[Sca-cooks] pickled brisket

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Feb 25, 2009, at 11:23 AM, Amy Cooper wrote:

> Actually, sodium nitrite is readily available from many sausage-making
> places. It's apparently often called Prague Powder #1,

a.k.a. Insta-Cure #1.

> and does have some
> red dye added to it (I'm guessing to help keep it distinguishable in  
> the
> cupboard from other ingredients).

Yes. It's .06% sodium nitrite, the rest mostly salt, and it's colored  
pink to make sure it's not mistaken for salt or sugar. I just used a  
whopping 5 teaspoons of it for 25 pounds of sausage last weekend.

> I totally understand leaving it out of
> stuff, as my hands don't like it. My father and I used to make  
> sausage every
> New Years' Eve Day, and the last time we made it, the prague powder  
> tried to
> cure my hands as well as the sausage. I prefer my fingers to look like
> fingers, as opposed to hot dogs, thank you very much ;-)

It serves less purpose when corning unground meats in brine; it's  
largely to prevent botulism in sausages. It serves as an anti-oxidant  
in meats that are going to be cooked, and does provide a lovely pink  
color, but it's not the only way to achieve that color, nor is it,  
strictly speaking, necessary.

> Now to see if I can talk my lord husband into letting me make my own  
> corned
> beef. It does seem FAR less messy than Master B's home-made  
> prosciutto,
> which he has refused to let me make. I wonder why he doesn't like  
> the idea
> of a crate of salt sitting in the basement for a while?? LOL

Vacuum sealers are your friend ;-).

Adamantius






"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,  
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's  
bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter