salt curing meat
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Presents...
SaltCuringMeatinBrine
contentsofwebpageAlDurtschiCuringmeatbyusingasaltbrinewasawidelyusedmethodofpreservingmeatbeforethedaysofrefrigeration.Thisisthewaywecuredpor inSouthernAlberta,howeveritwouldwor forbeefaswell:RecipebyVerlaCress(born1940)OK-Brinebarrelfilledhalfwayupwith1cupsaltper2gallonsofhotwater(that's32partswater-1partsalt),andabitofvinegar-ORBETTER-BrineBarrelfilled1/2waywith5/8cupsalt&3/8cupcuringsaltper2gallonshotwater,andabitofvinegar.Cutyouranimalupintohamsizedpieces(about10-15lbseach).Putthepiecesinthebrinebarrelandletitsoa for6days.Nowthatyour
meatissalted,removethemeatfromthebrine,dryitoffandputitinflourorgunnysac sto eepthefliesaway.Thenhangitupinacooldryplacetodry.Itwill eepli ethisforperhapssixwee sifstoredinacoolplaceduringtheSummer.Ofcourse,itwill eepmuchlongerintheWinter.Ifitgoesbad,you'll nowit!OR...FURTHERPROCESSITBY:Puttingitinabrinebarrel,filledhalfwayupwith4cupsbrownsugarto3gallonswater-andabitofvinegar(note:nosalt):Injectsomeofthesugarbrinemixtureintothealreadysaltedmeatwithasyringe,thenputthemeatinthesugarbrinefor3days.Removethemeatfromthebrineandsmo eitfor3days.Nowputyoursmo edmeat
intoflourorgunnysac sto eepthefliesawayandhangitupinacooldryplacetostore.Smo edmeatpreservedli ethisshould eepintheSummerforatleast4monthsifstoredinacooldryplace.Itwill eepmuchlongerintheWinter,orifrefrigerated.
ExtractfromLeslieBasel'srec.food.preservingFAQsSalt,Sugar,SodiumNitriteandSodiumNitrate.
Saltandsugarbothcuremeatbyosmosis.Inadditiontodrawingthewaterfromthefood,theydehydrateand illthebacteriathatma efoodspoil.Ingeneral,though,useoftheword"cure"referstoprocessingthemeatwitheithersodiumnitriteorsodiumnitrate.Sodiumnitriteandsodiumnitratearethebasisfortwocommerciallyusedproducts:Praguepowders#1and#2.Praguepowder#1isa
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mixtureof1partsodiumnitriteand16partssalt.Thechemicalsarecombinedandcrystallizedtoassureevendistribution.Eventhoughdiluted,only4ouncesofPraguepowder#1isrequiredtocure100lbsofmeat.Amoretypicalmeasurementforhomeuseis1tspper5lbsofmeat.Praguepowder#2isamixtureof1partsodiumnitrite,.64partssodiumnitrateand16partssalt.Itisprimarilyusedindry-curing.OneothercommonlyavailablecuringproductisMorton'sTenderQuic .Itisamixtureofsalt,sodiumnitrite,sodiumnitrateandsugar.As yourbutcherorgrocertostoc itforyou.[Wherecanthesecompoundsbeobtained?]Ifyouarechummywithalocalbutcherwhodoescuring,maybe(s)hewillsellyouasmallquantity.Otherwise,theSausageMa eroffersallitemsmentionedhere.TheSausageMa erInc./26MilitaryRoad/BuffaloNY14207.(716)-876-5521.1996,LeslieBaselMoreDetailedInstructions:
Thisrecipewasta enfromatinyhome-maderecipeboo ,"RememberMama'sRecipes."ItwasputtogetherbythewomenoftheStirling,Alberta,LDScongregationbac inthe1950's.BrineCuredPor100lbspor
8lbssalt(Note:1partsaltto48partswater)2oz.saltpeter2lbsbrownsugar5gallonswaterMethod:Mixsalt,brownsugarandsaltpeter,addthistothewaterandbringthemixturetoaboil.Stirtodissolvesugar.S imoffanyscumthatmayformwhileboilingaftereverythingisdissolved.Removefromheatandchilluntilquitecold.Pac thepiecesofmeatintocleanbarrelsorearthenwarecroc s,placingthemasclosetogetheraspossible.Nowpourthecoldbrineoverthemeatma ing
absolutecertainthemeatiscompletelycovered.Putaboardoverthemeatthatjustfitsinsidethecontainerandplaceweightsonittoma esurethatthemeatisemergedinthebrine.Whencuringlargerandsmallerpiecesofmeatatthesametime,placethelargerpiecesonthebottomandthesmalleronesontop.Thisissothesmalleronescanbeliftedoutwithoutdisturbingthelargerpieces.Thesmallpiecesdonotta easlongtocureasthebiggerones.Themeatshouldbecuredinatemperaturethatisjustabovefreezing.Ifthemeatiscuredatawarmertemperaturethebrinemayshowsignsofsouring.Ifthisshouldhappen,removethemeatandsoa itinlu ewarmwaterforanhourorso.Washthemeatinfreshcoldwaterandbesuretothrowoutthesouredbrine.Cleanoutthecontainer,repac themeatandma eafreshbrinein
originalproportions.
Baconsidesandloinsrequire2daysperpoundinthisbrine.Shoulderswillta e3daysperpound.Hamswillta e4daysperpound.Afterthemeatiscuredthepiecesshouldbesoa edinwarmwaterandthenwashedincoldwaterorevenscrubbedwithabrushtoremoveanyscumthatmayhaveaccumulatedduringthecuringprocess.Hangthemeatbyveryheavycordsinthesmo ehouseandallowtodrain24
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hoursbeforestartingthesmo ing.Hardwoodisthebesttouseforsmo ingandthetemperatureinthesmo ehouseshouldbe100-120degreesF.Theventilatorsshouldbeleftopenatfirsttoallowanymoisturetoescape.Smo euntildesiredflavorandcolorisarrivedat.
TheWayWeDidIt...
AstoldbyGlennAdamson(born1915)Weneverhadelectricityoranicehouseonthefarm.Sincewehadnowayofeepingmeatrefrigerated,weonly illedanimalsasfastasweatethem....Por wasourmainstaple.Itseemedtherewasalwaysapigjusttherightsizetobutcher.Weatemoremeatoutonourfarmthanthetypicalfamilyeatsnow.Inthesummer,whatpor wedidn'teatimmediatelywaspreserved.Whenwebutcheredapig,Dadfilledawooden45gallonbarrelwithsaltbrine.Wecutupthepigintomaybeeightpiecesandputitinthebrinebarrel.Thepor soa edinthebarrelforseveraldays,thenthemeatwasta enout,andthewaterwasthrownaway.Wesac edashoulder,asideofbacon,ortheham,whichwastherearleg,inagunnysac orfloursac to eepthefliesoff.Itwasthenhung
upinthecoalhousetodry.Quiteoftenwehadahamdrying,hangingontheshadysideofthehouse.Inthehotsummerdaysaftertheyhaddried,theywereputintherootcellarto eepthemcool.Themeatwasgoodforeatingtwoorthreemonthsthisway.Wedidn'thaveasmo ehouseli esomepeoplehad.Butwhatwehadwor edjustfine.Inthewintertimewhenwe illedsomethingwedidn'thavetocureit.We'dhangitoutsidethehouseorsomewhereelsewhereitwascoldandit eptjustfine.(We'retal ingCanada,here,whereitgetsreallycold.)MyUncleGeorgeOvardtoldmethefollowingstorywhenIwasjusta id:Hehadputapiginthebrinebarrelandwhenhewenttota eitoutseveraldayslaterheonlyfoundhalfofhismeat.Thispuzzledhimsomewhat,butheneversaidanythingaboutit.Acoupleofdayslater,oneofhisneighborshappenedtostop
byandmentioned,"Ihearsomeonetoo someofyourpor outofyourbrinebarrel."UncleGeorgesaid,"Yes,butIdidn'ttellanyoneaboutit."Theguyhadtrappedhimselfrightthere.
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HomePage:http://waltonfeed.com/Allcontentscopyright(C)1996,AlDurtschi.Thisinformationmaybeusedbyyoufreelyfornon-commercialusewithmynameandE-mailaddressattached.Revised:17Dec98