No nitrate in "Charcterie" prosciutto recipe(?)

[dfvellone]

I recently picked up Charcuterie by Ruhlman & Polcyn and it seems like a pretty good reference for curing, but I'm a bit confused why their recipe, Salted Air-Dried Ham doesn't include any sodium nitrate. The recipe is followed by another for a similarly cured ham that does include sodium nitrate in the the ingredient list. Is it because the salted air dried ham isn't smoked while the next ham is? It's the only difference that stands out and I know that the low oxygen conditions while smoking is a prime place for botulism spores to multiply. I'm still wondering why it's left out.

 

[fatback joe]

Well, you don't need sodium nitrate to cure meat. It is definitely recommended now as a precaution, but it wasn't until the last hundred years or so that it was used, prior to that it was all done by salt (plus what you wanted to add for flavor) from what I have read/heard. I know nitrates change the flavor of what you are curing, maybe it is just for a certain taste? Maybe the salted air dried wouldn't taste the same with nitrate. Just taking a guess.

You are right about the low oxygen content, but if the meat is cured, it shouldn't matter..........I think.

I need to dig out my copy of the book when I get home and take a look at that.

 

[dfvellone]

It's a decent book, but there's a few contradictions in it regarding use of nitrites and nitrates. For a novice it might be pretty confusing. They don't discuss proper curing temps in the fridge - just mention how long to keep a cure in the refrigerator. And they recommend hot smoking for their bacon recipes without really discussing the hot and cold methods and what results each produces. Recipes look good, but I'd think a book subtitled "The craft of salting smoking and curing" would be a bit more comprehensive.

 

[fatback joe]

Yeah, it is definitely not a good beginner type book.

 

[decepticron]

Curing salts do change flavour but one of the main reasons for it's use in smoking is to prevent botulism growth. Botulism is an anaerobic bacteria and as smokers are a very low oxygen environment they are very suitable for quick botulism development. Bacteria has a hard time growing in dry or salty conditions so as long as prociutto has descent air circulation it should really have no need for curing salts. Commercial prepack prociutto do contain nitrate as they are packaged in modified atmosphere packages which are not suitable for most bacteria but can host botulism. The use of nitrates is not limited to the last hundred years as there is evidence of Romans using certain natural salts to extend the life of meat as well as giving it a pleasurable taste. These salts contained nitrite and nitrate. They also recognised the difference between regular salts and curing salts and that too much of these salts could cause sickness and even death.

 

[fatback joe]

Good info. Thanks

 

[richtee]

Mainly because most of the salt from then back to antiquity HAD nitrate "impurities".
Use the nitrate for the long haul curing.