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Curing 200+ pounds of pork 3 different ways. Dry cure, wet cure and salt only cure.
SGH
Posts: 28,989
I killed and cut up 4 hogs the other day. As such, I got the itch to cure some of it. Ended up with 228 pounds of drop meat. Thought I would do it 3 different ways just to do a side by side comparison. First is the more common and popular method. Simply a heavy rub of salt, brown sugar and a curing agent. Second is a wet cure (no injecting, soak only) in a bath that has been handed down to me by my grandfather. Nothing top secret, just a little taboo according to modern books and methods. Third, the salt only method. All the joints in the meat containing bones has been broke open and drained of the Synoval fluid (this is a very important step) to avoid decay and spoilage. This meat will cure for 8 days. The meat in the liquid cure will sit in the fridge along with the meat in the dry cure at 45 degrees. The salted only meat will sit outside in the open air under a 250 year oak tree lightly covered with a tarp. No refrigeration, no voodoo, no magic. Just salt and southern air doing the work. Before anyone says that this is dangerous or that the meat will ruin, let point out we have done this for many decades with outstanding results. I do put a coat of black pepper on the tarp to keep flies and scavengers at bay. After the 8 day cure, I will soak it out accordingly. After the soak the meat will be hung and cold smoked in a ancient smokehouse built by my grandfather for 15-30 days depending on the size of the particular cut, the humidity and the outside temp. I always just watch for the meat to "tighten" to the desired level that I'm looking for then pull it from the smoke. I have no doubt that there are probably better methods than my old school methods, but they work for me my friends. Here is a few pics of some of the meat and tools used. Hope that y'all enjoy and may the Curing Gods keep you all in their good grace.
Bulk salt.
Salt Box.
Meat & SS barrels.
Hope that y'all enjoy my friends.
Bulk salt.
Salt Box.
Meat & SS barrels.
Hope that y'all enjoy my friends.
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out.
Comments
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Salt or air wont hurt you but eating 200 lbs of meat (or anything) might Steve
Caledon, ON
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I think that I have more than proved that over eating will not hurt you. If it would, I would have died decades agoLittle Steven said: Salt or air wont hurt you but eating 200 lbs of meat (or anything) might Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
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Most folks do not believe this. I have seen Stike/Darby correct many folks about this misconception over the years. I have been doing it for almost 5 decades myself. Yet many still believe that it is unsafe for some reason.Little Steven said: Salt or air wont hurt you Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Up in the north country here you can air cure without anything most of the year.
Steve
Caledon, ON
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Instesting will be following
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No refrigeration needed even with FL, LA, MS, etc when using salt cure? We're gonna be in the upper 70s to lower 80s for the next week or so.
LBGE 2013 & MM 2014Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FANFlying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL -
Good old italian proscuttio (as in, typical small prodcition, farmhouse curing, before production optimized for commercial quality control) was just to simply bury in salt and stack another on top, add salt, add another, etc. (the stacking is why it ended up flattened, and also squeezed out water)
This was all done at room temp
this is why i have to laugh at the "my fire went out" butt posts
the french too, farmhouses, pre refrigeration, kept a perpetual crock of brine. You'd throw the meat in it and take it out when you needed it. It had NOTHING to do with flavor (initially). It was just where you stored meat
herbs were added eventually. Sugar too (sugar is a very recent thing. Rare until mid 1700s)
heck. There are piles of mammoth bones sometimes found under rocks. These were called "meat caches". Weight down the meat with stones and the water itself was a relative improvement for storing meat.
Short step from that to salt water
in fact, gravlax is from 'grav' meaning grave. What do you do with a lot of fish after a successful catch? Bury it in the sand just above high water.
They had no idea the salt in the sand was curing the meat. It just did. At ambient temps
we have no good reason to be afraid of our food
i'll say again (until i am blue in the face), it's arguably safer to eat pork raw than it is to eat a tomato or spinach raw[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
Darby_Crenshaw said:Good old italian proscuttio (as in, typical small prodcition, farmhpuse curing, before production for commercial quality control) was just to simply bury in salt and stack another on top, add salt, etc.
at room temp
this is why i have to laugh at the "my fire went out" butt posts
the french too, farmhouses, pre refrigeration, kept a perpetual crock of brine. You'd throw the meat in it and take it out when you needed it. It had NOTHING to do with flavor (initially). It was just where you stored meat
herbs were added eventually. Sugar too (sugar is a very recent thing. Rare until mid 1700s)
heck. There are piles of mammoth bones sometimes found under rocks. These were called "meat caches". Weight down the meat with stones and the water itself was a relative improvement for storing meat.
Short step from that to salt water
in fact, gravlax is from 'grav' meaning grave. What do you do with a lot of fish after a successful catch? Bury it in the sand just above high water.
They had no idea the salt in the sand was chring the meat. It just did. At ambient temps
we have no good reason to be afraid of our food
i'll say again (until i am blue in the face), it's arguably safer to eat pork raw than it is to eat a tomato or spinach raw
Successful catch is a funny term coming from you.Steve
Caledon, ON
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Brother Husker, I have been doing it for decades. However I do avoid it when the temp surpasses 90 degrees. The only reason I avoid it then is there is just about no feasible way to control the insects. The pepper will keep flies at bay. But not ants and gnats. Short of this, it's perfectly safe.NPHuskerFL said:No refrigeration needed even with FL, LA, MS, etc when using salt cure? We're gonna be in the upper 70s to lower 80s for the next week or so.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
@Darby_Crenshaw
Is there a upper temp limit where salt curing is no longer feasible? I have done it in the high 80's and even the low 90's. But was just curious if there was a cut off. My hunch is as long as the temp stays below about 110 degrees all will be fine. Your thoughts?Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Pepper too, as you say. Couldn't be more correct, that's for the insects, not flavor. Nowadays we do it for flavor, sure.
same even for smoke.
We lived in a house built 1660s, and it had a kitchen hearth you could walk into. Up in the smoke shelf there were hooks. No fridge, where you gonna store the two hams? Well, just hang them up out of the way.
The bugs stayed away beacuse of the fire/smoke. The ham incidentally (not on pirpose) got smokey, and dried out under the draft
i always found it interesting. The very practical reasoning behind this stuff is to me as compelling as the end result. And knowing it, just doing the barest research, will free you from the modern American tendency to panic about everything food related
it's why i have no patience when someone tells me they throw out deli meat after two days, or freeze meat that is going to be in the fridge a week before it is used. Learn your food. Live your food[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
Darby_Crenshaw said:Pepper too, as you say. Couldn't be more correct, that's for the insects, not flavor. Nowadays we do it for flavor, sure.
same even for smoke.
We lived in a house built 1660s, and it had a kitchen hearth you could walk into. Up in the smoke shelf there were hooks. No fridge, where you gonna store the two hams? Well, just hang them up out of the way.
The bugs stayed away beacuse of the fire/smoke. The ham incidentally (not on pirpose) got smokey, and dried out under the draft
i always found it interesting. The very practical reasoning behind this stuff is to me as compelling as the end result. And knowing it, just doing the barest research, will free you from the modern American tendency to panic about everything food related
it's why i have no patience when someone tells me they throw out deli meat after two days, or freeze meat that is going to be in the fridge a week before it is used. Learn your food. Live your food
My freezer died last week. The Christmas ham was in there. Are you saying I didn't need to throw it out?Steve
Caledon, ON
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Darby I don't actually put the pepper on the meat. I put it on the tarp that I'm using for shade and around the bottom of the barrel on the ground. No pepper touches the meat at all. Only salt on the meat. Pepper all around as a repellent. Sometimes the wind causes problems by blowing it away, but I simply replace what the wind blows away.Darby_Crenshaw said:Pepper too, as you say. Couldn't be more correct, that's for the insects, not flavor.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Interesting thread. I'm learning a lot today from other members of this forum.
Any road will take you there if you don't know where you're going.
Terry
Rockwall, TX -
I say this with all due respect, if you are interested in curing meat, listen to everything that Darby/Stike has to say on the subject. And read his old posts under the Stike name. Of all the people that I have heard speak on the matter, his advice is the most sound. Most of his views on curing fall right in line with my grandfathers. Love him or hate him, he knows his $hit when it comes to curing and preserving. That's not sentiment my friend, it's absolute fact.Hawg Fan said:I'm learning a lot today from other members of this forum.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
This just awesome my friend. Growing up in Kentucky, I used to make a quarter an hour helping Mrs. DeCremmel put up country hams. She made a fortune, or so it seemed to me, a poor kid that grew up in a boy's home in the shadows of Appalachia. She would feed me country ham, on angel biscuits the entire time I helped her. That was the first place I had ever tasted Coca Cola. I was afraid to drink it. I thought it was alcohol, and I would get in trouble.
Later, after working and gorging on country ham, I would be so thirsty at night. That stuff was incredible.
Cool task Scottie, keep it going. Very, very cool. Not that it carries any weight, or anything, coming from a Ford driving, Yeti owning dude, but that is very amazing, thank you for sharing."Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber
XL and MM
Louisville, Kentucky -
Thinking my unused (at the moment) ice machine bin would be perfect for salt curing some primals. Flies and noseeums not a huge concern but, nightly wild animals would be. Thus thinking an insulated bin that could be secured would be ideal. Standing by brother.
@Darby_Crenshaw I'm not one of the squeamish when it comes to charcuterie. In fact the tasty mold that appears gets a quick thin slice and then consumption as normal. In fact dry aged cuts I prefer leaving as is. Maybe that's just me. I know I'd have to trim cuts of this crust for some family members to be kosher with it.LBGE 2013 & MM 2014Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FANFlying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL -
XXL BGE, Karebecue, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle
San Antonio, TX
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I have about 75 pounds of pork curing out in the souther air as we speak. It will be in the 80's here tomorrow. As long as bugs or insects didn't get to it it's perfectly fine in my opinion. A lot of the stuff that authors say is unsafe in books is just to keep from getting sued if someone who doesn't know what they are doing makes a error and gets sick. They usually try to print "fool proof" methods for this reason. It doesn't mean that they are correct though. Some of the stuff we have done when it comes to cooking or curing meat would never get printed due to liability reasons. But it works and works well nonetheless.Little Steven said:My freezer died last week. The Christmas ham was in there. Are you saying I didn't need to throw it out?Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Brother it means a lot to me and I really appreciate the kind words. For the record, I'm willing to overlook the Yeti, but we need to talk about that Ford my friendYukonRon said:Cool task Scottie, keep it going. Very, very cool. Not that it carries any weight, or anything, coming from a Ford driving, Yeti owning dude, but that is very amazing, thank you for sharing.
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
+2!Foghorn said: -
Great thread and information!! Thanks gents!Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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@SGH the pepper is usually for prosciutto or italian salumi (not salami) that is hung at ambient temps. The prosciutto somtimes got a coat of lard and then rolled in pepper. The lard comes off when ready. So the pepper doesn't adhere to the meat really
it's really amazing to me how it is all the same stuff but with regional differences usually based on what ingredients are available
everyone says no soft wood for smoking. Yet german hams are smoked over juniper branches. We do fish with alder and salmon, etc.
hell. Cedar plank salmon isn't fancy. It's (like almost all this stuff) is poor-people food. I don't mean that to be derogatory. It's just what the poor people did to save their food
cooking a salmon without any pans, on an open fire? Bake it on a cedar board plenty of cedar in these forests around us. Board burned up too quick? Try soaking it in water.
And then "gee, the smoke that got on it isn't bad, actually". Boom. Cedar planked salmon
(Ps Steven. Quit trying to be my friend. I don't know where you got that idea, but i only hang out with you because you are rodney's side piece, and it's a requirement of his when we all go away for boys' weekend at the spa. And speaking of our spa weekends, stop telling me you know a few rest areas where you get all your facials for free)
[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
This forum has a very wide array of talented people. You can ask just about any kind of question here and get a sound answer. There are few forums that can compete with this one as far as diverse cooks. You have some very educated and intelligent people as well as folks like myself that grew up poor and hard and had to learn to do things just to survive that kids today will never see or do. I have always tried to offer the old school methods for folks who has never seen or even heard of them. But for the sake of safety, I always recommend that you heed the advice of others instead of my crude and rudimentary methods. Read them and enjoy them for what they are. A glimpse back to how things were once done just to survive in a by gone era my friend.Hawg Fan said:Interesting thread. I'm learning a lot today from other members of this forum.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
@SGH re "for the sake of safety"
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again, exactly!
i talk fast and loose, but i always recommend (and default to, myself) FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS if you have never done it before
start small too. Duck boob dredge in salt overnight, hang it. That's ruhlman/polcyn's perfect foray into curing for the newbie. You WILL look sideways at that thing hanging from your ceiling. But it works and is transformative
simply following direction will teach you the concepts. It is foolish to try to freewheelor improv your first time out
but doing it a few times tou get the gist quickly enough
i am jealous that@SGH learned this "in the wild", instead of from a bunch of books. That's the real education.
[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
@Darby_Crenshaw
Brother I agree with you 100% when it comes to curing. My only problem with personally telling someone that my old school methods are safe is if they are a novice and don't really know what they are doing. It would honestly bother me real bad if someone was trying to emulate one of my methods and got sick. As such, I always recommend that they follow the book until they gain some experience and confidence in the craft. But again, I agree that the old ways are perfectly safe when done correctly. I was honestly hesitant to post the salt, air cured method above for this reason. It is my hope that anyone attempting it for the first time will ask others for little tips that will help them be successful.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Agree 100%[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]
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Yeah sure, you're a newb with less than a thousand posts. I have more than that on all my alias accounts. Even the Zippylip oneDarby_Crenshaw said:
(Ps Steven. Quit trying to be my friend. I don't know where you got that idea, but i only hang out with you because you are rodney's side piece, and it's a requirement of his when we all go away for boys' weekend at the spa. And speaking of our spa weekends, stop telling me you know a few rest areas where you get all your facials for free)
Steve
Caledon, ON
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I was mcnuttly[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]
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Awesome! if this is not pork heaven I don't know what is. Must confess I was afraid to open your butchering thread though
canuckland
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