Old world recipes and new school tech

[murraysmokin]

Between Dave & chef jj you are in great hands...jj helped me on my first smoke ever & I will be forever grateful...good people

 

[Travis Wiper]

JJ thank you very much!!! I appreciate your knowledge greatly!!! Well I did add #2 cure to my venison ham, so just in case I shouldn't die... lol. Next time I might do traditional way.... she will salt for 23 more days. Then will hang her up. Still trying to figure out how to get my humidity into the 80% range in my basement..... any links to threads for a quick and simple curing chamber?

 

[Travis Wiper]

Chef jimmy

You said "when carefully handled including the initial drying below 40" (in reference to NOT needing cure on whole unground muscle groups)

What is this initial drying you are referencing? Do you just mean packed in salt and thrown in the reefer?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Chef jimmy

You said "when carefully handled including the initial drying below 40" (in reference to NOT needing cure on whole unground muscle groups)

What is this initial drying you are referencing? Do you just mean packed in salt and thrown in the reefer?

Not exactly...Traditionally (Northern Hemisphere) Hogs were slaughtered in the late fall when temps are low, <50 degrees, to inhibit spoilage. All the wet and dry curing was started at low temps because the process is slow and needs time to get conditions inhospitable before the higher temps make bacteria more active. The salt pack is to quickly start removing moisture and inhibit or kill active bacteria. But there are pathogen that form protective Spores that can survive direct contact with salt, acid, etc. After salting, we wash the hams and cover the exposed meat with a seasoned flour and lard coating. This regulates the speed of drying and keeps insects at bay. But it creates an Anaerobic condition conducive to spore reanimation as moisture moves back to the meat surface. The Cold storage of the hams during this first 3 months of initial drying keeps the meat safe from bacteria growth and slows enzymatic breakdown and spoilage. At the 3 month point temps start rising but the surface of the meat is sufficiently dry that no bacteria can survive and we are good to go with the Prosciutto aging at any temp, or fluctuating temp, for years...JJ

 

[gary s]

Good morning and welcome to the forum from a cool, foggy and damp day here in East Texas, and the best site on the web. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about everything.

Gary