Putting Food By - Janet Greene [164]
“Pumping”—i.e., forcibly injecting a strong curing solution into certain parts of a large piece of meat—is not included in the instructions below because we’re leery of it: much safer to allow safe curing time than to try to speed the process by localized “spot” applications of the cure.
Allow 25 days as the minimum curing time for dry-salted pork, with some of the larger pieces with bone taking longer. Allow at least 28 days for sweet pickled (brined) pork, and more for the larger pieces. The days-per-pound are given for each cut cured by each method.
Before smoking or storing large pieces containing bone, run a skewer up through the meat along the bone, withdraw the skewer, and sniff it. If the odor is sweet and wholesome, fine—proceed with the smoking or storing; but if there’s any “off” taint, any whiff of spoilage, destroy the entire piece of meat, because it is unsafe to eat.
Dry-Salting Large Pieces (Hams and Shoulders)
For each 25 pounds of hams and shoulders mix together thoroughly 2 pounds (about 3 cups) of coarse-fine pickling salt, ½ pound (about 1 cup) sugar—and ½ ounce (about 1 tablespoon) of saltpeter. Rub half the mixture in well on all surfaces of the meat. Poke it generously into the shank ends along the bone (you can even make a fairly long internal slit with a slender boning knife inserted at the shank, and push the mixture up into it: this is better than relying on “pumping” a strong solution to such areas where the salt must penetrate deeply). Plan to leave an ⅛-inch layer of the mixture on the ham face (the big cut end), with a thinner coating on the rest of the ham and on the shoulders.
Fit the salt-coated meat into a clean sterilized barrel or crock, taking care lest the coating fall off. Cover with a loose-fitting lid or cheesecloth and let cure in a cold place, 36–38 F/2–3 C.
One week later, remove the meat, re-coat it with the remaining half of the curing mixture, and pack it again in the barrel/crock.
Curing time: at least 25 days. Allow 2 to 3 days for each 1 pound of ham or shoulder, being sure to leave them in the curing container even after all surface salt is absorbed.
Then smoke them.
Dry-Salting Thin Cuts (Bacon, “Fat Back,” Loin, Etc.)
For each 25 pounds of thin cuts of pork, mix together thoroughly 1 pound (about 1½ cups) of pickling salt, ¼ pound (½ cup) of brown or white sugar, and 1½ teaspoons of saltpeter.
Coat the cuts, using all the mixture. Pack the meat carefully in a sterilized crock or barrel, cover it with a loose-fitting lid or a layer of cheesecloth, and let it stand at 36–38 F/2–3 C for the minimum total curing time of 25 days; allowing 1½ days per pound. Thin cuts do not require an interim salting—that’s why you used all the mixture in the first place. And leave them in the crock even after the surface salt has been absorbed.
All but the “fat back” (Salt Pork) is then smoked. Wrap the Salt Pork in moisture/vapor-proof material; refrigerate what is intended for immediate use, and freeze the rest.
“Sweet Pickle” Salting Large Pieces (Brining Hams, Etc.)
Curing hams and shoulders in brine is slower than the dry-salting treatment just described, and therefore is well suited to colder regions of the country.
Pack the well-chilled (38 F/3 C) hams and shoulders in a sterilized crock or barrel. For every 25 pounds of meat, prepare a solution of 2 pounds (about 3 cups) of pickling salt, ½ pound (1 cup) of sugar, ½ ounce (about 1 tablespoon) of saltpeter, and 4½ quarts of water. Dissolve all thoroughly, and pour over the meat, covering every bit of it: even a small piece that rises above the solution can carry spoilage down into meat submerged. Put a weighted plate or board over the meat to keep it below the brine, and cover the barrel/crock. Hold the storage temperature to 38 F/3 C.
After 1 week, remove the meat, stir the curing mixture, and return the meat to the crock/barrel, making sure that every bit of it is weighted down below the surface of the brine.
Remove, repack, and cover with the stirred brine at the end