Charcuterie_ The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing - Michael Ruhlman [24]
For that reason, jerky remains a great item for long camping trips. The same method works well with venison. Traditionally lean meat was used, because it dried more thoroughly and lasted longer, since even preserved fat can become rancid. Beef round is about as bland and tasteless a cut as you can find, but by curing, seasoning, and drying it, you can transform it into something both superlative and useful.
Beef jerky recipes are as varied as your imagination. Robert liked to season his with a variety of chile peppers. Be sure to trim away all the fat, which could become rancid.
21⁄4 pounds/1 kilogram boneless beef, eye of the round or lean round, all fat trimmed away
3⁄4 ounce/20 grams kosher salt (about 11⁄2 tablespoons)
13⁄4 teaspoons/5 grams garlic powder
13⁄4 teaspoons/5 grams onion powder
1⁄4 cup/60 grams finely chopped chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce
1. Cut the beef into strips about 1⁄8 inch/0.25 centimeter thick and 1 inch/2.5 centimeters wide (length is not critical). In a dish or bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, add the beef, and toss to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. Place the strips of beef on a rack set over a baking sheet, so that all sides dry. Turn the oven to 90 degrees F./32 degrees C., put the pan in the oven, and dry the beef for 16 to 20 hours. (If your oven cannot be set so low, try the lowest setting with the door propped open, and check every so often; it may take less time. Depending on the climate and conditions where you live, the beef may even dry well at room temperature.) The beef should be completely dry to the touch, dark, and very stiff.
3. Stored in an airtight container, the jerky will keep for several months or longer at room temperature.
Yield: Approximately 1 pound/450 grams beef jerky
LEMON CONFIT
Lemon confit, or preserved lemon, is a powerful seasoning and a great pantry item to have on hand. A common ingredient in North African and Middle Eastern cuisines, it adds a beguiling lemony-salty brightness to stews, curries, and sauces. It is amazing minced and tossed into a salad, or used to infuse olive oil for a vinaigrette or condiment. And it goes beautifully with chicken, fish, and veal. There may be no purer example of salt’s transformative powers than what it alone does to lemon.
Kosher salt to cover (about 2 pounds/1 kilogram)
12 lemons, scrubbed and halved crosswise
1. Pour 1 inch/2.5 centimeters of salt into a lidded nonreactive container just large enough to contain the lemons and salt. An earthenware crock is ideal, but a plastic sherbet container or a wide-mouthed glass jar work fine. A container in which your lemons fit neatly, without being jammed together, will require less salt. Place the lemons in the container, then pour in more salt to cover. They should be completely submerged.
2. Cover and store in a cupboard or other dark place for at least 1 month, preferably 3 months. Once cured, the lemons will keep almost indefinitely in the salt.
3. To use the confit, remove a lemon half, or as many as you need, from the salt and rinse off. The lemon rind will be tan in color. Cut it in half and scrape out the pulp and pith; discard them. Mince or slice the rind. If using it uncooked (in a salad, for instance), blanch it in simmering water for 30 seconds to remove excess salt.
Yield: 24 pieces lemon confit
Brines: The Salt Solution
A brine is simply salty liquid (a dry cure with water). Doesn’t sound like much, but in fact, when salt combines with water, its power is magnified. Salt in solution penetrates meat faster, it is the most effective marinade possible because it can flavor the meat down to its center via osmosis, and it results in a juicer finished dish. And it can also be used to preserve meat.
Brines, more so than dry cures, are an excellent way to impart seasoning and aromatic flavors. A brine penetrates a chicken or a pork loin rapidly and completely, bringing with it any flavors you might have added to the salty solution (garlic, onion,