# Salt as a Preservative



## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

I would like to try salting some meat. 

First has anyone here tried it? Where you happy with the results? 

Did it require a ton of preparation to make it edible?


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

sure have -- salt (corned) beef, pickled herring, BACON, amongst many others

dry & wet (brine) salt curing was the main way to preserve food before 19th century

it's like deja vu (same exact question 11/05/2011 :laugh: )


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

The_Blob said:


> sure have -- salt (corned) beef, pickled herring, BACON, amongst many others
> 
> dry & wet (brine) salt curing was the main way to preserve food before 19th century
> 
> it's like deja vu (same exact question 11/05/2011 :laugh: )


This was a good thread, have put about 50#s of salt in preps since then. I haven't cured meets with it yet, but have mixed a brine for prepping field shot phesants to be frozen.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Smoked salmon, corned moose and caribou, pickles, jerky. Don't forget the sugar for preserving fruit, sweet pickles, etc.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Ifin yer gonna salt dry beef ta the point it will keep a fair amount a time without refrigeration, yer gonna be boilin it cause it'll be so salty ya can't eat it. 

Modern day curin uses a nitrate cure ta help prevent spoilage which means ya ain't gotta use near the salt.

There are many ways ta cure meats, best thin ta do is get a good book on the subject an start studyin. A true country ham is still cured, it be injected with it an then salted an wrapped. The salt be there ta draw out the moisture so the bacteria can't grow as easy. But, ifin ya ever ate a true country ham there be a reason it be boiled!


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

OldCootHillbilly is right. To salt ham, for example, without nitrate just straight salt it is so salty you can't eat it. The famous Virginia hams are this way. They are cured with salt and hung in a smoke house. You have to soak them to make them edible.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

We have done the salt cure on pork & fish ... then we did try the sugar cure.

Can I do it, yes ... if I must. But I did find out that "I" didn't care for salt cured (or sugar cured, for that matter) meats.

The nitrate cure my friend done gave me a headache for three days ...  But now is the time to give it a try...) plus the experiment is alway entertaining.  lol


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I think the 11/05/11 that Blob referenced may have been me. The salted fish turned out well and I have quite a bit of it stored. I found that its best not to vacuum seal it, it needs to breathe.

I have also done hams, pork bellies(bacon) and Boston Butt roasts, they did best in sugar.

Recently I have been experimenting with Beef and the results have been promising. I dont know if the salt crust on the outside of the roasts is normal but soaking slices overnight in fresh water seems to remove it and make it edible.

The pics are 2 of 3 roasts I have in final drying(now).


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## AuroraHawk (Sep 12, 2012)

Some of the best smoked fish I've had was dry cured/brined with dark brown sugar and lots of fresh cracked pepper rather than a salt brine. Has anyone used this technique rather than the more traditional salt brine?

Now I need to find that recipe.


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## AuroraHawk (Sep 12, 2012)

Davarm said:


> I think the 11/05/11 that Blob referenced may have been me. The salted fish turned out well and I have quite a bit of it stored. I found that its best not to vacuum seal it, it needs to breathe.


I don't know about other salted fish but I LOVE salt cod and purchase it whenever it is available in the local grocery stores. How do you prepare your salted fish for consumption?


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## cm4ever (Oct 26, 2012)

kejmack said:


> OldCootHillbilly is right. To salt ham, for example, without nitrate just straight salt it is so salty you can't eat it. The famous Virginia hams are this way. They are cured with salt and hung in a smoke house. You have to soak them to make them edible.


Sooooo...here's my newbie story to add some humor to your life.

I used to live in MI before I moved to SC. The first easter I was here, I bought a ham to cook my first easter dinner. Glazed it and slow baked it for four hours (it was a largish ham). It was beautiful ham. Even took pictures and everything....

Turned out that I had bought a country ham and did that to it. It was so salty the dog wouldn't touch it. That was over 15 years ago. My friends still don't trust me with ham........

CM4ever


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

I took 9 large corned beef out of the brine soak today, I've vacuum packed and frozen them. In the past I've lived wwaaayyyy off the grid without freezers etc and we used numerous preserving methods. We'd kill a sheep (Hogget usually), cut up a bit for frying to last a few days and a big roast to have some friends over then I'd bone out what ever was left. This would be placed into a stainless steel tub to soak in a brine and sugar mix. It would stay there for a few weeks until it was all used up. Our pork was salted to force out a bit of moisture and then hung in the smoke house, we'd keep the smoke up to it for weeks, cutting bits off as needed. This was all before I'd heard of pressure canning (not common way down here!). I freeze and can now but I still smoke stuff and salt stuff but mostly just for flavour.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

AuroraHawk said:


> I don't know about other salted fish but I LOVE salt cod and purchase it whenever it is available in the local grocery stores. How do you prepare your salted fish for consumption?


I just soak the fillets in water water over night then cook it in a hot non stick pan with butter or olive oil.

The first salted fish I ever ate was from a batch that I dried, it amazed me that all the salt soaked out and that it tasted so good. You would never have guessed that it had been salted and dried.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

I'm going to try some pork over the weekend and see how it goes.


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## AuroraHawk (Sep 12, 2012)

Davarm said:


> I just soak the fillets in water water over night then cook it in a hot non stick pan with butter or olive oil.
> 
> The first salted fish I ever ate was from a batch that I dried, it amazed me that all the salt soaked out and that it tasted so good. You would never have guessed that it had been salted and dried.


Hmmm...I'll have to try soaking and frying the salt cod. I've always soaked the cod, cut into bite size pieces and made salt cod gravy over mashed potatoes or toast tips, or cod chowder.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

The butcher was out so I didn't get the cut I wanted. I'm going to give them a call and see if I can't get them to prepare it for me.


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