Mis Measured sure cure.
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I made a 5lb batch of beef snack sticks.
Aside from Flavors are used 1.2 ounces of sure gel meet binder 1 teaspoon of encapsulated citric acid. My problem is I realized I only used 1/4 teaspoon of sure cure. I smoked then slowly starting low and moving up to 175F. I got the inter temp to 160F. Put them in ice bath then dried them off and held in fridge.
I know that was a long way to go for a quick question but I thought if I gave all the information I get a better more accurate answer. So my question is should I bother to vacuum seal them? With only 1/4 of the pink salt preservative do they have much of a shelf life?
Thanks in advance.
Tony -
I made a 5lb batch of beef snack sticks.
Aside from Flavors are used 1.2 ounces of sure gel meet binder 1 teaspoon of encapsulated citric acid. My problem is I realized I only used 1/4 teaspoon of sure cure. I smoked then slowly starting low and moving up to 175F. I got the inter temp to 160F. Put them in ice bath then dried them off and held in fridge.
I know that was a long way to go for a quick question but I thought if I gave all the information I get a better more accurate answer. So my question is should I bother to vacuum seal them? With only 1/4 of the pink salt preservative do they have much of a shelf life?
Thanks in advance.
TonyTony Diss I don’t know the efficacy of reducing cure to 1/4
What temp did you start them at? -
Pretty iffy in my opinion. That is only 25% of the cure you should have used. I think I would be more concerned with the safety of the product during the smoke than the shelf life.
I would also suggest getting a scale instead of using measuring spoons. It will be more accurate for everything you make. The Vera scale from Waltons measures in fractions of a gram and ounces and won’t break the bank.
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Pretty iffy in my opinion. That is only 25% of the cure you should have used. I think I would be more concerned with the safety of the product during the smoke than the shelf life.
I would also suggest getting a scale instead of using measuring spoons. It will be more accurate for everything you make. The Vera scale from Waltons measures in fractions of a gram and ounces and won’t break the bank.
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Grimpuppy
I just misread my notes is all. My notes said 1/4 tsp per pound, I didn’t see the pre pound part. It was just a simple mistake because of sloppy note taking. I’ve updated my notesTony Diss
Take a look at this chart and use your own discretion
If you have any doubt or feel uncomfortable with it throw it out
Having said that, your snack sticks come up to temperature pretty fast and even at 125 you are on the line between very slow/no pathogen growth and entering the time/temp kill zone. You went all the way to 165 which is instant kill plus you have a significant salt content to retard growth throughout the cooking process.
Also did you refrigerate after the ice bath?

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Tony Diss
Take a look at this chart and use your own discretion
If you have any doubt or feel uncomfortable with it throw it out
Having said that, your snack sticks come up to temperature pretty fast and even at 125 you are on the line between very slow/no pathogen growth and entering the time/temp kill zone. You went all the way to 165 which is instant kill plus you have a significant salt content to retard growth throughout the cooking process.
Also did you refrigerate after the ice bath?

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Tony Diss
Personally I would vac pack and refrigerate what I would use within 2-3 weeks and freeze the rest
Probably would be ok to vac pack and put on the shelf but this is where I would be on the side of caution -
Tony Diss I’d say you are okay but treat the meat as if it is fresh, keep it vac sealed and cold until you are ready to eat. As long as you were sure of the meat and you let the Encapsulated Citric Acid melt you should be fine, the pH of the meat dropped enough that nothing should grow.
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Tony Diss
Personally I would vac pack and refrigerate what I would use within 2-3 weeks and freeze the rest
Probably would be ok to vac pack and put on the shelf but this is where I would be on the side of caution -
Tony Diss I’d say you are okay but treat the meat as if it is fresh, keep it vac sealed and cold until you are ready to eat. As long as you were sure of the meat and you let the Encapsulated Citric Acid melt you should be fine, the pH of the meat dropped enough that nothing should grow.
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