Does anyone here cure their own meat...

[Gray Wolf]

I know this was discussed a long time ago, but, does anyone here cure their own meat (not making Jerky) for their treks or camping trips, and what is your recipe?

[Sourdough]

Do you mean like corned moose........?

[tacmedic]

I don't know if this is what you're interested in or not, but I posted my recipe for some bacon that I home cured a while back in this thread http://wilderness-survival.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2897&highlight=home+cured+bacon the national center for home food preservation also has some good recipes that you might try. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/cure_smoke.html

[Gray Wolf]

Any kind of meat cured, that can last for a few days without being refrigerated. Slow or cool smoked, with a brine or without. I'm just seeing if any of the new members have some good recipes.

[BraggSurvivor]

No sodium nitrates/nitrites are allowed around my table. Poison IMO. I smoke/freeze or salt cure all my home raised chicken/beef/pork.

As a substitute for nitrate/nitrites for my bacon or ham, I use sea salt and organic celery juice -- because they are natural sources of nitrates and nitrates. And smoke low and slow.

[Gray Wolf]

No MSG can be in anything I eat!!!

[Beo]

If you mean salt curing meat like we take on treks I got some info on it, once at the camp when ready to eat wash the meat in water and cook. I pack in a pound or two of bacon or deer meat for long ones, then hunt the rest.
Try these links...

http://www.ehow.com/how_2072070_cure-bacon.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

http://www.ehow.com/how_2064481_cure-meat.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

[Beo]

Gray Wolf this is from my trekking buddies. Hope this helps.

First, let's begin with your meat, the infamous salt pork or salt beef. DO NOT buy the salt pork sold at stores, it is incorrect, and more importantly, not cured properly, which means it will spoil on you and you will get sick.
Instead of thinking of salt pork as a specific product, think in the generic term "salt cured meat". You can salt cure any cut of meat you care to. I personally usually salt boneless beef ribs but that is up to you. At the grocer’s in the spice section you will find meat cure. I use Morton’s brand Tender Quick. It’s in a blue 2lb bag. The directions are on the back and very easy to follow. It takes 1/2 oz. of meat cure per pound of meat to be cured. Hint: I rub in pepper with the salt cure to give the meat more flavor. I bought mine 4 1/2 years ago and I still have enough for two more events.
Usually 1 1/2lbs of meat is more than enough for me for a weekend. Remember you have to fit all this in your haversack and lug it around. When you are ready to eat your meat you must rinse the salt out or else it will be unpalatable. I put the amount of meat I need for that meal in my tin cup, fill it with water, knead the meat to force out the salt, pour out the water and repeat again. The question I constantly hear is "Have you ever gotten sick" and the answer is "NO". I have carried cured meat in the middle of Texas summers for the whole weekend WITH NO REFRIGERATION and it does not go bad. I have gone as long as 5 days and never had a problem. As modern reenactors we have forgotten how recent an invention refrigeration is and we fear any meat not out of the icebox or a cooler. There is no need for this. So now you have your salted meat which should be wrapped in a waxed brown paper.
A gloss on Arthur Porras' article above By - Ian Straus
In addition to the directions on the bag, Morton's publishes a paperback book on salting meat which gives the directions for dry salting (rub the salt into the meat as explained above), and also for brine curing . When I bought mine the book was $5 but the shipping was more than that! See Morton's Web site for purchase information.
But what that book will tell you is that a measured tablespoon full is equivalent to that half ounce. It also advises salting in two applications, a week apart. Salt your meat when it's fresh! In between the two curing rubs, you should keep your curing meat in the refrigerator so it won't spoil before you get it cured. Make sure you trim off fat before curing, at least if you're not curing bacon. Smell your salted meat before the second salting: If it smells rotten (meaning it will turn your stomach) it is rotten, you did something wrong such as starting with spoiled meat or didn’t give it its second salting on time, and you should throw it away and start again.
Oh, one more thing: Don't use iodized salt to cure meat! It would taste bad. Tender Quick is a mix of non-iodized salt with a little sodium nitrite, which is a preservative.
I have come to apply more salt than Morton's calls for. Because I have trouble making that tablespoon cover all of my pound of meat without missing any, I end up using the whole tablespoon at the first application. So a week later after I have done it a second time, I've salted that meat a lot. I refrigerate it in a zip lock bag or a rubber-lidded container. You'll note that the salting draws liquid out of the meat, which you should pour away. After I salt the meat I keep it refrigerated until it's time to go to the reenactment, so my treatment of the meat is "belt and suspenders". How long will it keep? At least a month in the refrigerator. I understand brine-cured meat would keep all winter pre-20th century.
Is my product too salty? I generally boil it a little to get the salt out, pour that water away and pour in fresh water to finish boiling it, and when that is done the meat does not taste even as salty as the corned beef you find refrigerated a the supermarket! But it does taste good. Understand that "corned beef" means salted beef. I have received compliments on how good my corned beef tastes.
Note that you can also salt pork and even fish! When Arthur taught us the class on curing meat at battalion muster in 2002, he showed us salted pork chops. They looked very dry on the outside, almost wooden. Even modern bacon should be a little salty, but if in doubt salt cure your refrigerated bacon a little.
Now, a little more about brine curing: It involves soaking the meat in a saturated solution of salt. That means so much salt is dissolved in the water that no more will dissolve. The old test for reaching this saturation point is whether a fresh egg will float in the water. This uses more salt than dry curing. Do this in a plastic or glass container or a pottery crock, not metal. (I suppose you could brine a large amount of meat in a barrel as they did in the 19th century, but water-tight barrels are hard to come by now.) You may need to weight your meat down to keep it under the brine. I have only used brine curing in conjunction with smoking. A day or two in the brine gets the meat very salty. Civil War period writings reflect leaving the meat in the brine until it was to be cooked, which might be months or years. That was pretty salty stuff! And according to and old song it evidently got as hard as wood over a long period.
When I smoked the meat, I brined it for a day or two in accord with the directions for my smoker, then smoked it for a couple of hours with sweet-scented wood chips (hickory, alder, or fruit wood), then left it in the hot smoker for more hours with no more wood chips. This both flavors and dries the meat, and at least partly cooks it. The meat shrinks. It promises to keep a LONG time, but needs to be re-hydrated and cooked before you consume it Good stuff though.

[Beo]

Although I prefer smoking over salt curing as I think it taste better, the way I have done it is like this, there are three traditionally recognized reasons for smoking meat are for preservation, appearance, and flavor. Smoked meat is less likely to spoil than unsmoked meat. Smoking improves the flavor and appearance, aids in reducing mold growth,as well as retards rancid flavors. It takes about 24 hours to smoke and cook hams. Smoking is usually accomplished in three stages. During the first phase, or drying stage, the smokehouse is heated to 125°F. All dampers are opened to allow all excess moisture to escape and there is no smoking during this 8-hour period. During the next eight-hour stage, the dampers are partially closed and the temperature on the house increased to 135°F. and smoke is generated. The smoke is continued throughout the third stage with all dampers closed, and the temperature on the house raised to 180°F. Hold this temperature until the product temperature reaches 142°F. These hams will require further cooking in the home for full tenderization. Hams sold as "fully cooked" have received extra heat processing to an internal temperature of at least 148°F.
The wood used to generate the smoke should be of the hardwood species. Do not use pine or any other resinous wood or sawdust because the smoke from such wood will be sooty and strong smelling. It is recommended to use wood or sawdust from hickory, apple, plum, oak, maple, ash, or any non-resinous wood to obtain satisfactory results.

[Gray Wolf]

Thanks Beo, what I'm trying to come up with is some good spices that hold up to smoking, or at least "level" the flavor if you know what I mean. I don't care for salt cured meat nor do most of the hunters or fisherman I need to feed. I do a lot of stews with the meat I smoke to try to neutralize it, but with so many repeat clients they want a change. Don't blame them really.

[Beo]

Try letting it soak for 24 hrs. in Dale's Steak Seasoning, this is made exactly for what you want and the flavor is great.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/5863/dalesme7.th.png (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dalesme7.png)
Dales is the second bottle from the left.

[Gray Wolf]

Now that's what I'm looking for! As Sarge says "gotta love the wolf pack"! Thanks Beo! Gonna try and pick some up tomorrow, and do some slooowww smokin!

[Gray Wolf]

Bummer, has Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) in it. :(

[crashdive123]

Dale's does add a nice flavor. With all of the other junk I put in my body, MSG is the least of my concerns. Twinkie anybody?

[Gray Wolf]

That's true crash, but I get what they call Chinese syndrome from MSG. Massive Migraines, and blurred vision +.

[crashdive123]

I had never heard of that. Learned something new. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001126.htm

[BraggSurvivor]

Hey GW, could you be getting the migraines from the nitrates/nitrites as well? I know I do. Garbage, all of it.

[Gray Wolf]

No, it runs in my family. I react within a few minutes when I eat something with MSG. It's different than regular migraines. Now you see on Chinese restaurant menus "NO MSG" if they don't use it. Even some other food products have started putting on the label "NO MSG".

[Rick]

GW - To your initial question, no, I don't cure my own meat. However, it might help to know how you are hauling the food in. You said hunters and fishermen so I'm assuming you are using some type of vehicle.

Ground meat does really well dehydrated. It can reconstitute to make chili, spaghetti or anything that ground beef calls for.

Another thing you might consider is canning your own meat. You can do that with metal cans (yep, you can actually buy metal cans and sealer) so you don't have the worry of breaking glass jars.

[tacmedic]

Rick, do you have a source to obtain the metal cans and sealer? I have looked before, but all I have found is Lehman's has a sealer but no cans.

[tacmedic]

Never mind, just found something. http://www.canningpantry.com/metal-can-suppliers.html

[crashdive123]

Tacmedic - if he doesn't, I'll stop by our local canning center this week and find out where they get theirs.

[tacmedic]

This is kind of off topic, but does anyone know if you have to be a member of the LDS to shop from their storage centers?

[BraggSurvivor]

No you don't but I'm sure you would get a smokin discount if you told them you were thinking of joining..... ;)

[crashdive123]

We've had a few members talk about shopping at LDS centers. According to them, you do not have to be a member of their church to shop there.

[Gray Wolf]

Another thing you might consider is canning your own meat. You can do that with metal cans (yep, you can actually buy metal cans and sealer) so you don't have the worry of breaking glass jars.

Never thought about using metal cans, I won't use glass, one breaks and we become the bait... :eek:

[Rick]

I haven't canned using metal cans. I've only read about it. It looks like you come out with the same thing as a store bought can without the label.

Tacmedic-Canning Pantry is about the best place going. They have links to just about anything. Lehmans is the only sealer that I know of.

[BraggSurvivor]

When canning with tin, I make sure to dip the folded edge and lid in paraffin wax to ensure a proper seal.

[laughing beetle]

wow! knew there was a reason I felt home here...:) If I read long enough I find the answers to the questions i forgot I had!!

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

Air dry your meat, grind it fine. wrap it in cloths then place the cloths into a wicker,
press cloths with heavy stones for 21 or more days. when meat becomes a solid mass
its ready to eat . preserved this way meat lasts for years on the shelf.

[Rick]

How do you tell the difference between the stones and the meat?:rolleyes:

[sobeit]

How do you tell the difference between the stones and the meat?:rolleyes:

The stones dont brake your teeth:D

[yellowcab]

audiobookkeeper.ru (http://audiobookkeeper.ru)cottagenet.ru (http://cottagenet.ru)eyesvision.ru (http://eyesvision.ru)eyesvisions.com (http://eyesvisions.com)factoringfee.ru (http://factoringfee.ru)filmzones.ru (http://filmzones.ru)gadwall.ru (http://gadwall.ru)gaffertape.ru (http://gaffertape.ru)gageboard.ru (http://gageboard.ru)gagrule.ru (http://gagrule.ru)gallduct.ru (http://gallduct.ru)galvanometric.ru (http://galvanometric.ru)gangforeman.ru (http://gangforeman.ru)gangwayplatform.ru (http://gangwayplatform.ru)garbagechute.ru (http://garbagechute.ru)
gardeningleave.ru (http://gardeningleave.ru)gascautery.ru (http://gascautery.ru)gashbucket.ru (http://gashbucket.ru)gasreturn.ru (http://gasreturn.ru)gatedsweep.ru (http://gatedsweep.ru)gaugemodel.ru (http://gaugemodel.ru)gaussianfilter.ru (http://gaussianfilter.ru)gearpitchdiameter.ru (http://gearpitchdiameter.ru)geartreating.ru (http://geartreating.ru)generalizedanalysis.ru (http://generalizedanalysis.ru)generalprovisions.ru (http://generalprovisions.ru)geophysicalprobe.ru (http://geophysicalprobe.ru)geriatricnurse.ru (http://geriatricnurse.ru)getintoaflap.ru (http://getintoaflap.ru)getthebounce.ru (http://getthebounce.ru)
habeascorpus.ru (http://habeascorpus.ru)habituate.ru (http://habituate.ru)hackedbolt.ru (http://hackedbolt.ru)hackworker.ru (http://hackworker.ru)hadronicannihilation.ru (http://hadronicannihilation.ru)haemagglutinin.ru (http://haemagglutinin.ru)hailsquall.ru (http://hailsquall.ru)hairysphere.ru (http://hairysphere.ru)halforderfringe.ru (http://halforderfringe.ru)halfsiblings.ru (http://halfsiblings.ru)hallofresidence.ru (http://hallofresidence.ru)haltstate.ru (http://haltstate.ru)handcoding.ru (http://handcoding.ru)handportedhead.ru (http://handportedhead.ru)handradar.ru (http://handradar.ru)
handsfreetelephone.ru (http://handsfreetelephone.ru)hangonpart.ru (http://hangonpart.ru)haphazardwinding.ru (http://haphazardwinding.ru)hardalloyteeth.ru (http://hardalloyteeth.ru)hardasiron.ru (http://hardasiron.ru)hardenedconcrete.ru (http://hardenedconcrete.ru)harmonicinteraction.ru (http://harmonicinteraction.ru)hartlaubgoose.ru (http://hartlaubgoose.ru)hatchholddown.ru (http://hatchholddown.ru)haveafinetime.ru (http://haveafinetime.ru)hazardousatmosphere.ru (http://hazardousatmosphere.ru)headregulator.ru (http://headregulator.ru)heartofgold.ru (http://heartofgold.ru)heatageingresistance.ru (http://heatageingresistance.ru)heatinggas.ru (http://heatinggas.ru)
heavydutymetalcutting.ru (http://heavydutymetalcutting.ru)jacketedwall.ru (http://jacketedwall.ru)japanesecedar.ru (http://japanesecedar.ru)jibtypecrane.ru (http://jibtypecrane.ru)jobabandonment.ru (http://jobabandonment.ru)jobstress.ru (http://jobstress.ru)jogformation.ru (http://jogformation.ru)jointcapsule.ru (http://jointcapsule.ru)jointsealingmaterial.ru (http://jointsealingmaterial.ru)journallubricator.ru (http://journallubricator.ru)juicecatcher.ru (http://juicecatcher.ru)junctionofchannels.ru (http://junctionofchannels.ru)justiciablehomicide.ru (http://justiciablehomicide.ru)juxtapositiontwin.ru (http://juxtapositiontwin.ru)kaposidisease.ru (http://kaposidisease.ru)
keepagoodoffing.ru (http://keepagoodoffing.ru)keepsmthinhand.ru (http://keepsmthinhand.ru)kentishglory.ru (http://kentishglory.ru)kerbweight.ru (http://kerbweight.ru)kerrrotation.ru (http://kerrrotation.ru)keymanassurance.ru (http://keymanassurance.ru)keyserum.ru (http://keyserum.ru)kickplate.ru (http://kickplate.ru)killthefattedcalf.ru (http://killthefattedcalf.ru)kilowattsecond.ru (http://kilowattsecond.ru)kingweakfish.ru (http://kingweakfish.ru)kinozones.ru (http://kinozones.ru)kleinbottle.ru (http://kleinbottle.ru)kneejoint.ru (http://kneejoint.ru)knifesethouse.ru (http://knifesethouse.ru)
knockonatom.ru (http://knockonatom.ru)knowledgestate.ru (http://knowledgestate.ru)kondoferromagnet.ru (http://kondoferromagnet.ru)labeledgraph.ru (http://labeledgraph.ru)laborracket.ru (http://laborracket.ru)labourearnings.ru (http://labourearnings.ru)labourleasing.ru (http://labourleasing.ru)laburnumtree.ru (http://laburnumtree.ru)lacingcourse.ru (http://lacingcourse.ru)lacrimalpoint.ru (http://lacrimalpoint.ru)lactogenicfactor.ru (http://lactogenicfactor.ru)lacunarycoefficient.ru (http://lacunarycoefficient.ru)ladletreatediron.ru (http://ladletreatediron.ru)laggingload.ru (http://laggingload.ru)laissezaller.ru (http://laissezaller.ru)
lambdatransition.ru (http://lambdatransition.ru)laminatedmaterial.ru (http://laminatedmaterial.ru)lammasshoot.ru (http://lammasshoot.ru)lamphouse.ru (http://lamphouse.ru)lancecorporal.ru (http://lancecorporal.ru)lancingdie.ru (http://lancingdie.ru)landingdoor.ru (http://landingdoor.ru)landmarksensor.ru (http://landmarksensor.ru)landreform.ru (http://landreform.ru)landuseratio.ru (http://landuseratio.ru)languagelaboratory.ru (http://languagelaboratory.ru)largeheart.ru (http://largeheart.ru)lasercalibration.ru (http://lasercalibration.ru)laserlens.ru (http://laserlens.ru)laserpulse.ru (http://laserpulse.ru)