We all need Salt

My point exactly. We plan like we will be on our own forever with no chance of getting resupplied. We dry our extra garden produce with anything but slicing them into dry able sizes then they are stored and kept dry.

BWM

 

this is a good thread, it reminded me to pick up a couple of bags of salt.
Thanks

 

I would like to add that in addition to regular salt, pink salt for curing would be very handy. Since I am always curing meats I have some around, at $2.99 for a package of LEM cure...it will cure 100 pounds of meat. Mortan TenderQuick is also a good alternative to harder to use pink salt.

For a basic cure using pink salt. This is a dry cure which is applied to the outside of the meat.

1 lb of kosher salt
8 oz sugar
2.5 oz of pink salt

 

Yep, just go without it for a week and you will find out real fast how much you use ( and want ) it .

 

"Pink salt" (sodium nitrite) is nice for color retention, but absolutely not necessary. Besides, if you learn to cure without it now, you are already ahead of the curve.

 

It does much more than just add a pink color to the meat, it prevents botulism. It's also must easier for a beginner to use and have better and safer en result without much chance of over salting or getting sick from tainted meat.

Why risk it?

 

Actually it does not prevent botulism. It helps prevent the growth of C. botulinum spores, and it is a color preservative. Pink salt is 16 parts Salt to 1 part Sodium Nitrite. Nothing more. The salt levels in the meat, which must be attained by using normal table salt (non-iodized) are the critical thing. It is the curing process and subsequent cooking that kills botulinium spores, not curing salt. The sodium nitrites and nitrates are used in vast quantities in commercial meat preservation to preserve the color of the meats being "force cured". The majority compound, the real curing agent, is plain old every day sodium - salt.

From just one source:

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So for the thousands of years before saltpeter was even added to meat, it was salt and salt alone that man used as a cure. Caveat: you can attain a "forced" or "fast" wet cure using pink salt. This is NOT preserved meat. It is cured meat, which is done for flavor and color enhancement.
I have been curing and preserving meat for more years than I care to recount, and we have only ever added saltepeter to corned beef or some sausages. Even my hams and bacon are done with nothing more than salt/sugar and smoke.

You must attain a 15-20% minimum salt concentration in the meat.

For example - for dried beef (edit is italicized) 25 pounds of beef is "salted" in 4 pounds of salt with 1/4 cup of sugar added for 6 weeks. Once the salt cure stage is complete, remove it from the salt, rinse the pieces, pat dry and hang it in a cool dry place allowing it to air dry for 24 hours. This is then cool smoked (100-120 degree smoke) for 70-80 hours, until it is quite dry. Wrap the finished pieces in a fine meshed cloth like linen, and hang in a cool, dry, insect free room - a root cellar does nicely. This will last 3 to 6 months dependent on your air temperature and humidity levels.
Pork is an entirely different matter.

Critical in this equation are the exposure times to the salt. Weeks, if not months in some cases. The high saline environment and the dessication (removal of water) of the meat is the result. This prevents the growth of even salt tolerant bacteria. Always remember, your salted and smoked meats are not cooked, they are preserved.

 

Well I guess we can get technical, but you understood what I was saying enough to correct my post.

What I was getting at was a safer cure would come from the use of curing agents in addition to salt alone.

Bacon cured with salt alone does not have the same look or taste as what most people are used to...nor do hams. It's also a much nicer looking end product.

 

Safer? No. Better color for your meat? Yes.

I more than understand meat curing and preservation. Edit: Many folks, especially those new to self reliance or prepping do not, and should have technically accurate and helpful information.

I am enlightening folks that they cannot and should not absolutely rely on commercially produced "cures". When they run out, what do they do? We all need to understand that while a commercial cure has it's place, it is not absolutely needed to cure and preserve meat.

 

Thanks Falcon for the exact numbers needed for the salt. I know it is a ton over even putting enough away for one winter let alone many. Those food preservation books are on my list to read ( among many dozens ) including all the stuff associated with Ham Radio and Secure Comms for all of BTPOST's stuff - I feel like I should have been reading non-stop for the last 20 years. Glad I have you group of folks to learn from - thanks Monkeys

 

It's kind of funny...I have been reading almost non-stop (at least it seems so) for the past 30-40 years at least...and don't really see any end in sight. And yet, I don't go more than a week here without finding something else I must learn.

I'm never sure if the younger folks here realize how lucky they are to have the Monkey...I know I sure wish I had it to rely on 25 years ago...

 

I personally wouldn't cure any meat without "cure".

If you can buy salt now to store away, you can buy cure and store it...it's not like its gonna go bad.

And I personally do not like the amount of salt needed to cure meat safely.

 

The amount of salt that you need to cure meat safely is zero, zilch, notta, none. Many cultures around the world used no salt to cure and store meat.

BWM

 

Ok, educate me...

 

Most cultures simply cut the meat in thin pieces with no fat then dry them at low temps. Store it in a cool dry place. Moisture is your enemy, so it is very, very important that it stay dry. We dry garden produce the same way and have kept them for years with no problems. I know that the FDA and USDA will tell you that you can't dry food like this, and I'm not trying to insult E.L. but it's a lie. People have been doing this since the dawn of time, and humans haven't went extinct yet. You have to remember most laws are written by big companys then they get politicsens/beruacrates to enforce them. This dumbs down the populace and makes you more of a slave.

BWM

 

Ok so for the sake of an argument you listed "most cultures" not here, "cool dry place" not possible in GA and many other places in the south... So realistically would people cure meat without salt or cure? I'm doubtful since a google search brought nothing up about "most cultures" not using salts and curing agents, in fact I did not see a single reference to any cultures not using salts or curing agents.

Oh and "no fat" what do you do with the rest of the meat that contains fat? Throw it away? I really hate it when people have to prove a point even if it's unrealistic just so that they can be right.

My point is, and it still holds true...to safely cure meats salts and curing agents are needed. Yes you might be able to "cure" without salt or curing agents but it would not be easy nor would many people be able to do it due to temperatures and humidity.

So if you plan to preserve meats, pickup cure when you pickup your salt.

I want to see that survivalist trimming all that good fat from the only animal he could find that week and toss it away just because you can cure meat without salts or cures, and while living in the south, trying to find a cool dry place to hang his non cured meat so it wouldn't spoil.

4 oz of pink salt cures 100 pounds of meat, it's easier, safer and takes up far less room than a bag of salt. I don't know about you, but salt only curing produces a product that is...well, SALTY...very salty, to the point of almost non edible...can it be done, yes...would I do it? No.

Another thing about running out of cure...could a person not run out of salt? Run out of bullets? Clean water?

 

Well, for me the "cool dry place" cure doesn't make sense here and now just because it is near impossible unless you raise your own cattle to find meat (beef at least) where the fat can even be trimmed well enough due to the marbling so much valued here. I will say, however, that I remember plenty of root cellars in GA...which were most certainly cool, dry places.

I will say though that salt is not usually involved when I make jerky except sometimes in a marinade for flavor.

 

Cool, maybe (should be around 55 degrees if it's a true basement/cellar)...but I would think that the lack of air circulation and the fact that root cellars are underground, humidity would be a problem which would cause meats to mold.

I make jerky myself and used to use nothing but salt, I will not make it now without using cures because it hovers in the "danger zone" too long for me to be comfortable. I can not cut back on the salt and still be safe. I do t take chances with my health, or that of my family or friends.

I can't imagine eating jerky without a little salt for flavor!

 

So what do you think primitive cultures did that lived inland??? Do you really believe that the plains indians had 1500 mile trade routes for salt??? As far as the fat that gets rendered down for lard. It is amazing that people can't see past the lies they have been spoon fed and look at what has been done in the past. What will happen if one day you run out of your cures or they are taken from you??? You continue doing what you are comfortable sir, I just hope you never have to go outside your comfort zone. My family and I will continue educating ourselves and doing what others claim should have killed us years ago.

BWM