I used Prague Powder to make corned beef

yup and when anything says “Naturally Cured”, that just means it’s probably made using celery juice powder…which is sodium nitrite and nitrate, except it is also getting inhaled by the people curing with it, which freaks me out. That’s gotta cause cancer right?

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From the Guardian article I linked:

When nitrates interact with certain components in red meat (haem iron, amines and amides), they form N-nitroso compounds, which cause cancer.

It’s not the nitrates per se, it’s what they turn into when they react with other things in meat.

For real, no BS, not joking: meats cured with nitrates cause colon cancer. It’s not opinion, it’s settled science.

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friggin delicious science

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Most Prague powder has the consistency of salt. I suppose it can aerate but I don’t think it’s much of a danger.

yes, given the frequency of colorectal cancer, that means your risk of getting colorectal cancer over your life goes from about 5 percent to 6 percent if you consume cured meats. But… your assertion that

is not fact. What it does is very slightly increase your chances and those are two very different things

Everything can kill you. The only thing you can do is pick your poison. That’s why spreading the hype that “bacon causes cancer” is a disservice when you don’t also tell people the whole truth.

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It breaks down, or so I have read.

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i was speaking specifically of Celery Juice powder. It’s super fine and when you open a bag of it, you get a big puff of it like some sort of murderous alien plant.

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Good info. Never used it myself but now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

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“Meats cured with nitrates cause colon cancer.” is a fact.
“Meats cured with nitrates will definitely give you colon cancer personally.” is not a fact.
Same with “smoking” and “lung cancer”.

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I make our own Montreal Smoked Meat - (the Schwatrz’s recipe) - brine the packer’s cut brisket for 7 days - smoke for 6 hours - steam for 3 hours - pile it up on my home made rye bread, ladle on the mustard and park the tender mess right next to a big fat arse garlic dill pickle. Fuckin’ heaven, baby.

Prague powder is a miracle of chemistry (better than saltpetre) and I’m quite happy to exchange having a well-preserved (albeit cancer laden) corpse so as to avoid getting botulism.

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smoking increases your relative risk of lung cancer by 2,500 percent; eating two slices of bacon a day increases your relative risk for colorectal cancer by 18 percent.
Comparing and contrasting the two risks smacks of sensationalism and is disingenuous.

No. “Consuming some meats cured with nitrates increase your risk of cancer by about 1%” is fact. What you wrote isn’t true at all.

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If it’s in the closet you can always use the meat as a valet stand for a suit jacket. And the neighbourhood dogs will love following you when you go for a stroll.

So rolling up bacon and smoking it with my ass is not recommended. Gotcha. Thnx.

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30-rock-st-pats-day

Looks good! And thanks to everyone for sharing their recipes for corned beef here… I always buy the pre-brined, because it reminds me of my childhood. But as my better half doesn’t eat beef I always make a chicken version, with a sort of corned chicken… I’ve found that pickling spices work well and give a similar flavor as does some of the recipes people have posted. I also make soda bread (without raisins) and drink some guiness.

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Now you just need an immersion circulator so you don’t overcook the crap out of it.

Smoked meat is what Montreal all steak seasoning is derived from. Butcher up there used to take the pastrami rub and sprinkle it on steaks. Caught on with the customers and people started selling jars of the stuff.

Nice cheat mixed with some saltpetre or Prague powder to get corned beef, smoked meat, or pastrami.

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I buy this in 1lb containers. I recent moved to the lower-sodium version because its more spices and i can add salt, but prefer to mix in some MSG.

Yeah it’s powerful salty. You have to be careful adding the prague powder. One of the things the saltpetre is good for. I made bacon with it once and it was pretty awesome.

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Too much for me. Nitrite treatment is the primary reason I’ve totally cut bacon out of my diet.

YMMV. :wink:

So, there has been this fad of drinkiing celery juice. I have a health religious friend who drinks it every morning. Me thinks he could be getting naturally cured.

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You have it right. Corning is not just for beef and is delicious for all sorts of proteins.

Also. Side bread should NOT have raisins or any fruit in it. Maybe some caraway seeds on top. The American soda bread we are used to here is actually barmbrack. Which is sort of a hybrid soda bread and fruit cake. It traditionally is served around Halloween or basically on any holiday.

Real soda bread is fairly plain and dry. It’s served with an. Daily meal and used to sip up gravy or sauce or slather some mustard on and is almost like a vehicle or utensil.

I buy many pre done soda breads for my kids to try and they always come back to my old Irish recipe as the best one. :slight_smile: the food of my people.

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