Received the following questions regarding meat curing methods. Felt it necessary to post the questions and my answers here as well.

sujisji wrote:

>[This message originated at GardenWeb]

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>Well it sounds like you are in the food service industry or a real meat person. I got a question about corned beef.

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>when curing full 10-14 lb briskets for corned beef can you use a jaccarder, needle press to help tenderize the meat and help the brine penetrate the center of the meat. I am thinking for a commercial restaurant?

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>I know I saw a show where a processing plant for pastrami used brind injecting needles before leting them brine for 3 weeks. We were talking barrels full.

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>I am thinking 6 briskets per lexan, big plastic foodservice containers. 2 Lexans at a time

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>With the end products used for either smoking and the other for corned beef.

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>The jaccarder I am talking about is not the hand tool. Check out this video

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>http://www.jaccard.com/Product-View.php?prod_type=P&prod_id=19

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>Now what do you estimate the brining time would be on briskets 6 to a container, probaly about 6 g of brine, turned and rotated every 3 days?

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>Do you have any suggestions on what type of powder for curing is the commercially the most economical and measures out easily? Volume measurement would probaly be best.

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>I really think the jaccarding will make a difference. I included the following link from Texas A&M Meat class and it is very hard to understand, a bit too scientific for me but a good read none the less.

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>http://meat.tamu.edu/tenderization.html

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>I would like to know your opinion on any of that. I really appreciate the help, because you sound like you have a good amount of experience with brining and sausagemaking.

>Thanks

>Ryan Pang

>
>Just joined to send you a message.its sad I live in a condo my wife and I just bought and we have no place to garden. Oh well always a lot of farmers markets in California.

>
>Thanks again

My reply:

Wish you had posted all these questions and concerns on the web forum!! I have been getting a lot of private email from people who ask questions as if they were very personal and wanted personal service. Because I post in only a couple of forums, its always MUCH better to ask questions there, as well as get answers. Many of the topics you mention would probably also be asked publicly, so I have to make more than one reply. I plan to post your questions on the HARVEST forum so that others can share in the info I provided here. Not only that, there are other people on the forum that have similar answers or more detailed info.

Corned beef is basically the same as pastrami. Corned beef can be two types, the pink type with added nitrites, and the gray cure no nitrites. The injection method would be preferable as opposed to just piercing the meet with tiny empty holes. Ideally, if it were pierced, the brine and meat would be placed in a big vacuum container to pull air out of the meat and its brine. Under vacuum and at a chilled temp for several days will work quite well, as opposed to using hypo needles for injecting brine. I use both injection as well as the vacuum. I built up a special unit to do all kinds of brining. I do not make any commercial meat products, only for home use. For smoking, either a liquid smoke can be added to the brine, or you would smoke it in an actual smoker. Very long and slow cooking of the meat helps to get it tender. My oven can be adjusted down to 150 degrees and the meat remains there for several hours, then I set the temp 10 degrees higher about every hour afterwards. I also use a meat thermometer and measure the internal temp. The cooked meat should be at 160 degrees. It usually takes me about 6-8 hours for a thick piece like an eye of the round. The brine is a mix of water and pure curing/pickling salt. This has no additives for anti caking (silicon dioxide) or any iodine or other minerals. The water must also be soft with few minerals. Usually about 3 days of brining is suitable, but again its depending on the size of the cut. I have a hand model Jac, with 3 rows of knives. I use it only for a tenderizer and a quick flavor inserter on a steak. The nitrite used, along with water and salt to cure it is fairly cheap and you only need a small among like a few grams per pound of meat. There are two kinds of nitrite and nitrate, the #1 is for regular meat curing and is fast acting once heated. The #2 is slow acting and is meant for dry cures or long smoking times. A liquid smoke works quite well for adding a smoky taste, its mixed in to the brine. I also use a phosphate in the brine to help hold the cooked meat together as well as giving it better moisture retention. Always use food grade plastics that have any contact with brines and meats. Pastrami spices include, ground pepper, coriander, mustard seed (brown and yellow types), and bay leaf, or for a red coat, paprika and white pepper. These are quite similar to the spices that are used to cook corned beef in seasoned boiling water. Cooking corned beef for several ours at a slow simmer will also yield a much more tender product. Keep in mind the less means of penetrating the meat with a brine, the longer the meat must sit in the brine solution to do its thing. Injection just speeds up the process. A non injected meat would need a week or more of brining. The vacuum system is also great as it will also reduce the curing time by more than half.