Extreme Machines

[DangerDan]

The other day we had a thread with the discussion of how cures, salt and other spices were mixed and distributed. I thought this subject would go well here.

As I tend to mix cures in larger quanities for hams I also have many occasions where I have single muscles say a sirloin or pork loin that I will cure for dry aging.

My go to spice mill on larger or mulitple meat projects is an ordinary 12 speed blender. I can mix quite a bit of salt cure and other ingredients its pitcher and bag it for later use or just use it on the spot.

For smaller projects as described above I have a dedicated spice mill, or coffee grinder. This will handle my smaller curing projects as I just pour the premeasured pulverized material into a salt shaker and distribute it evenly across the procuct until it (as it is premeasured) is all used.

[curious aardvark]

I use a magic bullet clone. like that one.
It'd probably take 1/2 pound of mixed spices at one go. While being small and convenient enough to do a couple of tsps as well.
Also useful for various others things.

It'll even reduce whole nutmegs to powder in a few seconds. quick rinse cleans both blade and container and it's small enough to live on the counter in a small kitchen (and they don't come much smaller than ours lol)

[RowdyRay]

Good subject. I've started making my own rubs and dabbling with curing and brining. Some of the recipes called for fine ground sea salt or kosher. Tried using a pepper type mill, but took forever. Tried the blender too, but it's big. Digging out the cuisinart just didn't seem appealing either. Heard others talk about the coffee grinder. Found one in the thrift store for 3.00.

The coffee grinder works fantastic. Also, I like to use Montreal steak or chicago steak seasoning on certain things. But, I don't like biting into the whole spices. Put it into the grinder and in 30 seconds it's pulverized. Pour it back in the jar. Don't use nearly as much on the meat now either.

Currently watching for another to use strictly for the hot peppers. Much smaller, easy to clean up and fast. Ask around, you may have a family member or friend who has one stashed in the cupboard they never use.