For more than 8,000 years humans have been preserving meat and fish through. Dry curing the old fashioned way without electricity. Dry curing pork feral or otherwise is the easiest and most popular method of curing. Use a weight a heavy plate will do to keep the pork submerged. In addition to drawing the water from the food itself. The traditional drycure process involves taking the meat and rubbing it, over a number of days, with dry salt or a mixture of salt, sugar and spices. The salt will draw out water to form a brine, which. This book will show any potential meat preserver how to go about the.
Off grid meat preservation one year later an american homestead. In the days before refrigeration was developed, curing was the only way that meat and fish could be preserved to be used at a later date. Methods such as smoking and curing are just two examples used for a long time, and are efficient when it comes to keeping meat from spoiling. Rub and cover the rest of the ham with the curing mix. Best used to cure hams, bacon and smaller cuts of meat, dry curing involves applying the cure mix directly on the meat. Oldtime methods of preserving food mother earth news. Preserving meat longterm, the oldfashioned way originally written by. If you are using the wet brine curing method make sure that the meat is completely submerged at all times, and you can do this by adding a weight such as a plate or similar to keep the meat submerged. Curing is an ageold process of preserving meat for later use. Continue boiling until the salt and sugar have dissolved.
Boil over a gentle heat, removing scum as it rises. Back then, pickling involved soaking the meat in a salt brine and allowing lacticacid producing cultures to help ferment the meat. Croley shares oldtime methods of drying and preserving food from pioneer days that can still be used today. Read pdf cold smoking salt curing meat fish game a d livingston cookbook a d livingston cookbooks.
After the application, place meat into a plastic food storage bag and tightly seal. Safely dry curing meat is an ancient art that requires a specific understanding of the process, and a specific skill set. The best sausages in europe were made in years 19501990. Old school in the best way, this superb book was snouttotail long before the term existed. You need to keep accurate record of this proportion so that you do not over or undercure.
The easiest way to preserve your meat is taking a whole muscle cut, make a salt and spice rub and cover it with the rub, and put it in the fridge for a few days. Edt inside a nondescript building in sugar grove sits the countrys only place that does a country ham the true climatic cured way. Brazeau lark beef all with wild came projects works really well. There is one main concern when curing and preserving meat, and that is botulism. This will dissolve most of the surface curing mix and make the meat receptive to smoke. If youre ready to start curing, here are a few different processes worth considering.
This recipe was taken from a tiny home made recipe book, remember mamas recipes. All about brining and curing corned beef and game meat. Both salt and sugar as well as combinations of both have been used to cure meat by means of the process of osmosis. Imagine living back in the day when refrigeration wasnt an. The meat hook in brooklyn, new york, demonstrates how to dry cure bacon. Fall chicken processing, dove and pheasant hunting, whitetail deer hunting, plus aspirations to. Curing the meat this way results in less shrinkage, and leaves the meat a little moister, and seems to retain a better flavor than a dry cure.
Old fashioned recipe for curing ham for every 100 pounds of meat take 5 pints of good molasses or 5 pounds of brown sugar, 5 ounces saltpetre, 8 pounds of rock salt and add 3 gallons of water to a pot. Cut the meat in long strips about three inches thick, sprinkle slightly with salt, pepper, a little coriander seed bruised, and vinegar. Pickling meat is a way of curing and preserving different types of meats. The romans, who learned the art of curing meat with salt from the greeks, were the first to note the reddening effect now attributed to nitrite. In pa, grandpa slaughtered the hogs the end of october when the outside temps were no higher than mid 40s and then did all the curing and smoking in a 8 x 10 block building behind the house. How to cure bacon at home using the 321 method youtube. Note that the ideal temperature in which to cure meat is between 36 f and 40 f, which is the average temperature of home kitchen refrigerators. See more ideas about meat, smoking meat and cooking recipes. Do it yourself with the complete book of butchering, smoking, curing, and sausage making. The modern way is a wet cure process and involves immersing the meat in brine for two to three days. Youll learn how to make salami, fresh sausages, spanishstyle ham. Curing hog meat the oldfashioned way everet starchers.
In days gone by most of the hog meat was smoked, but some was canned. The complete guide to preserving meat, fish, and game stepby. Curing your own bacon isnt difficult and doesnt involve using a skipful of salt either. Not only does fermenting add preservation to the meat, but it adds flavor, flavor. For general farm use the brine cured process is the better. It requires less time, less effort and not such an exacting place for the work. With just a few ingredients salt, nitrites, and time the meat transforms. The craft of salting, smoking, and curing revised and updated hardcover september 3, 20. We add a little flavor to the show by showing you how the old timers cured meat. You rub the cure into the meat, then put the meat and all of the cure into the bag. Cold smoking salt curing meat fish game a d livingston. Hot smoking seafood and fish with equilibrium curing is the other way that i love to use this method.
Preserving meat the oldfashioned way from pops bacon cure and recipe. As far as ham is concerned, you need to cure it on the basis of seven days per inch of cushion depth or one and a half days per pound. The process usually involves the addition of salts, nitrates or sugars and may. Tim learns all about how to cure and cold smoke a pork belly to make some of the most delicious bacon with his friend jay caskey. Thus, we have pickled pigs feet, pickled herring, and other pickled meets.
All the time i still get asked about smoked meats and drycured meats its a. Morton salt can make curing your own meats as enjoyable as eating them. Meat would be the first one to go once you lose electricity, but spoiling can be prevented using oldfashioned techniques. How to smoke bacon the old fashioned way ask a prepper how to smoke bacon the old fashioned way by smoking guru january this article has first appeared on smoking meat forums no weighingno calculator just a simple recipe that works quit. How to pickle meat with a centuriesold recipe delishably. Inside a nondescript building in sugar grove sits the countrys only place that does a country ham the true climatic cured way. I begin years ago making my own as i mentioned above. Although the role of nitrites in cured meat was not really understood until. Brining fresh pork is the least laborintensive method for curing meat the oldfashioned way. Curing and storing meat at home real food mother earth. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The dry curing method is used to preserve small cuts of meat, such as bacon and small hams. One of the old forms of food preservation is fermenting and curing meat.
Its also one of the tastiest in artisan salamis, pepperoni, aged cheeses, and of course, bacon, just to name a few. Keep meat under refrigeration or hanging in a cold place 38 to 45 degrees f after curing to dry and to give the salt time to spread evenly throughout the meat. Curing and smoking pulls the moisture from the ham to make it safe to store at room temperature. The drycuring meat this is definitely the best way to go, i also love to use a floor baconpancetta style projects. Once youve trimmed up your ham, weigh it to know how much salt youll need. 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. The higher concentration of salt in external water brine, actually causes moisture to evacuate the tissue.
Now think of a grid down scenario where the electricity will no longer be available and youll have to preserve everything the oldfashioned way. Raw meat materials were cured first with salt and potassium nitrate or sodium nitrite and then ground, stuffed into casings and sausages were smoked and cooked. Sausage my grandpa made smoking meat forums the best. Place the bellies meat side down on the cooling rack and leave uncovered in the. Salt and other ingredients are rubbed over the meat. The result is a raw cured meat that must be cooked before eating, and cooking it long enough can produce really crispy, bacon. Purchase a culture specifically for meat or you can keep them in the freezer until youre ready to do your meat. Preserving meat longterm, the oldfashioned way off the grid. Allow enough curing time for the meat to absorb the salt. Grandpas recipe for cured smoked ham curing hams used to be the best way to preserve pork before there was reliable refrigeration. Other kinds of meat can be used, but no recipes are provided. Curing and storing meat at home cure and store your own meats the old fashioned way at home with these tips and recipes from a seasoned farmer. Does anyone know how to cure bacon the old fashion way.
The curing salt is applied to the surface of the meat and then placed in the refrigerator in a sealed bag. Tassal is an oldfashioned upcountry way of curing meat in the open air popular with travellers. Though it didnt work out this time, my pork preserving research will not go to waste. From there, put your meat in the refrigerator and let the curing process take place. Before refrigeration was available, curing was just about the only way to save up meat in warm weather months. Without salt, bacteria would grow in and on the meat and quickly cause it to go bad. Methods on how to cure meat with salt with pictures. We dont cure for this purpose anymore, but rather to give the ham a great flavor and color.
Preserving meat longterm, the oldfashioned way off the. All about brining and curing corned beef and game meat by carole c curing, preserving meats, poultry, fish, and game brining, also known as corning or sweet pickling is a good meat curing method for beginners because it is easy and relatively inexpensive to do with delicious results. The 6 best charcuterie cookbooks of 2020 the spruce eats. Packed in a barrel of salt, meat will last almost indefinitely. Tyler onbekend august 10, 2009 curing meat the old fashioned way for seasonal preservation 20121011t15. In the following excerpt, elliott gives readers the benefits of curing meats the oldfashioned way. Make a brine of water, kosher or table salt, sugar and curing salts. So, heres how to cure bacon at home, and have it taste even better than storebought. Curing ham and home ham curing recipes dry, salt brine. Trying to get back to our roots, my household has upped its involvement in home meatprocessing projects in the last few years. Curing hog meat the oldfashioned way everet starchers recipe 11142019 by bob weaver. This method was developed before the days of refrigeration or easy access to ice for keeping meats cold.
The two most common methods of curing meat are first the brine or sugar cure process and second the drycuring process. While botulism is usually related to improper canning procedures, foodborne botulism also occurs in meats that have been improperly cured. This tendency has been digitized when books evolve into digital media equivalent eboo. One oldfashioned and timetested method is the salt barrel. When the curing period has passed, place the hams in a tub of clean, cold water for one hour. Lots of salt and only started the process in the colder months. Here is a useful rundown on the best books i have found on meat curing, dry. How to cure ham and bacon the oldfashioned way ehow. A short history of cured meat cured bacon, jerky and biltong. Curing hog meat the oldfashioned way everet starchers recipe. Curing ham the old fashioned way posted march 12, 2014 8. That cooks and pasteurizes the meat and makes it safe to eat right off the smoker. Curing and cold smoking bacon the old fashioned way youtube.
Pin by ella loftis on cook books cured meats, how to. This video is an excerpt from the better bacon book, made. They were almost a year old and about 350 pounds each. How to make smoked bacon at home it is so much better. Books of interest and instruction old fashioned butcher. Before reliable refrigeration, people would salt cure meat the old fashioned way because it was the best way to preserve pork. Do your math, weigh out the necessary cure salt, then divide the salt into thirds. The art of home meat curing and producing sausages from farmfresh meats. The internet has way too many ideas and recipes that dont come from an expert. Alisha sloan offgrid foods in the age of the internet and microwaves, we tend to expect ease and instant gratification to be a perpetual way of life.
The curing process typically took 1 12 to 2 days per pound in the cut of meat so a 10 lb ham would cure for 20 days. The basic role of salt in curing is to dehydrate the meat just enough so that bacteria cannot thrive. This book will not replace a old world italian or spanish mentor, but does provide a clear, complete view of what is needed. Tim farmer heads back to bill dixons smokehouse in harlan county. Curing meat the old fashioned way for seasonal preservation. Curing is the addition to meats of some combination of salt, sugar, nitrite andor nitrate for the purposes of.