are more reliable in preventing bacterial infection than saltpetre. All three give cured salami and corned beef their characteristic pink hue.

wildflower · Jun 22, 2011

jestridge said:
You also can use plain old salt people been doing it for 100's of years

so how do you do it with just salt

Pink Curing Salt vs Morton Tenderquick for Bacon???

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