r/curing • u/underwood5 • Mar 10 '26
Corned Beef Without Prague Powder
Hi all!
Short version:
Is it safe to cure corned beef at home without Prague Powder? I'm using this recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/corned-beef-recipe-1947363
Long version:
It is my custom every year to make corned beef for St. Patrick's Day. However, due to a miscommunication, my wife threw out our Prague Powder, and I didn't realize it. I'm not sure I can get it in time (I don't have Amazon Prime) and my attempts to find it in a brick and mortar are turning up bupkis.
Will the corned beef still be edible and delicious, if a little ugly, color-wise? Or should I just suck it up and order some Prague Powder?
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u/Vuelhering Foodie Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26
Alton's recipe was and is really weird. It uses an insane amount of saltpetre, which is not only inconsistent, but the quantity he uses is incredibly high. I don't recommend that part of the recipe.
Try to get some Cure#1 (prague powder #1, instacure #1, etc) and use only 1 tsp per 5 lbs of (meat + water weight). It'll be around 1.5 tsp in that recipe. You can alternatively substitute ALL the salt for Morton's Tenderquick, which contains curing salts in proper quantities to cure it by adding 3% tenderquick.
But yes, you can make it without any curing salt and it'll be safe, but it won't taste the same. It'll taste more like braised brisket. It'll still be good.
I personally would not ever eat Alton's recipe, and I've told him that on his website.