Salted Pork and Meat Preservation

[Arnox]

If, for some reason, you need to go without a freezer and you have some raw pork, one of the things available to you would be to employ a historical technique that they used for a very long time to preserve meat for months or even a year. To do so is very, very simple but it does require a hell of a lot of salt. You need to make sure that the salt is covering as many spots of the meat as possible and then seal it in a container. The seal doesn't have to be vacuum tight at all. Beef doesn't work very well at all for this as the salt tends to basically turn it into a block of wood. The beef can be reconstituted with a lot of water, but it'll still be tough. Pork meat is much more resistant to this happening.

When eating salted pork, it is highly advised that it be boiled first to extract all the excess salt from it. A favorite way to do this is to just simply make a stew with the meat. The excess salt will mix in very nicely with the broth and also save you from having to salt the stew manually. Makes a very quick and delicious meal.

 

[Battousai]

I'm wondering if this post is because you watched this video, came on my feed a few months ago lol.

 

[Arnox]

I'm wondering if this post is because you watched this video, came on my feed a few months ago lol.

Maybe... >_>; I don't wanna just spam videos though if I can quickly summarize them. And about 90% of the information in that video is pretty much all historical. Also, putting it into text on the forum helps to preserve the information in case the video, for whatever reason, gets removed.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Pemmican

 

[Dale Gribble]

If, for some reason, you need to go without a freezer and you have some raw pork, one of the things available to you would be to employ a historical technique that they used for a very long time to preserve meat for months or even a year. To do so is very, very simple but it does require a hell of a lot of salt. You need to make sure that the salt is covering as many spots of the meat as possible and then seal it in a container. The seal doesn't have to be vacuum tight at all. Beef doesn't work very well at all for this as the salt tends to basically turn it into a block of wood. The beef can be reconstituted with a lot of water, but it'll still be tough. Pork meat is much more resistant to this happening.

When eating salted pork, it is highly advised that it be boiled first to extract all the excess salt from it. A favorite way to do this is to just simply make a stew with the meat. The excess salt will mix in very nicely with the broth and also save you from having to salt the stew manually. Makes a very quick and delicious meal.

You are describing country ham, or Virginia ham. Normally when sliced it's called country ham and whole it Is Virginia ham. You don't have to only use salt either, a lot of people use salt with sugar and other spices. The point of the salt is to draw all the moisture out. If cured correctly it can simply be hung in a pantry or basement for years.

Country ham slices can be soaked in warm water for a few minutes to pull some salt out. People also use coffee to make red eye gravy. It's actually pretty good over country ham and a fresh biscuit.

 

[Arnox]

You don't have to only use salt either, a lot of people use salt with sugar and other spices.

Spices, sure. Sugar though? Gross. I hate how people add sugar or sugary ingredients like fruit into salty dishes like stew or pasta or steak. But yeah, as to the general spices, while pre-spiced meat is certainly fine and has a convenience factor to it, I'd prefer to just season the meat myself. Perhaps the seasonings I want to use for the meat may clash with what they've already added.