curing meat

[wareagle69]

does anyone have any experince in curing meat, i was thinking of buying a large roast(which would simulate meat cut from a kill) slicing into strips and drying or could i cure the whole roast intact

[trax]

I think it would take a long time to cure an entire roast, but it must be possible. Stores sell cured hams. I always want to ask what they were cured of... ...My experience with smoking meat and fish is to make like a tipi with some poles and tarps, stretch stove wire inside, use one of those old washtubs for the "fire" and lay the strips of meat or the fish across the wires and just seal it up. It works good, you can marinade the meat or fish in any kind of sauce or brine you want to before hand. It would take a while for an entire roast though, depending on the weight and density of the meat.

Go Wolfpack!

[Sarge47]

does anyone have any experince in curing meat, i was thinking of buying a large roast(which would simulate meat cut from a kill) slicing into strips and drying or could i cure the whole roast intact

Slicing into strips is like making Jerky; I've done that before. Also I think Corned beef might be a smoked product, but I'm not sure on that one.

[trax]

You can take thicker slabs of meat than you'd use for jerky, marinade and then smoke them, for not nearly as long as your jerky would be smoked and it gives it a really nice flavor. I've done this with venison and moosemeat as well as domestic meats. I kind of think that there's some smoking done with corned beef, as well, Sarge, but I don't know for certain. Anyone else?

[owl_girl]

You guys are making me hungry. Id like to make my own smoked salmon, the stuff from the store just isn’t the same, I eat some today and when I was reading the ingredients it listed food coloring

[trax]

And...oh my God, how could I? I left out smoked sausage...mmmmm, food coloring in smoked salmon? Isn't that listed as an official sin somewhere? It should be.

[rusty_oxydado]

does anyone have any experince in curing meat, i was thinking of buying a large roast(which would simulate meat cut from a kill) slicing into strips and drying or could i cure the whole roast intact

Slice your roast along with the grain no thinner than 2" thick. pack and rub salt over all the surface of the meat, rub it in good. Wrap the meat in brown paper, and tie the paper on and hang the meat in a cool dry place for about 4 days, remove the paper, and rinse in cold fresh water. Pat dry, and repeat the process, hang for 4 more days, after rinsing the second time give a cold smoke (under 200 f. ) The meat has been cured. Slice the meat thinly across the grain, and fry in oil.
To help perk up the flavor, add brown sugar to the cure.

[rusty_oxydado]

I think it would take a long time to cure an entire roast, but it must be possible. Stores sell cured hams. I always want to ask what they were cured of... ...My experience with smoking meat and fish is to make like a tipi with some poles and tarps, stretch stove wire inside, use one of those old washtubs for the "fire" and lay the strips of meat or the fish across the wires and just seal it up. It works good, you can marinade the meat or fish in any kind of sauce or brine you want to before hand. It would take a while for an entire roast though, depending on the weight and density of the meat.

Go Wolfpack!

Fact is a lot of meat was smoked in the peak of the tee pee, but if you was going to have to use a wash tub, I fear a fire of that size would more likely cook the meat than cure it, making jerky it is of little differance but to cure a meat so it still holds some of it's original moisture, the kind of smoking application you are looking for is a small sized fire you would have in the tee pee for heat, and illumination, made up of little more than sticks and twigs.
A cold smoke will penetrate deeper in the flesh, and it is the smoke you are wanting as a preservitive more than heat to cook.

[rusty_oxydado]

Slicing into strips is like making Jerky; I've done that before. Also I think Corned beef might be a smoked product, but I'm not sure on that one.

Sarge;
Corned meat takes it's name from the ancient clasification of cureing salt, as it was the size of grain = corn.
The commercial product you buy in the supermarket is made in a brine made of water, salt, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, pickling spice, sugar, and other spices by way of brand name. This product is cured by soaking in the brine till it is totally permiated by the brine.
Due to my age, and lack of teeth, I favor corning chicken, and turkey these days, the taste is the same, the difference is the cureing time is shorter, and the meat melts in your mouth!

[rusty_oxydado]

You guys are making me hungry. Id like to make my own smoked salmon, the stuff from the store just isn’t the same, I eat some today and when I was reading the ingredients it listed food coloring

Owl Girl;
I totally agree with you, I lothe the supermarket chemically brined, oven roasted imitaition of what is supposed to be smoked salmon.
What is so difficult in splitting the fish, (remove the back bone,) lace the flesh with brown sugar, a healthy dusting of pepper, and salt, it will take a lot, (you will learn,) let the fish set for a few hours to allow the salt to work the fish, you will see it will bead up sweating moisture, this is good.
Cold smoke at 200 f. til the meat begins to flake when stabbed by a fork.
Remove the fish and let it cool to room temp. Bend the flesh to make it flake, and roll off the skin.

[trax]

Fact is a lot of meat was smoked in the peak of the tee pee, but if you was going to have to use a wash tub, I fear a fire of that size would more likely cook the meat than cure it, making jerky it is of little differance but to cure a meat so it still holds some of it's original moisture, the kind of smoking application you are looking for is a small sized fire you would have in the tee pee for heat, and illumination, made up of little more than sticks and twigs.
A cold smoke will penetrate deeper in the flesh, and it is the smoke you are wanting as a preservitive more than heat to cook.

Don't have to fill the washtub partner, I was just suggesting a cheap way to make a firepit, the washtub holds the coals intact. A person can use an old barbecue base or some firebricks..etc. This is tried and true, I've smoked sausage, meat and fish like this before.

[owl_girl]

Owl Girl;
I totally agree with you, I lothe the supermarket chemically brined, oven roasted imitaition of what is supposed to be smoked salmon.
What is so difficult in splitting the fish, (remove the back bone,) lace the flesh with brown sugar, a healthy dusting of pepper, and salt, it will take a lot, (you will learn,) let the fish set for a few hours to allow the salt to work the fish, you will see it will bead up sweating moisture, this is good.
Cold smoke at 200 f. til the meat begins to flake when stabbed by a fork.
Remove the fish and let it cool to room temp. Bend the flesh to make it flake, and roll off the skin.

Sounds good to me but right now I don’t have a smoke house, some day

[rusty_oxydado]

Trax;
I didn't forget you, sausage is fantastic smoked, or cooked fresh over a low smoldering fire in camp.
If you was to make your own I would suggest packing it in casings, but that is pretty intensive when you don't have a sausage stuffer.
Here is a recipe for a very simple basic sausage, For every pound of ground meat (25% fat) add 1 tsp. of salt, and 1 Tbsp. pepper. Mix these all together very good, wrap in plastic wrap, and let ist over night in the reefer, press out into patties, and fry.
For camp application set patties on a wire rack and hold in the smoke stream of the camp fire to get a nice coating of smoke, at this point you do not want heat as much as smoke. turn the patties, and once the other side takes up some flavor, cook as you wish, lower the rack over bare coals, or in a cool handle skillet.
Notice I said ground meat, it does not have to be pork to be sausage. Hamburger does fine, it just cooks brown, but the taste is unmistakable sausage.
If you want some attitude to the sausage add maybe 1 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes to the mix. For Italian sausage, simply add a tsp. of Italian spice to the mix.

[trax]

Rusty, your smoking and curing recipes are right on the money.

Owl_girl, the "smoke house" I described can be put up anywhere you can make a fire, eventually that smoke is going to escape from the "tipi" but you can do the whole thing in less than half an hour and probably less than 20 bucks for firepit, cover, poles and wire. I definitely agree with rusty about doing things yourself as much as possible.

Anyway. I'm just here to clear a few things off my desk and popped in, I'm off canoing now, see you all next week.

[owl_girl]

Ok I’ll try that, next time I get really fresh salmon. Has anyone ever tried frying salmon in butter with brown sugar on top, that’s how we usually make it, and I love the way the brown sugar kind of caramelizes.

[rusty_oxydado]

Ok I’ll try that, next time I get really fresh salmon. Has anyone ever tried frying salmon in butter with brown sugar on top, that’s how we usually make it, and I love the way the brown sugar kind of caramelizes.

Now you are making me hungry!

[Sarge47]

Ok I’ll try that, next time I get really fresh salmon. Has anyone ever tried frying salmon in butter with brown sugar on top, that’s how we usually make it, and I love the way the brown sugar kind of caramelizes.

I like dredging Morels in a milk & egg mixture, then into a flour/salt/pepper mixture and sauteeing them in fresh garlic that I've squeezed myself into a mixture of butter & Extra Virgin Olive Oil...Yum! Yum!

[owl_girl]

I like dredging Morels in a milk & egg mixture, then into a flour/salt/pepper mixture and sauteeing them in fresh garlic that I've squeezed myself into a mixture of butter & Extra Virgin Olive Oil...Yum! Yum!

That sounds awesome. And yes I love to cook, especially dessert!

[Sarge47]

That sounds awesome. And yes I love to cook, especially dessert!

So how's the "Moose " expert on "Chocolate Mousse"? I used to cook professionally many years ago. One of the best lines of Chef's knives is a company called Forsherner; owned by Victorinox. That's why I prefer their line of Swiss Army Knives, simply because of my previous experiance with their blades.

[owl_girl]

So how's the "Moose " expert on "Chocolate Mousse"? I used to cook professionally many years ago. One of the best lines of Chef's knives is a company called Forsherner; owned by Victorinox. That's why I prefer their line of Swiss Army Knives, simply because of my previous experiance with their blades.

That’s awesome that you used to cook professionally. My family has a really good chocolate moose recipe but I haven’t made it yet, but yah chocolate’s really fun to play with. I did make this really good orange soufflé but then I lost the recipe. Sometimes I get carried away like when I made rhubarb bread, I made like 10 loaves in 2 days lol