In this post I am just trying to understand how curing works. There is a lot of contradictory information out there.
I apologise there are so many questions
I have been looking at some older techniques to preserve meat. I have tried to be faithful to the recipes, but this is an amalgam of different recipes. The procedures run like this,
-------------------
daytime temp <50F, rub cure mix into meat and hang.
- salt diffuses into meat
- salt removes water from cells via osmosis
- water diffuses out of meat
- water evaporates
daytime temp >50F, when meat has lost ~10% of its weight
- rub off the cure and hang again
- salt equalizes
- meat continues to dry
daytime temp ~70F, when meat has lost ~20% of its weight, at this point,
- it can be eaten (cooked?*).
- it can be optionally smoked at ~80F,
- it can be aged in the air for months, <95F
------------------
*Some styles can be eaten without further cooking but seem to follow the same procedure to this point, What is the difference that makes it edible without cooking?
In most equilibrium descriptions,
After the cure has been applied the meat is bagged and put into the fridge, allowing 1-2" of thickness per week. Equalization is also carried out in the fridge, not at the higher temperature.
My questions are,
- Are these 'dry curing' procedures really equivalent?
- Does the meat still lose 10% of its weight during curing in the fridge? 20% after equalizing in the fridge?
- Can it be hung in air after curing or equalizing?
- During the cure, the meat will be sitting in its own brine; so is it really a wet brine?
Additional question, Since the 'Dry' cure is sitting in brine, does a 'wet brine' achieve the same result, weight loss and ability to hang etc?
The traditional method makes sense to me, the meat is progressively drying, and is progressively exposed to higher temperatures. Presumably the dryness/temperature combo maintains microbe safety through out the process. But it uses excess cure that must be removed at the correct time.
I apologise there are so many questions
I have been looking at some older techniques to preserve meat. I have tried to be faithful to the recipes, but this is an amalgam of different recipes. The procedures run like this,
-------------------
daytime temp <50F, rub cure mix into meat and hang.
- salt diffuses into meat
- salt removes water from cells via osmosis
- water diffuses out of meat
- water evaporates
daytime temp >50F, when meat has lost ~10% of its weight
- rub off the cure and hang again
- salt equalizes
- meat continues to dry
daytime temp ~70F, when meat has lost ~20% of its weight, at this point,
- it can be eaten (cooked?*).
- it can be optionally smoked at ~80F,
- it can be aged in the air for months, <95F
------------------
*Some styles can be eaten without further cooking but seem to follow the same procedure to this point, What is the difference that makes it edible without cooking?
In most equilibrium descriptions,
After the cure has been applied the meat is bagged and put into the fridge, allowing 1-2" of thickness per week. Equalization is also carried out in the fridge, not at the higher temperature.
My questions are,
- Are these 'dry curing' procedures really equivalent?
- Does the meat still lose 10% of its weight during curing in the fridge? 20% after equalizing in the fridge?
- Can it be hung in air after curing or equalizing?
- During the cure, the meat will be sitting in its own brine; so is it really a wet brine?
Additional question, Since the 'Dry' cure is sitting in brine, does a 'wet brine' achieve the same result, weight loss and ability to hang etc?
The traditional method makes sense to me, the meat is progressively drying, and is progressively exposed to higher temperatures. Presumably the dryness/temperature combo maintains microbe safety through out the process. But it uses excess cure that must be removed at the correct time.
Last edited:
