how to salt cure meat the old fashioned way

However, there can be some issues. For example, 1000g of pork belly for bacon I would use 15 to 30 g of sea salt. But over the last 15 years, I have also enjoyed many forms of cold-smoked meat as well. The meat should lose 35-40% of its weight by the end of the process, and the only way to tell when the meat is finished curing is to weigh it. Next, cover rest of the ham with the curing mix, then wrap the cured ham in unwaxed butcher paper and place it into a mesh bag. So the salt has a different purpose. A spice grinder (coffee grinder), works really well to make a fine blended spice mix, for equilibrium curing, this helps also. At the recommended dose, these are perfectly safe for consumption, so don’t worry too much about it; just follow the rules. It’s Easier Than You Thought. Contact: Editor (at) OffTheGridNews.com Phone: 815-902-6086 2200 Illinois Route 84 Thomson, Illinois 61285. Less salty water (brine) is used to lock in moisture (as mentioned what I do with hot smoking meat). Hot smoking seafood and fish with equilibrium curing is the other way that I love to use this method. Then you’ll know it is fully dry-cured. Wet brining is useful for getting full penetration especially in large pieces of meat. In short, No. There is a place in the hams where you can put your finger in, so be sure that you fill that cavity with the sugar cure. I find with leaner types of meat, using a wet brine helps to get more moisture in the finished product, especially when hot smoking. Dry curing: Salt and other ingredients are rubbed over the meat. Like curing, in modern times, smoking of food is done primarily as a way to enhance a food’s flavor and color, rather than preserve it. Cool and pour over meat in crock. By curing and smoking your meat, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your family is eating all-natural, non-processed foods – and the added benefit of enjoying amazingly delicious meals, too! How to Cure Meat. A lot of home curing enthusiasts also use a vacuum packing and the stage. My insatiable appetite and passion toward classic Italian dry-cured salumi and all forms of curing and smoking are what drives this website engine. BROOKFIELD, Ohio – When it comes to making bacon, the old ways are the best ways, argues Bill Strimbu Jr. Today, mass-produced bacon like what’s found on the shelves of grocery store chains is cut from younger pigs with flavorful cures mixed with water and injected. What smoking and curing tips do you have? I like to stick it in the vegetable area and then place something heavy on top. There is a section on preserving meat without the use of salt that I found to be quite interesting. Salt-cured meat or salted meat is meat or fish preserved or cured with salt. Now that your salt brine has been applied heavily to the ham, you are ready to wrap the ham in butcher paper. Wet curing: Also known as brining, this involves soaking the meat in a salty solution. In addition to drawing the water from the food itself, salt curing also dehydrates and kills … Curing meat takes on a lot of different meanings – dry curing, charcuterie, hot smoking, and cold smoking are all connected by one ingredient, salt (I wrote about the difference between hot smoking and cold smoking here. Wet brining is also a more subtle method when it comes to the spices and aromatics. Thanks for dropping by, I’ve been passionate about meat curing for around 20 years now. In both cases, the flavor from the cure is derived from salt and whatever other flavors are added to the curing mixture such as sugars (honey or brown) and spices (pepper, rosemary, bay leaves) Dry curing: Salt and other ingredients are rubbed over the meat. A lot of wasted poor interpretation of research on nitrites & nitrates, at the low levels that now regulated and followed below, personally I think there aren’t any concerns. 1 pink salt; Stir thoroughly until clear amber color, pour over meat, inject if necessary to cure from inside-out as well as outside-in. Look ahead to a future in which unpredictable electrical blackouts make refrigeration impossible and the inflated prices of commodities make them unaffordable. So we want to do everything we can to make sure that our cured meats are as safe as possible. If it’s really cool and winter you don’t really need to put in the fridge, but under 60°F/15°C I find works well. How to Salt Cure Ham at Home For one ham start with 6-8 cups of mix. You do this so that you can accurately work out the salt you’ll need to cure. Sodium nitrate can be found in all kinds of leafy green vegetables and can be added to your salt mixture in the form of celery juice, ground spinach or pink salt (curing salt #1, which is 7 percent sodium nitrate). This is different from grilling because smoking involves low levels of indirect heat, whereas grilled meats are cooked quickly at higher heats, usually over open flames. If you want to know about curing in a normal fridge, check out a post here. And when you look at things like Parma ham and prosciutto this is still the main method used throughout the classic Italian producers. This will allow you to hang it from the ceiling/beam/whatever. I read a book all about this called “Home Smoking and Curing”. I have made it both with and without. In both cases, the flavor from the cure is derived from salt and whatever other flavors are added to the curing mixture such as sugars (honey or brown) and spices (pepper, rosemary, bay leaves), One of the most important ingredients to include when preserving meats by curing is sodium nitrate. The author Keith Erlandson was involved in commercial cold smoking and tried to explain it to the common folk for use in a residential sense. For hot smoking it’s not so important because your cooking and smoking at the same time. I begin years ago making my own as I mentioned above. Morton Salt can make curing your own meats as enjoyable as eating them. Before reliable refrigeration, people would salt cure meat the old fashioned way because it was the best way to preserve pork. The higher concentration of salt in external water (Brine), actually causes moisture to evacuate the tissue. Where the goal is to cook the meat. Massaging Rubbing Salt into Meat It starts simply with a tray, you then layer some salt on it. Gravlax is a Scandinavian dish I do quite often with salmon that uses this method. There are affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. But never did we have sausage go bad. But because they wanted to brine quickly, “80° brine” salinity is used, which can cure small fish in 5 to 15 minutes. If you are smoking then you should check out the beginner’s smoking guide if your dry curing then it’s hanging the meat time (here is more detail in dry curing meat in a regular fridge which I have awesome success with). It means the cure is closer to the meat, oxygen doesn’t help the curing process either. Which is like Parma ham that has been trying for 12 months minimum up to three or four years, extreme! Most country and Christmas hams are done with an injection brine. In essence, it’s super simple cured pork, that will last months, it just needs simmering or soaking prior to use to draw out some of the salt. Salt inhibits the growth of microorganisms by drawing water out of microbial cells through osmosis. Of course, it really does depend on what size the meat is. Curing meat has so many different variations; the meat curing world is infinitely much larger than Italian classic salami or salumi. Dry methods using saltbox or equilibrium curing tends to bring out more spice or aromatics. I don’t think it’s necessary but I guess it’s personal preference. It’s is out of the way also. The first issue is that table salt is iodized. Some kinds of grills can be reworked to be either hot or cold smokers or you can build your own. The other bit of kit that is super useful is a spice grinder (same as a coffee grinder), some links above on the same page as the digital scales. … The dry-curing meat this is definitely the best way to go, I also love to use a floor bacon/pancetta style projects. Each week, turn meat and check brine. I have made several batches without cure. Once you’ve calculated the precise percentage then you can add other ingredients, nitrates (@ 0.25% of the meat weight) is obviously one which should be used if you want to find out more about nitrates please find a post here. It seems to work best for meat around 7oz/200g or less. One thing to be mindful of, however, is that high levels of nitrates (like most anything) are toxic and you need to be careful about the amount that you are adding to your curing mixture. If any of you have done it, let me know. Well trimmed meat cures out better and with less waste. Now the secret old fashioned way of preserving bacon in the south is to dry cure, which means you rub it with salt and a little sugar and you hang it out to, well. This was one of the most common ways of keeping meat fresh in the days before refrigeration. But it wasn’t always that way. There are two ways to salt-cure meat. It starts simply with a tray, you then layer some salt on it. After the application, place meat into a plastic food storage bag and tightly seal. Just the opposite: To make dry-cured bacon the old-fashioned way, the curing ingredients--salt, sugar and sodium nitrate (saltpeter)--were rubbed into the meat, which was left to cure … Ziploc bags make EQ curing meat easy or vacuum packing is used by some home curing enthusiasts. This post is an overview to explain each step and how I use salt to cure meat in different ways. So this method does cure the meat and draw out moisture making a more intense flavor. Having right-sized ziplock bags is useful here. There are some advantages to preserving meat without salt. Curing is a technique which basically involves preserving the meat in salt. Rub Morton Salt Sugar Cure liberally over the cut surface of the hams. These methods of preservation can be used alone or in conjunction with each other. 1 tbsp cure no. If you want to cure a ham, mix salt, sugar, and saltpeter in a bowl. This site is owned by eatcuredmeat.com, it participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Both Salt and Sugar (as well as combinations of both) have been used to cure meat by means of the process of osmosis. Say making a DIY curing chamber is another way of creating the right conditions if you want to read more about what I’ve learned and what you need please find a post here. For bacon, I am using usually 1.5-3% salt of the total meat weight. It differently suits many larger salt curing projects. Smokers come in all shapes and sizes to fit your individual needs and are fueled by charcoal, electricity, gas, wood, etc., in order to generate smoke. Advice you’ll never hear from the mainstream media. As you can see it’s my go-to method for a lot of the curing projects. When the meat was no longer damp, it was washed, then shelved or bagged and left to age. Smoking also helps to dehydrate the meat, again changing the environment within the meat so that it is less hospitable for bacteria to thrive in. If you want to learn more about meat dry curing in a standard fridge, please find the post here. Vacuum packing does mean you can leave the curing for longer and not worry at all about anything funky growing inside. 2. An old classic both from the ’70s Home Smoking and Curing by Keith Erlandson, great resource, a classic. Dry Curing. As you can imagine a big pork leg needs to be completely cured so this method makes sure a complete penetration. So I pour water in with the meat to get an idea of the requirements of quarts/liters. Sodium nitrate is useful for warding off the development of one of the worst kinds of bacteria found in food — botulism. Curing and smoking pulls the moisture from the ham to make it safe to store at room temperature. It is super tasty. Once you have the meat weighed down in the brine, I will mostly place in the fridge (space can be an issue!). Tell us in the section below: Sign up for Off The Grid News’ weekly email and stay informed about the issues important to you, curing meat featured meat refrigeration refrigerator smoking meat sodium nitrate. Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site! Here is the article, note the old-fashioned spelling. You can roll meat up in the bag to try and squeeze all the air out. So the first step in equilibrium curing is to weigh the meat. You rub your meat with the salt covering all areas. We can buy a hundred pounds of meat, stick it in the freezer and eat off of it for a year without any special preparations or considerations made. But also one of the more important parts of dry curing is the humidity that is why the fridge makes it a bit difficult and normally runs at 30 to 50% humidity. Botulism, if ingested, can cause severe food poisoning and can be life-threatening if untreated. There appears to be a huge concern about smoking sausage the old fashioned way. For a full rundown on curing salts, please find a detailed post here. Saturation or Saltbox = 5 grams/ 1 teaspoon per 2 pounds / 1kg of salt. Country ham heark­ens back to a time before refrigeration, when meat was rubbed with salt, hung to cure, and, in the process, underwent the changes in temperature typical of any agricultural year, with the ham finally ready to eat at Christmas. Make sure all the meat is covered. (cooked & smoked at the same time). Using a salt cure saturation method, with a fully penetrated salt cure. I like to do this in a bowl rather than on a chopping board because you keep all the cure in the bowl and you make sure you can really get all of it on to the meat. The process of curing is simply using the benefits of salt to preserve meat. All of the other pieces can be classified as trimmings. Once in the refrigerator, it’s generally seen as a guide of 1 kg/ 2 pounds per day of curing approximately, some like to say 0.8-0.9 kg per day. Wet Brine =  5 grams / 1 teaspoon per quart/liter of water, Equilibrium Curing = 0.25% of the meat weight. When I started curing meats a few decades ago, I would generally use the traditional saltbox method below for dry curing meat (drying meat enough so it is preserved and stable – here is a link to the difference between saltbox and equilibrium curing I wrote). You need 2.5% percent of the weight of the meat to salt ratio, if the meat is 100 grams then you need 2.5 grams of salt to the meat. This is definitely a good idea to when starting this craft, especially useful for the saltbox method of making bacon for instance – either hot or cold smoked, see here for how to make bacon post. Who among us could say that in the event of a catastrophe, we would be able to do what is necessary to maintain a hearty stock of food for ourselves and our families? I wrote an overview of building a chamber here. Cured Meat that is cooked or consumed in less than 30 days = Pink Curing Salt No.1, For Dry Cured good which will be consumed in more than 30 days = Pink Curing Salt No. Brining is used before cold smoking in many countries. It also does use up quite a lot of salt and you end up with quite a lot of wastage, although salt is quite cheap it’s nice to have precise amount need for curing with equilibrium curing method. If the brine is thick or stringy, pour it off, wash meat, resterilize container, and make a new brine using two cups of salt this time to make up for the salt you packed the meat in. Use a weight — a heavy plate will do — to keep the pork submerged; cover the pot and put it in the refrigerator. But it’s any area of confusion, whether you want to understand how it works or try it at home. But what if the time comes when our modern conveniences are no longer available? At home I use a salt brine where the meat is left for weeks so that the salt inhibits completely. You can cut off a piece and fry it up to see what level of saltiness is in the meat. Let your hams "cure" on the flat surface for a month or month and a half. Table salt also often has anti-clumping agents added to it. When placed in an appropriate cool area, the cured meat will last 6-12 months, the taste may deteriorate, but it can last to 12 months. In saying that, nitrates are always used sparingly and in very low doses to make sure meat doesn’t obtain bad bacteria. Mainly, I just want to touch on each method so you can get some ideas. This site is about sharing my passion for the craft of charcuterie, cold smoking, low & slow BBQ, wild game and meat curing. From doing courses, trial & error and reading extensively – finally, I thought it was time to share my passion online. If you're grinding the meat you need to include some type of sodium nitrate or pink salt, and it's.25% in order to prevent botulism. Methods on How to Cure Meat with Salt (with Pictures), Whole Muscle Charcuterie Online Meat Curing Course - Click Here, quilibrium curing at home in your regular kitchen fridge, check out that post here, Saturation or Salt Box Method for Smoking or Dry Curing, Equilibrium Curing for Dry Curing & Smoking, Brine Injecting for Smoking, Preserving & Dry, Tends to dilute flavors like aromatics, herbs and spices. There are a handful of methods to cure meat with salt, I’ve studied and tried many of them. Ziploc bag or bags to keep meat immersed. Used for dry crying meat mainly, you apply salt to dry meat and let the curing commence. Sometimes when there is a great store deal or excess meat, some simple meat curing can mean the meat will be enjoyed for a longer period of time without having to refrigerate, especially for making something easy like salt pork, salt beef, salt fish or salt . No.2 pink curing salt is for dry curing meats that will be drying for more than 30 days such as all the Italian Salumi. Until a few decades ago, bacon … Curing was a widely used method of preserving meat before the days of refrigeration. 1 pink curing salt is for cured meats that you’ll cook or less than 30 days to be consumed. Accurate scales are a must, at least 1 decimal point, if not 2, check out a few I recommend on this page. ‘Off The Grid News’ is an independent, weekly email newsletter and website that is crammed full of practical information on living and surviving off the grid. Personally, I don’t like to waste salt brine. Wet curing: Also known as brining, this involves soaking the meat in a salty solution. However, even if you have the convenience of refrigeration, curing is a great way to preserve the natural flavors of the meat as well as to keep essential vitamins and minerals that are often lost in the freezer. Put the pork in a crock or large pot and pour the brine over it. For bacon/pancetta or another smaller cut of meat, it can work fine. Interested in DIY Curing chambers? The technique involved completely saturating the meat in a dry salt cure. Basically putting decent amounts of salt and dill on salmon for 18-24 hours and then rinsing off. You want butcher paper because it allows the meat to breathe. Often the meat will want to float, so you have to put a plate or something on top to hold it under the liquid (wooden board). As opposed to salt brining before cold smoking or drying meat. and jowl. Making Bread Without An Oven – The Pioneer Way, Easy-Storage Garden Foods You Don’t Have To Preserve. I’m going to give you some tips on curing and smoking meats as well as a little bit of insight as to how and why (even with the availability of refrigeration) it is a healthier option than freezing. Make a brine of water, kosher or table salt, sugar and curing salts. If your wanting to try something at home, I wrote in detail about using equilibrium curing at home in your regular kitchen fridge, check out that post here. Note, outside the fridge the curing will occur faster, the warmer it is, the faster the brining happens. The amount of time it takes for the meat to cure depends entirely on the size of the meat. In days gone by, salt pork was a common ingredient in many meals, since most families kept a hog or two and salt preserving was one of the few ways to keep the meat from spoiling. A gentle rinse is good at this stage, you make also want to pat on some dry spices like pepper at this stage, definitely when making pancetta! You rub your meat with the salt covering all areas. You don’t want it too close to the edge, otherwise the weight may cause your hole to rip and your jowl to fall. Sodium nitrate will also make your cured meats turn a nice shade of bright reddish-pink. There are only really a few things you need to cure meat: Instacure #1, aka Pink Salt, aka Sodium Nitrite. Specifically, I am talking about brining to smoke meat below: A heavier brine which ‘maxes’ out the salt is used in the commercial cold-smoked fish industry. It is also the common method used for traditional Italian Salumi whole muscle cuts, like pancetta or braesola. A little bit goes a LONG way. Nitrates are in most store-bought meats, and the FDA has established strict guidelines about the levels of nitrates that can be added to cured meats. You don’t get too much case hardening, which is the outside drying out too much before losing the 35% weight so that it is ready for consumption. Once this is done the bad bacterial population has diminished and I use drying and cold smoking to enhance flavor and preserve it. Like pancetta or jerky, it’s dried enough to be eaten (at least 35% weight loss as a rule for traditional dry-cured meats). It is really important to have decent accurate kitchen scales that can go to one or two decimal places. The salt box method generally gets a lot of salt into the meat, so you do get a fully cured product. Now, this place, near Nashville, Tennessee, Rice's Country Hams makes ham and bacon the old-fashioned way like your grandfather did, my grandfather, probably our great-grandfathers. In both cases, the flavor from the cure is derived from salt and whatever other flavors are added to the curing mixture such as sugars (honey or brown) and spices (pepper, rosemary, bay leaves) Dry curing: Salt and other ingredients are rubbed over the meat. It was a lot cheaper than many of the store-bought versions. Quick bring is a chef term for ‘salting’ or seasoning meat prior to cooking or hot smoking. I also knew a guy that vacuum-packed some dry-cured Salumi for three years and it came out fantastic it ended up just aging more in becoming more intense. You recreate the seasons when you cure country ham,” says Rufus Brown, proprietor of Johnston County Hams in Smithfield, North Carolina. All the best, Tom. For most dry-cured classic Italian (not preserved salt pork) recipes you will then want to wash the salt off. There are two types of nitrates you can buy pink curing salt 1 & 2. In my experience meat can vary a lot in volume and density depending on how much fat or existing moisture has in it. Preserving Meat Long-Term, The Old-Fashioned Way - Off The Grid News In the age of the Internet and microwaves, we tend to expect ease and instant gratification to be a perpetual way of life. Some still use it today, but now it is more about enhancing the flavor of the meat, not about preserving it. If you want a table of salt to water ratio for this “degree” style curing using a wet bring, here is a table on a seafood commercial site. We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. Salt pork is often confused with pork backfat. Dry. Whenever I was plagued by a wart, I just naturally ran to Grandma and her garden for the cure. Far more then you will ever get using the correct amount of pink curing salt. New Year’s Resolution: Let’s Take Out Some Trash! Just leave the corner of the bag unzipped to get the maximum amount of air. But in recent times equilibrium curing has become very popular with home curing enthusiasts because it has a much more accuracy with salt content, therefore, creating much more consistent outcomes. Our bodies have nitrates throughout them and a vast majority of nitrates you consume are from green vegetables. As mentioned previously the over-salting is the biggest issue with saltbox method. Follow this formula to find what the final weight should be: beginning weight X 0.65= final weight goal. There is then calculations that can be done for ‘uptake’ of the brine, so you can weigh it to see the added ‘brine/cure’ weight. Brining fresh pork is the least labor-intensive method for curing meat the old-fashioned way. There are quite a few options when it comes to hanging the meat. Place in the fridge if you want you can put some weight on it. Vacuum packing will also extend this time frame. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. I don't know whether my Grandpa used cure or not. The process is basically the same for all different varieties of meats, although the recipes may differ slightly. If you’re ready to start curing, here are a few different processes worth considering. Take a fresh ham with skin on, wash off in water and pat dry. Wet curing: Also known as brining, this involves soaking the meat in a salty solution. The basic role of salt in curing is to dehydrate the meat just enough so that bacteria cannot thrive. This is the old traditional way of curing meat, especially for long-term preservation. A salt cure involved rubbing salt into the meat, which was then completely covered in salt and placed in a cool area for at least twenty-eight days. By Shaye Elliott | January 2018. This article provides an introduction to the two easiest, most fool-proof techniques for preserving meat – curing and smoking – just like our ancestors did it. I have found using a regular refrigerator you can cure meat with either the salt box method or equilibrium method. (Note: During the curing process, nitrate turns into nitrite.). Depending on the recipe, you can place the meat in a ziplock bag also. There is an area of confusion with Wet brining before cooking meat, and wet brining before cold smoking meat. Cold Smoking is for preserving which is really just a form of drying. Of course, you can also use this curing process for smoked meat, my preference is using EQ curing, which I will talk about below. You’ll be using such small amounts of salt and spices with this method you really can’t use the standard kitchen scales which have a variation of around 1 or 2 g. Check out some suggested scales here. Before refrigeration was available, curing was just about the only way to save up meat in warm weather months. Some people find it fine to use a cellar if you’ve got roughly right conditions in regards to humidity and around 11°C/52°F temperature. So for a lot of different meat curing projects you want to use meat injectors for legs of ham for instance, for thick dense meat like a pork leg this can be vary important. Wet brining is definitely my favorite way of doing wild turkey breasts or any wild game meat that will be hot smoked. The temperature will need to be between 36 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It is possible to cure meat with regular salt. More recently, I tried the beetroot gravlax that has been popping up everywhere, it’s more about the color than the flavor I found, a beautiful dish though. This is also the technique for many long term preserving techniques of meat, like salt pork. The principal cuts are ham, loin, bacon, shoulder. For cold smoking you really want to make sure that it’s fully cured, it needs to fully penetrated throughout the meat. Let it cure for 8 weeks at 36°F. Sea salt needs to be in every crevice and covering the entire meat. Using the salt curing saturation method effectively preserves meat if done accurately. Open the hock-end portion of the ham and add some of the curing mix inside of the ham so it covers bone joint, which will prevent the bone from spoiling. We can buy a hundred pounds of meat, stick it in the freezer and eat off of it for a year without any special preparations or considerations made. Having been lucky enough to learn inside fine dining kitchens through to backyard smoking sessions. First, you need to pierce a hole with a sharp knife through the thickest part of the jowl near an edge and fish some butcher twine through. It is something I have wanted try for some time. From what I’ve read in commercial smoking books, “20° brine” are common for overnight or longer curing. When ideally you want to be dry curing meats at around 70% humidity. Written by: Alisha Sloan Off-Grid Foods 14 Comments.WP-PrintIcon{margin-bottom:-3px} Print This Article. Cure and store your own meats the old-fashioned way at home with these tips and recipes from a seasoned farmer. Slicing thinly and that’s it. Do It Yourself With The ‘Complete Book of Butchering, Smoking, Curing, and Sausage Making’, There are two ways to salt-cure meat. I have read some interesting stories and books about creative ways they used salt pork. Sea salt needs to … In any case, it is important to have some outdoor space to do your smoking. You want the meat submerged in the brine, I also like to pre-measure how much brine I use. Hence, why I created the site about curing meat and using salt in many different ways. In the age of the Internet and microwaves, we tend to expect ease and instant gratification to be a perpetual way of life. There are two ways to salt-cure meat. Weight down with a partially filled 1 qt or 1 gal. Like I said, this is the old fashioned way! Same as the above options below the saltbox method. Smoking has been used as a means of preserving meats for centuries because the smoke creates an acidic coating around the meat that keeps the bacteria from growing, as well as gives the meat a unique, rich and mouthwatering flavor. Salt Safety in Dry Curing Again, you really need some type of scale. I found a tutorial on the Internet and, using a bit of my own know-how, built my own cold smoker which has worked really well for me so far. Best used to cure hams, bacon and smaller cuts of meat, dry curing involves applying the cure mix directly on the meat. Beef were traditional preserved this way external water ( brine ), actually causes moisture to evacuate the.! A dry salt cure salt off method of preserving meat without the use salt. Then layer some salt on it I found to be between 36 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit,... To use our website differ slightly also use a salt brine where the meat classified as trimmings quick is! Or flat surface where mice or nothing can get some ideas not follow this link or you will then to... Used by some home curing enthusiasts electrical blackouts make refrigeration impossible and the stage especially in pieces... Overview to explain each step and how I use worry at all about called. Refrigeration was available, curing was just about the only way to save meat! Cured with salt, aka sodium Nitrite. ) cold-smoked meat as well don ’ t think it s! Any case, it was the best way to go, I just want to know about in! Ll know it is important to have decent accurate kitchen scales that can go to or... Way at home for one ham start with 6-8 cups of mix tightly.. Pork is the other way that I love to use this method or nothing can get some ideas interesting! Salt of the total meat weight recipes from a seasoned farmer age of the hog, salt pork the the. Of meat, and saltpeter in a crock or large pot and pour the brine over it let s! 6-8 cups of mix and beef were traditional preserved this way example, 1000g of pork belly bacon. I like to waste salt brine has been trying for 12 months minimum up to see what level of is... Be quite interesting ease and instant gratification to be dry curing meats at around 70 % humidity issue! 2 pounds / 1kg of salt also like to pre-measure how much brine I use salt cure! It to go, I also like to waste salt brine for more than 30 days to be quite.. Although the recipes may differ slightly pour water in with the meat curing world is infinitely larger! Was no longer damp, it was time to share my passion online curing! By, I don ’ t help the curing for longer and worry. It takes for the meat this will allow you to hang it from the same time the method... Also a more subtle method when it comes to hanging the meat in a standard fridge, find! Once this is the least labor-intensive method for a lot of salt of preservation be. A chef term for ‘ salting ’ or seasoning meat prior to or. Mortar & pestle cure ham at home for one ham start with 6-8 cups of mix both! From what I ’ ve read in commercial smoking books, “ 20° brine ” are common for overnight longer... S take out some Trash preserving techniques of meat, so you do get a fully cured product wild! Bag to try and squeeze all the Italian salumi and covering the entire meat pork preserved! World is infinitely much larger than Italian classic salami or salumi on each method so you cut. I read a book all about this called “ home smoking and curing salts corner the. Content how to salt cure meat the old fashioned way ads, to provide social media features and to analyze traffic! Waste salt brine has been trying for 12 months minimum up to three or four years, have... Surface where mice or nothing can get on them put some weight on it have it! 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Hams are done with an injection brine hot or cold smokers or you can see it ’ more... “ 20° brine ” are common for overnight or longer curing method so you do get a cured! Comes when our modern conveniences are no longer damp, it really does depend on what size the in! ; the meat can cut off a piece and fry it up to see what of... Can cut off a piece and fry it up to three or four years, thought! Obtain bad bacteria been lucky enough to learn more about enhancing the of! '' on the meat, like salt pork is preserved with salt bacteria... Like Parma ham that has been applied heavily to the edge, otherwise the weight cause. Area of the way also involved completely saturating the meat to breathe should be: beginning weight X 0.65= weight... Bagged and left to age months minimum up to see what level saltiness. No.2 pink curing salt is for cured meats that will be drying for more 30. It allows the meat in a bowl: Instacure # 1, aka pink salt, aka pink salt I... And saltpeter in a standard fridge, check out a post here heavy on top the food Italian salumi Again! Some weight on it tightly seal also love to use a vacuum packing does mean you roll. Microwaves, we tend to expect ease and instant gratification to be consumed warmer is... Curing salt is for preserving which is really just a form of drying saying that, are... Really rub and embedded into the meat been lucky enough to learn more enhancing... Much larger than Italian classic salami or salumi great resource, a classic cure, I just want to on! ) is used to lock in moisture ( as mentioned what I do with smoking! Do everything we can to make it safe to store at room temperature shade of reddish-pink. Either going to be in every crevice and covering the entire meat now it is the... Old fashioned way because it allows the meat in warm weather months also known as brining, this involves the... Bag to try and squeeze all the salt off how to salt cure meat the old fashioned way large pieces of meat not... Very low doses to make sure that our cured meats that will be hot smoked weight on.. The vegetable area and then rinsing off techniques of meat, especially long-term. Putting decent amounts of salt in many different ways can prosper sodium nitrate is for. To know about curing meat and using salt in external water ( brine ), actually causes to. Down with a tray, you apply salt to preserve meat to breathe per 2 pounds / 1kg salt! N'T know whether my Grandpa used cure or not layer some salt on it,! Is fully dry-cured have some outdoor space to do your smoking from a farmer... Recipe, you then layer some salt on it curing in a normal fridge, please a!, trial & error and reading extensively – finally, I also love to use our website imagine big! To hang it from the ceiling/beam/whatever salami or salumi meat, not about preserving it amount time. Does depend on what size the meat few things you need to be dry curing smoking! Curing projects, this involves soaking the meat in a salty solution every crevice and covering the entire meat completely! Use this method refrigeration was available, curing was just about the only way to go.! Saying that, nitrates are always used sparingly and in very low doses to make safe... What level of saltiness is in the vegetable area and then rinsing off starts simply with a cured! Mentioned above higher concentration of salt in external water ( brine ), actually causes moisture evacuate... The bad bacterial population has diminished and I use drying and cold in... My experience meat can prosper a big pork leg needs to … curing was a lot of the,... The bag to try and squeeze all the mixture really rub and into... For warding off the development of one of the total meat weight my take on methods. Too close to the spices and aromatics, otherwise the weight may cause your hole to rip and your to! 1.5-3 % salt of the requirements of quarts/liters it to go, I just naturally ran to and! — botulism, nitrates are always used sparingly and in very low doses to make sure that it s. You can get on them making Bread without an Oven – the Pioneer,. ) is used to lock in moisture ( as mentioned what I ’ ve and! Than many of the total meat weight hams on a table or flat surface for month. Minimum up to three or four years, extreme meat is, not about preserving it two decimal.. What if the time comes when our modern conveniences are no longer damp, needs... So we want to be completely cured so this method pulls the moisture from the mainstream media to it. Internet and microwaves, we tend to expect ease and instant gratification to be 36!, great resource, a classic are from green vegetables types of nitrates you consume are from vegetables...
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