Try using a large one gallon zip-lock bag. First, pat dry the meat using several paper towels, then place the chunk of meat in the bag. Add 3/4 cups of salt. Then, shake mildly and allow the salt to adhere to the meat. You will get a very good coverage of the salt. The salt will be ALL on the meat and none left in the bag. I have found no other method to work better than this one. Please give it a try. No mess to clean up afterwards! :)
@@HomevertHomesteader You are welcome! Curing meat is some what of a lost art form. Happy to see younger folks, like yourself, continuing the Art. Really enjoyed your video. Thanks again and take care!
@@HomevertHomesteader . Also found for mixing your spices a bag works well but a sealable container ( ice cream, coffee jar etc) for mixing also doubles as storage for the mix for next time
@@harvdog5669 It was pork loin, and no it was not cooked, just salt cured and dried, in order to lose 35 to 40% of the weight to make it shelf stable and safe to eat.It can be cooked tough and/or added to cooked dishes to add flavour and nutritional value.
My dad taught me how to cure hams when I was young, we’re from the Southern part of the United States and it has always been a tradition here, however those traditions are being lost in the modern days. I enjoyed watching how you cured the pork cut and may even tweak our recipe a little, (really liked the paprika). Here’s to many more great cured cuts.
Thank you for the kind feedback - indeed these skills are being lost to supermarket comfort.😕 I've gathered quite a treasure trove of recipes from my elders, from curing and smoking meat, to gathering wild medicinals and edible and much more. Would like, in time, through this channel to film and share these bits of sustainable living and regenerative mentality, and how we can live In harmony with nature not in an extractive, dominating way. Thank you for watching ☺
Thank you! The first video I have found that actually explains everything instead of expecting you to know the percentages etc. A real beginner video. Thank you. Subscribed and liked 👍
You're right this does help beginners. I am a beginner I've been looking for other ways to store meat for longer besides the usual methods of freezing and drying and canning I didn't think about cured meat until now and this video really helps
I've cured both pork and beef in salt. I put it in a food grade pail and let it set in salt. When the pail is full I pour in a heavy brine. Heavy enough to float a raw egg. I have a pail that is over a year old and I will cut some out probably tomorrow, wash off and boil into some soup just to keep up with the palatability of it. I love preserving meats and fruit. That junk is just good.
Especially compared to the added chemicals that are added in the grocery. I enjoy making salted fish, and even in high humidity it can last 3-6 months.
@@leechowning2712 I just sliced off this day both salted beef and pork that where packed a year ago in salt to make sure they where still good and yep, they are.
Thank you for the info and would love a more detailed recipe if your wiling to share with us all - my grandparents used to use salt brine from a salt brine spring to make similar products 😊 Thank you for watching. All the best😊
@@HomevertHomesteader I start with a food grade plastic pail with lid. I'm able to get 2 1/2 gallon here where I live. Then I get pork loins (about 10 lbs fills my pail). You can use whatever cut of meat you want. I've even used beef brisket. I cut up the meat in meal size chunks so I can pull out only what I need. You cover the bottom of your pail with rock salt and make a layer of meat. Then make a layer of salt. Continuing till full. Then you make a salt brine with so much salt that an egg in its shell raw will float in it. (This is an old recipe from 1700's and thats how they said to know when brine is good enough). Pour the brine in and remove air by slightly shaking it. Your done. No refrigerator just lid up and set 30 days the try. After a year I have noticed a slight deterioration in the taste.
When we did home kills on the farm sheep beef and pork my grandfather would hang and salt then freeze. But he salted the pork every day for 3 to 5 days depending on the weather. He turned the pig into bacon can't remember many roster pork meals but bacon and eggs every morning
Sounds great,😋 Back in the day my grandparents and many other in their generation lived very similar. They raised birds and bunnies , cows for milk,and a hog a year for the main meat source. Close to Christmas they would sacrifice the hog and use every part of it to make sausages, patee, smokes and cured meats, all kind of charcuterie products , blood sausage, head cheese, and even the bones would get smoked and kept for soups and stocks. Though i wouldn't want to go back to those times as it sucked compared to today, there is wisdom to learn, life skills and knowledge on how to live better, healthier and more sustainable, and more regenerative then how we go about life today. Thank you for the great insight and sharing nice memories 😊
I'm currently getting ready for a long term expedition in Quebec, this will be needed to preserve game meat. I've already covered the whole smoking process, now I've just started with salt. Thank you for sharing, it will be used in the wild.
Oh man, that sounds amazing, I've always dreamed of visiting and exploring the Canadian wilderness. Good luck on your adventure, and may this method work well on your game meat. All the best Robert.
If you don’t have refrigeration you might look at pink salt not the Himalayan bullshit that doesn’t even come from the Himalayas but the curing salt you can reuse salt as well just dry it out smoking meat will preserve it however the one thing you don’t want is to get sick when you’re out in the middle of nowhere so please think about food safety if you’re going to preserve I’ve done a lot of this over the years and if you haven’t done it at home you might wanna experiment going to a hostile environment with good intentions is not the best thing to do this isn’t a criticism I just feel compelled to let you know practice practice practice really know what the hell you’re doing if you’re going to be out in the wild you damn well better know what you’re doing it’s very rude to have to have people come get you dead or alive. I extend my prayers and best of luck to you my friend but know what the hell you’re doing
@@Kp-tg9fl Why are you following do it yourself life is so short do this thing quit your job sell all the stupid shit go do it get rid of your friends that you pay for the drinks and take care of you I just got rid of a friend of 54 years because I figured out in the course of our friendship and love on my side I spent well over a quarter million dollars on him his name is JOHN MACHADO and he’s used nothing but my money to self aggrandize his self it’s one of those moments where the bullet goes bang and you see the spark take care of yourself scrape the people out of your life they will tell you things they’ll never be there for you literally in the multiple years that I have carried this piece of garbage not once was anything brought back to the equation scrape those people out of your life and you’ll have all the money you need to go on a good expedition God is my witness you will see reality.
I watched this to see how to preserve meat off grid, without a fridge, I'm disappointed in that respect. After saying that I thank you for giving me a different way to prepare pork. That lovely salted crackling with spice is going to be on my table this winter.
Hi Simon, Sorry if the video gave you the idea it was for off-grid meat preserving, BUT if you want to do this off-grid whiteout a fridge you can because this basically is an all-year way of curing meat like this with the help of a fridge. Originally my grandparents and the ones before them used to cure the meat in the same way but in the attic of the house - this attic was not insulated so it acted as a fridge in winter months. If you have a way to recreate this in winter months, or a shed, a smokehouse that is not used for a couple of weeks you can do this off-grid whiteout a fridge Hope this helps and thanks for watching 😊
I love this. I take my sons hunting all the time, this year are gonna fill three elk tags! I think I will try to cure some elk meat. thank you for making it look so easy...
Happy you liked it Edgar, Never had elk unfortunately - can only imagine it is amazing. Had deer and wild boar, mountain chicken, quails and pheasants, and a long long time ago, tried bear. My godfather was the game keeper and would cook some nice dinners for us when we visited. Let me know how the curing goes when its done, would love to see some pics. Take care and thanks for watching 😉
My parents and grandparents would raise and butcher at least 4 hogs every 2 years. They butchered usually the beginning of January so they had built big wood tables about 4 feet tall and completely covered the tables in rock salt and course ground black pepper pretty thick and put the hams and shoulders and pork bellies aka side meat all of the big pieces of pork to be salted and cover every thing in the pepper and rock salt completely and at least a 2 inch thick layer. In about 3 months maybe even longer than that depending on the month they butchered. Then they put the meat into individual burlap bags and hang them up and would keep just fine all year long even 2 years until time to do it all over again. Those were really good size hams and shoulders and side meat the average hogs weighed 550 to 600 lbs.
Wow, thanks for sharing, It's similar but different from what my grandparents did, the difference being that they would not let the meat hang for longer then 4 or 5 months. The hogs would get sacrificed the second Thursday of December and salt cured, smoked, by-products made from every part of the hog, nothing was wasted. Very interesting perspective you gave me Jamie - thank you for that.
My grandpa taught me how to butcher, we live in northern alberta Canada, so we have cold winter here, so we would usually do the butchering in fall when the weather started getting cold, grandpa knew how to do all the salt curing, and dry aging, but he didn't pass that information along, because he thought that with modern technology, everyone has a freezer, it would not be relevant anymore! Back when he was raising his family (12 kids) they had no electricity in the house, they would cut ice blocks from the lake and store it in the cellar, and it would keep the food cold enough to preserve it for a few months. And with 14 people in the house, it didn't take long to eat a pig! But, now with all that the government is inflicting on us, I think this is going to be a very useful skill to have! I've been learning about curing meats for a while now, I've been making my own hams and bacon for about 15 years, and making sausage with grandpa when I was a kid, and I've been expanding my skill into jerky and other such in the last few years. I'm very glad to have found this video and I'll definitely be trying it myself very soon!
I am very interested in the details of your grandparents method for curing meat, any more information you can share would be greatly appreciated! Was the meat placed on the tables while it was fresh and warm, or was it hung to cool at all? I definitely want to try it. Planning to butcher a few pigs in December
@@stevensdad4877 Hey there( great stage name btw). First of all, congrats for keeping these skills and very useful information alive. It feels like we're so vulnerable and powerless lately because we've become so dependent on supermarkets, food supply chains and imports because so few can actually raise/grow food, preserve and prepare it, and even fewer are willing to share this with the ones willing to learn. There's a lot to share and I want to just know that it would be a very long reply ( that probably wouldn't fit in this comment box) and therefore I am inviting you to correspond through email, as I do with many of the people interested in these topics and that have approached me through the channel. I am in the process of filming and releasing many recipes of curing, smoking and other ways to preserve meats and not only, the way my grandparents did, but till then we can talk through emails. I've put my email in the description of the last video published on my channel. Won't leave the email here because YT takes it as a marketing link and blocks the message so this reply would never reach you. If this sounds.good to you then I'm looking forward to hearing from you in an email and picking up the conversation there. All the best till then Steven's Dad 😁
Thank you for sharing this information - i love to see how people preserve meat all around the world. The common ingredient seems to be salt and spices. What other cured meats products do you guys make in SA?
@@HomevertHomesteader we have what we call "Bokkoms" which is a very salty dried fish, apart from that only the hams etc. that is found all over the world. My grandmother used to preserve meat by submersing cooked meats in buckets of animal fat. It is not necessarily a form of curing, though
@@losonsrenoster wow amazing My grandparents did that as well They melted the excess fat they had from the pig and cooked the meats and sausages, then preserved all that cooked meat in buckets of melted fat that would coagulate shortly and preserve the meat for month in the root cellar. Eventually, like after 6 months, if the buckets wouldn't be consumed the fat would go rancid but the meat inside was still good. Fun to see this is a common method across many cultures😊. Thanks for sharing.🙏
Earned a new sub. Hello from Custer, SD, Black Hills mountains. I watched my dad do what you did. He did lots of cures and also smoked entire deer, goats, turkey, chicken, using those cures and additional smoking of the meat to perfection and preserved the meat. Many times we left the meat hang in the smoke house and it never spoiled, it only got better as time went on.
Hey thank you so much, I don't get jealous easily, but I am now seeing in what mountain paradise you live in 😍 Yes, ured meat does get better with more time hanging, especially if the temperature is low (less than 5C or 41F) so nothing nasty starts growing on it or starts eating it. Off-topic, seeing how you got such beautiful woods there, do you go mushroom hunting, and if yes what kind of mushrooms do you get there? (the edible and medicinal ones are the ones I'm asking about) Thank you again for the support and for sharing your story. All the best 👍
@@HomevertHomesteader we have red belted polypore, tender polypore, morels, chanterelle, turkey tail, Dyer's polypore, and my personal favorite. The king bolete[i] (Boletus edulis), also called penny bun, ceps or porcini, is a popular edible mushroom native to Europe. The “king bolete” name also applies to a number of very similar, and also edible, North American mushrooms I forage for food when I can. I grow a garden back to Eden method and also raise goats, chickens, and rabbits. I'm currently building a new barn and milking parlor to milk my goats and make chevre, its cheese made from goat's milk. I can make it easily and add spices to it for different flavors or eat it as is.
@@shineyrocks390 wow,amazing. We got most of the same mushrooms and some extra but I never found morels 😒. Good luck with your new barn - sounds like a great project. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Totally agreed with you - that's why we left London and moved closer to nature to grow a garden and animals and be more aware of the food we eat and where it comes from. I'm lucky to have grandparents who lives all their life in the countryside and constantly teach me the traditional ways of growing, harvesting and preserving food of all sorts. Always be ready 👍
@@edwinweise9204 we can all try to take the best parts of our traditions and bring them to the present. Not all parts of traditional things are perfect or good but there is definitely the wisdom of thousands of generations before us that can be extracted and repurposed in our times. Thanks for watching 🙂👍
Very happy to hear that these skills are being kept alive all over the world. If you don't mind sharing, did your grandpa use something similar or a different method - always trying to learn more about this topic, especially from those who have done it for generations and have perfected the process. Thank you for watching.🙂
The only other thing as someone else mentioned is he did start using a zip loc bag to salt the meat a little better. But he used twine and such as well. He had a cold room in the basement, the house was built early 1900s. But generally he did the same thing. I buy really high quality meat usually for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I use a fridge too obviously. I live in a modern house haha.
Looks nice! Try putting the meat on a rack im the tray when salting to hold the meat above the moisture my father and grandfather used to make salt bacon in the uk always made from a sow pig that hasn't been in season and made in late autumn to winter when the frost has come best bacon you will ever have looks black on the outside when you cut into it is pink
Thank you, that was wonderful. I never knew that was how those Itilian / Sicilian and meats were cured but they are delicious. Also very expensive to buy but this doesn't cost much if you have basement fridge and some time you can load it.
Happy you like it and definitely give it a try - it doesn't have to be a big piece of meat Start small and find your own way of making great food - just fallow health and safety guidelines for working with raw meats and temperature control. thank you for watching😊
I was raised on this kind of food, I can't wait to try this. My Grandmother was from Italy and made her own pasta, I gotta try that too ! Thank you from Arizona
Really happy to hear this - means a lot to hear these stores. Funny how we all have at least a handful of great memories about our grandparents. They are the ultimate teachers, if we're willing to listen 🙂. Thank you for watching and for your time 🙏
Gramma was born in the early 19-teens in Southeast CO. She said when she was a child they would butcher a hog after the first freeze and preserve it with salt in barrels. But then one year the weather warmed up again and all the pork spoiled and it never worked after that. Fortunately electricity and refrigeration arrived a few years later.
That's the point of this video - combining old knowledge with new technologies so that everyone can try these products - especially those living in the city who dont have the option to smoke their meat or have a drying room to hang meats. Thanks for watching
I, admittedly, don't know a darned thing about your gramma's cellar situation - but I suspect that the reason it never worked afterward might have been contamination. I imagine those barrels were probably made of wood - which would have been a little pricey to replace. Those old-timers definitely knew their craft, but knowledge of bacteria wasn't what it is today - and we still struggle to get bacteria out of wood once it's been infected. I could imagine them boiling their knives, meathooks, etc - but even dumping boiling brine into a barrel probably wouldn't cure it fully... not to mention the traces that might have dripped onto the floor or been carried into the ceiling of the larder. On the whole, I don't blame them for switching to refrigeration after that. The alternative would probably have been to build a new larder.
@@adreabrooks11 she said it was because it didn't stay cold enough after that, which may have been a factor. I think you make a valid point. If she hadn't smoked like a chimney for more than 60y I would probably be able to ask but she was the last of her siblings.
@@bforman1300 You mentioned that in the original post - and I suspect you are (and she was) right regarding the original spoilage. I was referring to after that. Sorry for your loss. Old folks are our keys to the wisdom of the past. Thank you for passing along this tidbit she left in your care!
It is an amazing finished product and if you like this kind of ''meat adventures'' definitely try it. The costs as low as well as you don't need a special room or to build a drier - but it's all done in the fridge 😀 Thanks for watching - all the best
When reading about the American Civil War one comes across references to salt pork as a staple of the soldier's diet. I've always wondered what that would be like in both taste and texture, particularly since it was before the introduction of refrigeration.
Back in the day, they used to cure meat with salt in a very practical but simple way, in the sense they took a wood container, usually a wood barrel and added in layers meat and rocks salt, thick layers and salt in between the meat, to basically mummify it. The texture was tough and it had to be soaked to remove some of the salt and then boiled twice or more and trow the water to remove most of the salt that was making it unpalatable. Eventually you would get a usable piece of meat to give you the needed protein. There are videos out there on exactly this method especially from Townsands (great channel for this type of things)😉 I myself have eaten a piece of meat prepared in a very similar way and... I'll pass if it's offered to me again 😅. Hope this helps.👍
@@HomevertHomesteader You may pass if offered again (I'm the same), but in reality, if we ever need the protein, like really need it, our body will make it more tasty to us. Same as with fats, if your body needs fat it will lake things delicious that would normally just be alright in small amounts. A good example of this is butter. Anyone who has gone on a long hike such as the Appalacian Trail, or any of the similarly challenging hikes, knows the body craves certain things at times. Butter under normal situations is enjoyed in relatively small amounts on toast of in a frying pan, but when your body needs the fat, butter becomes more of a candy bar. Thank you for the great video addition on this topic, it's information that far too few people have.
To boil it first helps. The texture is more firm. Like corned beef versus fresh. Woks great with seafood also. I do use brown suger. With course cracked pepper and a little juniper.
@@HomevertHomesteader It's not as bad as it sounds. We would wash it off really good, maybe soak some depending (definitely always soak and boil then fry fat-back), I grew up on a farm where we cured pork and used a salt-box. There's other tips and tricks too.
@@robotmechanic3923 would love to learn more about it. The reality is that almost every family has their own method for making anything,from soup to cured meat to doughnuts. The more I learn the more I can come.up.with my own personalized recipes. That's why I'm always trying to get as much Info out of this conversations 😁.
Not sure how I never came across your channel before but it’s really wonderful. Looking forward to binging and trying some different things. Thank you!
South Africans do a similar thing called "biltong", with salt, vinegar and spices (black pepper and coriander seed). It's based on meat more thinly sliced, then air dried, rather than big chunks (which also looks great TBF!). Very delicious thinly sliced and with beer! We usually use beef or game meat but you can use others, some people even use fish, which is surprisingly tasty (like dried anchovies). It is a traditional way of preserving freshly shot meat in Southern Africa where there were no fridges in the "the old days". Nowadays, what was previously a necessity, is now a delicacy and treat and very expensive, so making your own is a satisfying, cheap and dare I say it, an even more delicious alternative than store bought.
Same in my parts of the world, what was a normal is marketed as an expensive delicacy. Still, for now nobody is stoping us making these products for out own use, so i hope more people will try to do any project in the kitchen and reclaim a bit of that freedom from the corporation that keep feeding us food like substances that make us sick, infertile and sad. Have a great one and thanks for sharing your recipes with me and us ☺️
Thank you Craig, happy this video inspired you to try a new project . Let me know how it turns out - working on building my smoke house now so hopefully in the future I'll get some smoked product videos out as well. All the best 🙏 and thanks for watching.
Yes but I am concerned with scenarios where we don’t just struggle for food but fight for it and if the world or nation is that bad off, the food found, raised or hunted for will need to be hidden and not in a smoke house unfortunately.
Almost there Bryan - In London in my tiny apartment I couldn't smoke meat - curing meat like that was the only way I could do any meat preservation and practice some old knowledge from my elders. That's why we made the big jump to leave the city and move to a tiny place far away, where I can garden and raise animals to be more self-sustainable and have the space to cure my products with smoke. I'm working on building the smokehouse already and as soon as it's done you will see all the smoked meat, cheese, veggies and fruit videos . Thanks for watching😊
Awesome video. I to cure meats but my process is a bit different than yours, however, I am going to try your process because I love how deep the cure penitents the meat rendering it very useful for many dishes. Thanks for sharing, blessings..
Great video,it brought back memories of my grandfather and his salt boxes and smokehouse .You delivered a great and informative video and I'm trying it starting tomorrow.Thanks again and Godspeed.
Awesome, thank you! Honestly Joseph, I'm fuelled by a similar flame - one lit by my grandparents who thought me this recipes when i was still a kid and that still teach me to this day as I'm blessed to still have my grandma with us. Thank you for watching All the best😊
When you tie your final knot, double the turn on the first or start of the knot, then when you pull it tight to finish the knot, it will stay tight so you can finish. Just an old tip from granny.
AMAZING - Thank you for the feedback. Granny always knows best and those who still have grandparents should treasure them and listen to the wisdom they have to share. They can save us a lot of time, headache, and heartache if we're willing to listen and learn. Thanks again for the message and the time to watch.
Great work - duck is something i love deeply. Now i got the opportunity to raise my own ducks and i can't wait until i can cure my own, home raised ducks. Thank for watching and for the feedback 😊🤠
Same here Billy, My grandparents didn't have a fridge till the beginning of the 90's and they were born in the 30's so they had to cure and preserve everything the old way. A lot of fermentation, salt curing , smoking, dehydrating and pickling was the norm and I am blessed to still have them now alive and well and sharing all this wisdom with me. The young generations could learn a lot from they're elders - all about self sufficiency and fixing things instead of throwing it away and buying ''a new one''. Anyway - thanks for watching Billy. All the best.
Well, that's one of the biggest compliments this video has ever got - thank you, Allen. Spanish cured meats and especially Jamon are my favorite of all time. Take care and thanks for watching 😊👍
I salted my deer hide to preserve it in a hurry, went back to it after winter, and cut off all the meat that was still hanging off, and it looked so good. It was so weird, and I didnt realise what I had just created. Looks just like the thumbnail.
Thank you Heather, As winter is settling in soon and the garden going to sleep till spring, I will get back to the curing, smoking and cooking videos - I promise 😊 Thank you for watching
Very happy to hear Tom. These skills are good for any generation and will keep us going. I appreciate the feedback and your time to watch the video. All the best 😀
Great job! This will be amazing with some beans ( not cannned If possible ) cooked in a cast iron cauldron , some onions, some carrots ,some ball peppers , just a splash of Worchester sauce or maple syrup and a good loaf of bread . Keep it up!
@@HomevertHomesteader You should try it ! It's not a recipe from cooking books ,it's Something my grandmother used to make in winter time. Of course over the years I perfected the recipe , even came up with some emprowed dishes to help those who are feasting or do not eat meat. If You need help, let me know! Have a Nice day !
@@ghostoftheash It's definitely on my to do list. Any recipe that comes from a grandma is gold, no matter the country or culture you come from, grandma's know how to cook and eat the best foods. Thank you for the recipe, All the best ;)
I am really interested in doing some curing...and really appreciate the simple straight forward explanation!! Definitely going to use some cayenne on mine!
It was - I think I'll make a deal with myself in the next stage of my life. I can only have meat as long as it's cured meat/smoked and done by me. That should be interesting and keep me quite busy :D Thank you for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. Highly appreciated. All the best :)
Thank you , I really appreciate it. I believe everyone can try this - it's a bit of a lengthy process but the finished product is worth it. If you ever try to do it, let me know how it was - hopefully as satisfying as you hoped.:D
@@geordielad4578 yes, with beef works as well, especially because beef is hanged on purpose most times and left to age - a process called dry ageing - to develope more intense flavour and to make the meat more tender. A dry aging of at least 30 days is appreciated ( the more the better - of course the dry aging happens in a fridge enviorment) among restaurants as it produces a superior product. I worked in hospitality as a chef for the better part of the last 15 years and dry aged beef was the standard for high quality beef steaks and gourmet burgers meat. Hope this helps 👍🙂
Hi Christian The amount is 10 grams. Being a dried product, 10 grams may seem like a lot but it also has less aromatic power then a fresh herb mix - hence the volume of herb mix.
Wow,always wanted to cure a whole ham :D I'm fascinated with the Spanish and Italian methods of curing whole hams. Do you do anything in particular with them after salt curing? Would love to learn some tips from people who are actively doing this. Thanks :D
Thank you for the kind words. The bucket idea sounds great - I did it this way mainly because this is how traditionally my grandma. I would definitely try this on the next one - maybe it will even help use the salt much efficiently. Thank you Joseph - I love constructive feedback. All the best.😊😊
You're to kind, thank you :) I love charcouterie products, and its the primary way I eat meat lately. I've reduced the meat amount and eat it only on the weekend, hence it serves me very well to eat a tiny bit of delicious homemade/cured meat that is full of flavour and good microbiome, then to have a massive steak often - no judgement on who does it. Thank you for the interest and the kind words Kim, have a great week 🙂
Ps I have an entire playlist dedicated to charcouterie and cured/aged meat products if you are interested. czcams.com/play/PLOgVAdfi8D71O4g3jY9T3SdcMQq-MR8tK.html&si=4XY6ONm7LA0swd9Q Hope it helps and you will become as food secure and self sufficient as you want to. Take care and God Bless.
I was wondering why you did not cut away all that excess fat. You could have used it for cooking or rendered it (melted it) and used it for cooking or making suet. Here's the funny thing, people use fat to make pemmican, but oil and fat also go rancid thus the reason nuts do not last long (except they do in pemmican), so I would figure that removing the extra fat would make the meat last longer. It's confusing, but worth thinking about.
Good point, just this piece didn't last to long. In my experience as a chef, the fat is where slot of the flavor is, and if cured properly the fat will last as well, as long as it's kept in the right conditions. If there was enough fat, then rendering it would have made sense but on this piece of meat specifically, maybe there was 100g of fat, hence i kept it for flavor and for future cooking in a dish as a whole. Back home we preserve in rendered fat the bulk of the hog meat when we sacrifice it for Christmas, we smoke the muscles, the hams, use all the body parts to make speciality charcuterie products but the main amount of meat is cooked, and preserved in containers that get melted fat on top of the meat. Once the fat solidifies, the food stays good for about 6 months if kept in the right conditions, fridge , root cellar, pantry as long as it away from direct sun, and the temperature is between 5 and 8 Celsius constantly. After about 6 months the fat can go rancid but the meat pieces inside it are still good and don't take any nasty flavor from the fat. I grew up on this, as the family had one hog for the entire year and the meat had to last at least from December till June, July when the garden would produce fruits and veg and the birds start laying eggs. Thanks for the good info, very on topic. 🙂
Great video! Learned a lot and subscribed to your channel. With food prices blowing up, think there will be more folks looking for options to grow/fish/hunt and preserve food at home if they are lucky enough to be able to do that. Keep it up and hope your fan base grows!
Thank you, Jim, As a lifetime prepper myself I agree with you fully. The reason we moved away from London to a tiny town in east Europe was to have a more hands-on approach to our food supply and on the chemicals that go into it ( you know the toxic stuff from supermarkets) At the moment I'm growing about 35 to 40% of our food in a small garden, soon to be 70% as the main crops will mature, with the hope of adding livestock within weeks and expanding our menu with more cured, smoked, and preserved meats.🍇🍓🍈🍒🍑🍅🍆 In London I was growing a decent amount of fruits and veggies in planters DIY'd from free pallet wood and that's a good solution for all those in city areas without the option to garden in a larger space.😊 The reality is that if you really weren't to be more self reliant you can do it anywhere 😉 Thank you again for your support and kind words All the best to you 😀
@@HomevertHomesteader I am not trying to be difficult, but I could have sworn the wood from pallets has been treated...? I mean pallets are a great source for building and stuff, but I have always been afraid to use them for food related projects. When I say treated, I mean with pesticides for termites and stuff to make it longlasting in the elements. I am under the impression that these chemicals leech, especially when it's been raining. I could be wrong.
@@googleyeyes5122 I think most pallets are made as cheap as possible without any kind of treatment from the majority of the ones I have seen, but I haven't looked up the information on them, I just know that they rot in the yard and ants and termites live in them along with other insects.
@@SW-ii5gg interesting. I am so used to looking at where they are coming from and where they are stacked that I never notice termites. I am pretty sure, though that all wood (as fresh timber) has to be treated before becoming lumber, with the exception of the heat treated wood used for camping. Even that is to kill anything that can destroy wildlife. But I am going to look this up (it's probably an episode of How It's Made 😁) Thanks!
I always shied away from salt because I didn't want salty meat (tho I love salt!). This is a great tutorial even for a first try. I'm going to do it in an outdoor winter greenhouse with temps that drop to 40F at night and see how it goes. Good thing bears hibernate in winter! Maybe that's why they do this to cure in that season :D
Such a interesting observation about the bears - never thought about this though I am familiar with these animals(back home they walk through my garden sometimes) But yes - I recommend trying it and in the greenhouse in the winter - that sounds fantastic - I might try it as well this winter and see how it will develop. Thank you for the fresh view on this and if you do try it let me know how it went 😊 All the best
I was thinking about greenhouse chilling .... the problem would be consistent cooling since unheated greenhouses usually have highs and lows. For instance, I'm making an experimental 'cold' greenhouse out of my back porch during winter (and we get snow up here in Michigan zone 5) The winter hardy plants (mostly lettuces) will be inside split and retaped plastic milk cartons for warmth, with clear plastic sheets around the porch (floor and ceiling covered too) for greenhouse effect, but since it won't be heated other than solar. With angled and brief 24 degree winter sun during the day and somewhat chilled at night, then I believe meat will not drop below 40F though it may drop below freezing temps on occasion. I have a remote thermometer probe to check temps from indoors, so if it gets too warm out there, I'll put it in the fridge. Thermometers like that are handy and run about 35 USD on AMZ. If that doesn't work out, next year I might have to choose a location outside the house in constant winter north shade, and build a mini-greenhouse just for preserving meat as a cold house. Well out of mouse range of course ;) I can't see taking up fridge room if there's already a refrigerator in all the great outdoors for free 3 months of the year already. The greenhouse shelter would be needed to keep it from freezing instead of brine curing. I suppose a winter garage would work too, provided it doesn't reek with gasoline fumes, or temps get too warm. Dunno. Seems like there's a lot of experimenting to be done to be sure :D
If you use the Himalayan salt , you’re getting minerals your body needs and it’s way less sodium then what’s used in most places . It prevents dry hydration for one . Blessings to you !
I like the fact that you left fat on it. People think fat goes rancid, which is not true at all. Fat actually almost never goes rancid. Specially if there is no wetness
So true Fat goes rancid if moisture is too high and when a lot of time has passed. (1 year or more) The problem is my cured meats never last that long 😅😂 Every time we have guests, they beg me to take out some of them and make a charcuterie board, so between the guests and us - I am on constant curing meat duty. P.S If done properly, the curing process transforms the fat into a flavor factory and compliments the meat nicely. Thank you for the message
Great to hear that Traci ☺️ Got some more videos on homage and preserved meat products already on the channel - have a look at them when you have time. Thanks for watching 🙂
I’ve tried a variety of curing techniques using salt, short term and long. Two weeks ago I dry brined a beef tenderloin on a suggestion from a chef friend who is renowned in NYC. I’ve come to the conclusion, and this is just for me, that salt curing, dry brining is not for me. When the meat is finally cooked it’s way too salty. I don’t like that, I.e., I do not like tasting the salt. I cooked a full prime rib rack today for 35 minutes at 400 with nothing added, no garlic, salt or pepper. I didn’t even baste it. Just delicious. Magnificent! The meat was tender, juicy, lousy with sumptuous meat taste. I’m asking you respectfully, why salt the meat so it tastes salty? That may sound like a dumb question, but I’m not asking that out of the blue with no experience. On the contrary.
Hey Dan, In my experience, there are no dumb questions. I cured the meat with salt because: 1: I love the flavor of salt-cured meats in general - grew up on them as my grandparents were preserving their meats like this because of tradition, flavor, practicality( in the winter the attic was cold and a perfect place to salt cure meat and hang it to keep the space in the fridge for other foods and dishes) I love products like prosciutto, parma ham, Jamon Iberico, and other traditional salt-cured, dry-cured, smoked products because I can have a tiny bit and feel satisfied by the flavour and not the quantity. 2: I am fascinated with learning and sharing knowledge about older ways of living, thriving, and preserving food from a time when refrigeration wasn't a thing when humanity had to ferment, salt, smoke, and dry the harvest they got and had to preserve the meat from their animals to last for a long, long time until the next harvest and the hog is read. At the end of the day, I guess it's a taste/preference thing and the fact that we have so many options,, variety and inspiration to tap into is great. Hope this somehow answers your question😊
Thank you, We just finished it and I would recommend to anyone to try curing their own piece of meat at least once, for the experience. The taste is a bonus, but in these days that we live in now, where the supermarket has all our needs and we love comfort above everything else, to actually cook your meals and cure your meat, give you a really fulfilling feel, that is so rare these days. All the best.
He he, you don't have to. Use what you have, where you are and that's good enough. Now of you do want to get something for curing meat, look into a wine cooler ( a more modern one with moisture and temp control) you will have the best results and delicious cured products If I had the $$$ now, that's what I would do.😉 Thanks for your time
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing this information. I believe I could smell the aroma right on my computer! 😏 P.S. I like to vacuum seal my meats and freeze them that way.
Thanks for watching! I vacuum and freeze smaller pieces as well 😊 It's a great way to keep different projects and come back to them and compare them with the other ones All the best😊
Hey Ryan, If the process is falowed properly the meat is safe to eat due to the salt curing, the lost of moisture 35 to 40 % of the weight after the salt curing and because the entire process was done in the fridge at a temperature between 3 and 7 degrees Celsius. All these factors contribute to a safe to eat product. Hope this helps 👍and thanks for watching 🙂
@@HomevertHomesteader here’s how Europe got the plague...pork eating! Sure it tastes delicious...I don’t eat pork, I want to do beef 🥩! Great teaching, thanks! I’ve now subscribed
Thanks for sharing. Never cured any meat before After you salt when you put in fridge water collect in tray maybe put a rack so as it drain the meat is kept dry. Recipe for spice in tablespoon/cup. Can't guess in %. When do you put slit the skin? Temperature in fridge? Many ppl have lots of stuff in fridge & opening/closing will affect temperature. Good video. Enjoy watching it.
Thank you for watching. So: Measurements are in grams mainly because where I'm from the metric system is the one i learned and use. Quick Google converts grams to spoons and cups. I do this for when i do recipes that use the imperial system. I don't cut the skin as it keeps the piece of meat together better. It can be cut after the product is done, but i love the skin and enjoy it, so i keep it on. The temperature in the fridge is a strady 5 Celsius, and yes the door opens from time to time but it's not like it's a restaurant fridge where it opens every 5 min. The curing process happens due to air that dehydrates the meat to make it shelf stable and that salt that makes it un-desirable for spoil bacteria and fungi. The trick is to weigh the meat after the initial salting and hang it till it looses 35 to 40 % of that weight. Again easy to calculate% with Google. Just Google "what's 35% of 2000 grams ( or 2 kg piece of meat). Then wheigh it after About a month and see where you are. At the time.of the video we were living in a apartment in the middle of London, and curing meat outside, smoking it or doing any of the "normal" procedures couldent work as my landlord would kick me out 😅. So i came out with this method to still make my own food and help others who are in the same situation. Since then we moved closer to nature and now i can cure meat properly with smoking, air drying, using winter as a fridge instead my fridge and so on. Thanks for watching Odelia,and hope this message helps 🙂
Nice video man! I have not yet dried ham but I have made Biltong which is dried and spiced beef. Also soaked in salt and spiced before hanged in a dryer. The dryer is made of a cardbord box with a 40 W light bulb as power source. Takes about 5 days
Hello Henrik - thanks for the advice 😍 Quite a few people are mentioning Biltong (must be amazing) and ill definitely give it a try soon. Winter is almost here and the garden will go to rest till spring leaving me with a whole 4 months of meat preservation experiments to play with - so exciting 😀😃 Thanks for watching and for the suggestion - all the best
@@HomevertHomesteader does anyone know how to make dry rendang it’s something that my exwife bought me in Malaysia 🇲🇾 it was delicious but I ate it as it was it looks like handrolling tobacco but it’s full of spices and they make chicken and beef rendang and the men would take it with them if they were on the warpath I suppose you would call it
@@alundavies8402 unfortunately can't say I do. I googled it and it seems to be mainly a paste. I assume anything can be dried/dehydrated just not sure how it will store. Let's just leave it to the community and see if anyone has any advice or has done something similar 😉🙂.
@@HomevertHomesteader the paste is for rendang type curry Rendang dried is what the merchant and soldier would take on long journeys it’s got the look of tobacco to it and is very Moreish
I love your description of this video. It's so funny and relatable. The emojis made me laugh. I will watch some more of your videos... See how many more times you choke on spice. 😂 That happens to me all the time, by the way!
Glad you enjoyed it! Cooking is fun and should be seen as that, of course, health and safety and food safety is essential(been a chef for 15 years so I know very week the importance of this) but the fun is a key component. Thanks for watching 😍
Try using a large one gallon zip-lock bag. First, pat dry the meat using several paper towels, then place the chunk of meat in the bag. Add 3/4 cups of salt. Then, shake mildly and allow the salt to adhere to the meat. You will get a very good coverage of the salt. The salt will be ALL on the meat and none left in the bag. I have found no other method to work better than this one. Please give it a try. No mess to clean up afterwards! :)
Great tip - thank you very much 😊
@@HomevertHomesteader You are welcome! Curing meat is some what of a lost art form. Happy to see younger folks, like yourself, continuing the Art. Really enjoyed your video. Thanks again and take care!
@@HomevertHomesteader .
Also found for mixing your spices a bag works well but a sealable container ( ice cream, coffee jar etc) for mixing also doubles as storage for the mix for next time
I never even considered salt curing meat, even tho my parents grew up preserving with salt.
@@harvdog5669 It was pork loin, and no it was not cooked, just salt cured and dried, in order to lose 35 to 40% of the weight to make it shelf stable and safe to eat.It can be cooked tough and/or added to cooked dishes to add flavour and nutritional value.
My dad taught me how to cure hams when I was young, we’re from the Southern part of the United States and it has always been a tradition here, however those traditions are being lost in the modern days. I enjoyed watching how you cured the pork cut and may even tweak our recipe a little, (really liked the paprika). Here’s to many more great cured cuts.
Thank you for the kind feedback - indeed these skills are being lost to supermarket comfort.😕
I've gathered quite a treasure trove of recipes from my elders, from curing and smoking meat, to gathering wild medicinals and edible and much more.
Would like, in time, through this channel to film and share these bits of sustainable living and regenerative mentality, and how we can live In harmony with nature not in an extractive, dominating way.
Thank you for watching ☺
Me to my father taught me to and we used hickory salt rub and hung them in the basement with a cloth over them!
Awesome video. Looks delicious
@@kevinstudt7770 thank you for the kind words
Also thank you for taking the time to watch the video, means a lot to me.😊👍
wow thats great at least it was past toyou
Thank you! The first video I have found that actually explains everything instead of expecting you to know the percentages etc. A real beginner video. Thank you. Subscribed and liked 👍
Thank you very much for the feedback - means a lot
All the best Matt
You're right this does help beginners. I am a beginner I've been looking for other ways to store meat for longer besides the usual methods of freezing and drying and canning I didn't think about cured meat until now and this video really helps
Just learn math . Life is so much easier .
I agree!😊
@@HomevertHomesteader thank you!
I've cured both pork and beef in salt. I put it in a food grade pail and let it set in salt. When the pail is full I pour in a heavy brine. Heavy enough to float a raw egg. I have a pail that is over a year old and I will cut some out probably tomorrow, wash off and boil into some soup just to keep up with the palatability of it. I love preserving meats and fruit. That junk is just good.
Especially compared to the added chemicals that are added in the grocery. I enjoy making salted fish, and even in high humidity it can last 3-6 months.
@@leechowning2712 I just sliced off this day both salted beef and pork that where packed a year ago in salt to make sure they where still good and yep, they are.
Thank you for the info and would love a more detailed recipe if your wiling to share with us all - my grandparents used to use salt brine from a salt brine spring to make similar products 😊
Thank you for watching.
All the best😊
@@hotsaucehead I’m curious about this process and recipe myself, if you don’t mind!
@@HomevertHomesteader I start with a food grade plastic pail with lid. I'm able to get 2 1/2 gallon here where I live. Then I get pork loins (about 10 lbs fills my pail). You can use whatever cut of meat you want. I've even used beef brisket. I cut up the meat in meal size chunks so I can pull out only what I need. You cover the bottom of your pail with rock salt and make a layer of meat. Then make a layer of salt. Continuing till full. Then you make a salt brine with so much salt that an egg in its shell raw will float in it. (This is an old recipe from 1700's and thats how they said to know when brine is good enough). Pour the brine in and remove air by slightly shaking it. Your done. No refrigerator just lid up and set 30 days the try. After a year I have noticed a slight deterioration in the taste.
When we did home kills on the farm sheep beef and pork my grandfather would hang and salt then freeze. But he salted the pork every day for 3 to 5 days depending on the weather. He turned the pig into bacon can't remember many roster pork meals but bacon and eggs every morning
Sounds great,😋
Back in the day my grandparents and many other in their generation lived very similar.
They raised birds and bunnies , cows for milk,and a hog a year for the main meat source.
Close to Christmas they would sacrifice the hog and use every part of it to make sausages, patee, smokes and cured meats, all kind of charcuterie products , blood sausage, head cheese, and even the bones would get smoked and kept for soups and stocks.
Though i wouldn't want to go back to those times as it sucked compared to today, there is wisdom to learn, life skills and knowledge on how to live better, healthier and more sustainable, and more regenerative then how we go about life today.
Thank you for the great insight and sharing nice memories 😊
I'm currently getting ready for a long term expedition in Quebec, this will be needed to preserve game meat. I've already covered the whole smoking process, now I've just started with salt. Thank you for sharing, it will be used in the wild.
Oh man, that sounds amazing, I've always dreamed of visiting and exploring the Canadian wilderness.
Good luck on your adventure, and may this method work well on your game meat.
All the best Robert.
Hows the expedition going?
If you don’t have refrigeration you might look at pink salt not the Himalayan bullshit that doesn’t even come from the Himalayas but the curing salt you can reuse salt as well just dry it out smoking meat will preserve it however the one thing you don’t want is to get sick when you’re out in the middle of nowhere so please think about food safety if you’re going to preserve I’ve done a lot of this over the years and if you haven’t done it at home you might wanna experiment going to a hostile environment with good intentions is not the best thing to do this isn’t a criticism I just feel compelled to let you know practice practice practice really know what the hell you’re doing if you’re going to be out in the wild you damn well better know what you’re doing it’s very rude to have to have people come get you dead or alive. I extend my prayers and best of luck to you my friend but know what the hell you’re doing
Is there anywhere online that we can follow your expedition??? It sounds awesome!
@@Kp-tg9fl Why are you following do it yourself life is so short do this thing quit your job sell all the stupid shit go do it get rid of your friends that you pay for the drinks and take care of you I just got rid of a friend of 54 years because I figured out in the course of our friendship and love on my side I spent well over a quarter million dollars on him his name is JOHN MACHADO and he’s used nothing but my money to self aggrandize his self it’s one of those moments where the bullet goes bang and you see the spark take care of yourself scrape the people out of your life they will tell you things they’ll never be there for you literally in the multiple years that I have carried this piece of garbage not once was anything brought back to the equation scrape those people out of your life and you’ll have all the money you need to go on a good expedition God is my witness you will see reality.
I watched this to see how to preserve meat off grid, without a fridge, I'm disappointed in that respect.
After saying that I thank you for giving me a different way to prepare pork. That lovely salted crackling with spice is going to be on my table this winter.
Hi Simon,
Sorry if the video gave you the idea it was for off-grid meat preserving, BUT if you want to do this off-grid whiteout a fridge you can because this basically is an all-year way of curing meat like this with the help of a fridge.
Originally my grandparents and the ones before them used to cure the meat in the same way but in the attic of the house - this attic was not insulated so it acted as a fridge in winter months.
If you have a way to recreate this in winter months, or a shed, a smokehouse that is not used for a couple of weeks you can do this off-grid whiteout a fridge
Hope this helps and thanks for watching 😊
He did talk about doing it without a fridge in the video but said he was going to use it.
@@projectknifehand I'm grateful for the information in the video, I think that I can convert the fridge into a cool shady place.
@@Simon-1965 That sounds like a plan. I may try it myself sir!
I love how CZcams recommends these random videos and they suddenly become your favourite thing. Great video. I’m hungry now.
Thank you Mike,
Your words are very kinds and welcomed.
All the best 🙂
Thank you for the clear and precise instructions. I did not know cure time was calculated by weight.
Thank you so much 😊
That would've been nice to know in the beginning of the video. I have no idea of my starting weight!
I love this. I take my sons hunting all the time, this year are gonna fill three elk tags! I think I will try to cure some elk meat. thank you for making it look so easy...
Happy you liked it Edgar,
Never had elk unfortunately - can only imagine it is amazing.
Had deer and wild boar, mountain chicken, quails and pheasants, and a long long time ago, tried bear.
My godfather was the game keeper and would cook some nice dinners for us when we visited.
Let me know how the curing goes when its done, would love to see some pics.
Take care and thanks for watching 😉
My parents and grandparents would raise and butcher at least 4 hogs every 2 years. They butchered usually the beginning of January so they had built big wood tables about 4 feet tall and completely covered the tables in rock salt and course ground black pepper pretty thick and put the hams and shoulders and pork bellies aka side meat all of the big pieces of pork to be salted and cover every thing in the pepper and rock salt completely and at least a 2 inch thick layer. In about 3 months maybe even longer than that depending on the month they butchered. Then they put the meat into individual burlap bags and hang them up and would keep just fine all year long even 2 years until time to do it all over again. Those were really good size hams and shoulders and side meat the average hogs weighed 550 to 600 lbs.
Wow, thanks for sharing,
It's similar but different from what my grandparents did, the difference being that they would not let the meat hang for longer then 4 or 5 months.
The hogs would get sacrificed the second Thursday of December and salt cured, smoked, by-products made from every part of the hog, nothing was wasted.
Very interesting perspective you gave me Jamie - thank you for that.
My grandpa taught me how to butcher, we live in northern alberta Canada, so we have cold winter here, so we would usually do the butchering in fall when the weather started getting cold, grandpa knew how to do all the salt curing, and dry aging, but he didn't pass that information along, because he thought that with modern technology, everyone has a freezer, it would not be relevant anymore!
Back when he was raising his family (12 kids) they had no electricity in the house, they would cut ice blocks from the lake and store it in the cellar, and it would keep the food cold enough to preserve it for a few months.
And with 14 people in the house, it didn't take long to eat a pig!
But, now with all that the government is inflicting on us, I think this is going to be a very useful skill to have! I've been learning about curing meats for a while now, I've been making my own hams and bacon for about 15 years, and making sausage with grandpa when I was a kid, and I've been expanding my skill into jerky and other such in the last few years.
I'm very glad to have found this video and I'll definitely be trying it myself very soon!
I am very interested in the details of your grandparents method for curing meat, any more information you can share would be greatly appreciated!
Was the meat placed on the tables while it was fresh and warm, or was it hung to cool at all? I definitely want to try it.
Planning to butcher a few pigs in December
@@stevensdad4877 Hey there( great stage name btw).
First of all, congrats for keeping these skills and very useful information alive.
It feels like we're so vulnerable and powerless lately because we've become so dependent on supermarkets, food supply chains and imports because so few can actually raise/grow food, preserve and prepare it, and even fewer are willing to share this with the ones willing to learn.
There's a lot to share and I want to just know that it would be a very long reply ( that probably wouldn't fit in this comment box) and therefore I am inviting you to correspond through email, as I do with many of the people interested in these topics and that have approached me through the channel.
I am in the process of filming and releasing many recipes of curing, smoking and other ways to preserve meats and not only, the way my grandparents did, but till then we can talk through emails.
I've put my email in the description of the last video published on my channel.
Won't leave the email here because YT takes it as a marketing link and blocks the message so this reply would never reach you.
If this sounds.good to you then I'm looking forward to hearing from you in an email and picking up the conversation there.
All the best till then Steven's Dad 😁
@@stevensdad4877 you
Under rated! Wish you succes on your channel!
Thank you very much.
All the best to you too.
Wow I love it Thank you for your sharing Recepie God bless you Always More Power Sir from the Philippines Zambales
@@vickygrothe7217 Thank you very much.
All the best to you and your loved ones.
In SA a mixture of spices, sugar, salt, saltpeter, brown vinager or sometimes worcester sauce is used to cure meat, called biltong locally.
Thank you for sharing this information - i love to see how people preserve meat all around the world.
The common ingredient seems to be salt and spices.
What other cured meats products do you guys make in SA?
@@HomevertHomesteader we have what we call "Bokkoms" which is a very salty dried fish, apart from that only the hams etc. that is found all over the world. My grandmother used to preserve meat by submersing cooked meats in buckets of animal fat. It is not necessarily a form of curing, though
@@losonsrenoster wow amazing
My grandparents did that as well
They melted the excess fat they had from the pig and cooked the meats and sausages, then preserved all that cooked meat in buckets of melted fat that would coagulate shortly and preserve the meat for month in the root cellar.
Eventually, like after 6 months, if the buckets wouldn't be consumed the fat would go rancid but the meat inside was still good.
Fun to see this is a common method across many cultures😊.
Thanks for sharing.🙏
Earned a new sub. Hello from Custer, SD, Black Hills mountains.
I watched my dad do what you did. He did lots of cures and also smoked entire deer, goats, turkey, chicken, using those cures and additional smoking of the meat to perfection and preserved the meat. Many times we left the meat hang in the smoke house and it never spoiled, it only got better as time went on.
Hey thank you so much,
I don't get jealous easily, but I am now seeing in what mountain paradise you live in 😍
Yes, ured meat does get better with more time hanging, especially if the temperature is low (less than 5C or 41F) so nothing nasty starts growing on it or starts eating it.
Off-topic, seeing how you got such beautiful woods there, do you go mushroom hunting, and if yes what kind of mushrooms do you get there? (the edible and medicinal ones are the ones I'm asking about)
Thank you again for the support and for sharing your story.
All the best 👍
@@HomevertHomesteader we have red belted polypore, tender polypore, morels, chanterelle, turkey tail, Dyer's polypore, and my personal favorite.
The king bolete[i] (Boletus edulis), also called penny bun, ceps or porcini, is a popular edible mushroom native to Europe. The “king bolete” name also applies to a number of very similar, and also edible, North American mushrooms
I forage for food when I can. I grow a garden back to Eden method and also raise goats, chickens, and rabbits.
I'm currently building a new barn and milking parlor to milk my goats and make chevre, its cheese made from goat's milk. I can make it easily and add spices to it for different flavors or eat it as is.
@@shineyrocks390 wow,amazing.
We got most of the same mushrooms and some extra but I never found morels 😒.
Good luck with your new barn - sounds like a great project.
Thank you for sharing 🙂
The way the world is going we may need this type traditional way of preserving our foods like canning foods as well
Totally agreed with you - that's why we left London and moved closer to nature to grow a garden and animals and be more aware of the food we eat and where it comes from.
I'm lucky to have grandparents who lives all their life in the countryside and constantly teach me the traditional ways of growing, harvesting and preserving food of all sorts.
Always be ready 👍
@@HomevertHomesteader tradition is fading but atleast you can share it now the tube
@@edwinweise9204 we can all try to take the best parts of our traditions and bring them to the present.
Not all parts of traditional things are perfect or good but there is definitely the wisdom of thousands of generations before us that can be extracted and repurposed in our times.
Thanks for watching 🙂👍
This is a cool video. My grandpa lived his entire life very old school and he taught me how to salt and cure meat at a young age.
Very happy to hear that these skills are being kept alive all over the world.
If you don't mind sharing, did your grandpa use something similar or a different method - always trying to learn more about this topic, especially from those who have done it for generations and have perfected the process.
Thank you for watching.🙂
The only other thing as someone else mentioned is he did start using a zip loc bag to salt the meat a little better. But he used twine and such as well. He had a cold room in the basement, the house was built early 1900s. But generally he did the same thing. I buy really high quality meat usually for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I use a fridge too obviously. I live in a modern house haha.
@@RelentlessOhiox Thank you for the info.
Much appreciated :D
Looks nice! Try putting the meat on a rack im the tray when salting to hold the meat above the moisture my father and grandfather used to make salt bacon in the uk always made from a sow pig that hasn't been in season and made in late autumn to winter when the frost has come best bacon you will ever have looks black on the outside when you cut into it is pink
Thank you for the rack advice Mike and for sharing your experience.
Much appreciated :)
Thanks for watching 🙂
@@HomevertHomesteader thanks for uploading 🧡
Thank you, that was wonderful. I never knew that was how those Itilian / Sicilian and meats were cured but they are delicious. Also very expensive to buy but this doesn't cost much if you have basement fridge and some time you can load it.
Happy you like it and definitely give it a try - it doesn't have to be a big piece of meat
Start small and find your own way of making great food - just fallow health and safety guidelines for working with raw meats and temperature control.
thank you for watching😊
I was raised on this kind of food, I can't wait to try this. My Grandmother was from Italy and made her own pasta, I gotta try that too !
Thank you from Arizona
Really happy to hear this - means a lot to hear these stores.
Funny how we all have at least a handful of great memories about our grandparents.
They are the ultimate teachers, if we're willing to listen 🙂.
Thank you for watching and for your time 🙏
@@HomevertHomesteader , You've got my full attention ! Thank you for making real content.
Gramma was born in the early 19-teens in Southeast CO. She said when she was a child they would butcher a hog after the first freeze and preserve it with salt in barrels. But then one year the weather warmed up again and all the pork spoiled and it never worked after that. Fortunately electricity and refrigeration arrived a few years later.
That's the point of this video - combining old knowledge with new technologies so that everyone can try these products - especially those living in the city who dont have the option to smoke their meat or have a drying room to hang meats.
Thanks for watching
I, admittedly, don't know a darned thing about your gramma's cellar situation - but I suspect that the reason it never worked afterward might have been contamination. I imagine those barrels were probably made of wood - which would have been a little pricey to replace. Those old-timers definitely knew their craft, but knowledge of bacteria wasn't what it is today - and we still struggle to get bacteria out of wood once it's been infected. I could imagine them boiling their knives, meathooks, etc - but even dumping boiling brine into a barrel probably wouldn't cure it fully... not to mention the traces that might have dripped onto the floor or been carried into the ceiling of the larder.
On the whole, I don't blame them for switching to refrigeration after that. The alternative would probably have been to build a new larder.
@@adreabrooks11 she said it was because it didn't stay cold enough after that, which may have been a factor. I think you make a valid point. If she hadn't smoked like a chimney for more than 60y I would probably be able to ask but she was the last of her siblings.
@@bforman1300 You mentioned that in the original post - and I suspect you are (and she was) right regarding the original spoilage. I was referring to after that.
Sorry for your loss. Old folks are our keys to the wisdom of the past. Thank you for passing along this tidbit she left in your care!
Damn, nice work! That looks fantastic! Have never tried curing meats, and going to have to try this.
It is an amazing finished product and if you like this kind of ''meat adventures'' definitely try it.
The costs as low as well as you don't need a special room or to build a drier - but it's all done in the fridge 😀
Thanks for watching - all the best
@@HomevertHomesteader nothing new
When reading about the American Civil War one comes across references to salt pork as a staple of the soldier's diet. I've always wondered what that would be like in both taste and texture, particularly since it was before the introduction of refrigeration.
Back in the day, they used to cure meat with salt in a very practical but simple way, in the sense they took a wood container, usually a wood barrel and added in layers meat and rocks salt, thick layers and salt in between the meat, to basically mummify it.
The texture was tough and it had to be soaked to remove some of the salt and then boiled twice or more and trow the water to remove most of the salt that was making it unpalatable.
Eventually you would get a usable piece of meat to give you the needed protein.
There are videos out there on exactly this method especially from Townsands (great channel for this type of things)😉
I myself have eaten a piece of meat prepared in a very similar way and... I'll pass if it's offered to me again 😅.
Hope this helps.👍
@@HomevertHomesteader You may pass if offered again (I'm the same), but in reality, if we ever need the protein, like really need it, our body will make it more tasty to us. Same as with fats, if your body needs fat it will lake things delicious that would normally just be alright in small amounts. A good example of this is butter. Anyone who has gone on a long hike such as the Appalacian Trail, or any of the similarly challenging hikes, knows the body craves certain things at times. Butter under normal situations is enjoyed in relatively small amounts on toast of in a frying pan, but when your body needs the fat, butter becomes more of a candy bar. Thank you for the great video addition on this topic, it's information that far too few people have.
To boil it first helps. The texture is more firm. Like corned beef versus fresh. Woks great with seafood also. I do use brown suger. With course cracked pepper and a little juniper.
@@HomevertHomesteader It's not as bad as it sounds. We would wash it off really good, maybe soak some depending (definitely always soak and boil then fry fat-back), I grew up on a farm where we cured pork and used a salt-box. There's other tips and tricks too.
@@robotmechanic3923 would love to learn more about it.
The reality is that almost every family has their own method for making anything,from soup to cured meat to doughnuts.
The more I learn the more I can come.up.with my own personalized recipes.
That's why I'm always trying to get as much Info out of this conversations 😁.
Mummify it.
Excellent choice of words.
After all, the Egyptians knew how to preserve meat, didn't they?
They did indeed ☺
Thanks for watching Daniel
All the best
Not sure how I never came across your channel before but it’s really wonderful. Looking forward to binging and trying some different things. Thank you!
Thank you Vanir, more cured and smoked videos to come soon.
All the best :D
South Africans do a similar thing called "biltong", with salt, vinegar and spices (black pepper and coriander seed).
It's based on meat more thinly sliced, then air dried, rather than big chunks (which also looks great TBF!). Very delicious thinly sliced and with beer! We usually use beef or game meat but you can use others, some people even use fish, which is surprisingly tasty (like dried anchovies). It is a traditional way of preserving freshly shot meat in Southern Africa where there were no fridges in the "the old days".
Nowadays, what was previously a necessity, is now a delicacy and treat and very expensive, so making your own is a satisfying, cheap and dare I say it, an even more delicious alternative than store bought.
Same in my parts of the world, what was a normal is marketed as an expensive delicacy.
Still, for now nobody is stoping us making these products for out own use, so i hope more people will try to do any project in the kitchen and reclaim a bit of that freedom from the corporation that keep feeding us food like substances that make us sick, infertile and sad.
Have a great one and thanks for sharing your recipes with me and us ☺️
recipe please
Great job explaining the art of curing meat .Thank you !!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for watching and for the feedback - means a lot to me.😍😃
Nice temping piece of meat. Saving this video for future reference. Thank you!
Happy to hear.🙂
Thanks for watching 🙂
Just wanted to say I loved your video. Very cool to see! I'll be trying this.
I'm glad I found your channel. Looks good.
thank you 😊🙂
Love coming across informative videos like this. Great presenting also, subscribed!
Thank you very much - your support is greatly appreciated 😀
I always used a large moving bowl for the first part. That way I can move the piece of meat around easily and not have any salt fall anywhere
Good tip, that k you John 🙂
Great video!
Simple, basic, quality ingredients.
I love it!
Going to try that as soon as possible.
I’ve added you to my charcuterie playlist:)
Awesome! Thank you!
Let me know how it turns out 😃
That's awesome work. I'm going to need to try this. I really like the looks of it when you cut it open! Subbed!
Awesome! Thank you!
More cured and smoked foods videos to come soon.
All the best Richard 🙂👍
I’ll let you know in 8-10 weeks how it goes....! Hope as epic as yours looks
Cant wait to see your result - please share when it's ready 😊😍
Great video, but I'm going to have to watch it again for notes. Thanks bud!
Thank you for the kind words - much appreciated.
All the best 🙏🙂
Excellent video. You are a good teacher. I’m trying this as soon as I can.
Thank you Craig, happy this video inspired you to try a new project .
Let me know how it turns out - working on building my smoke house now so hopefully in the future I'll get some smoked product videos out as well.
All the best 🙏 and thanks for watching.
you can do the same to fish, you just have to rinse it several times until water doesn't taste salty when ready to cook
thank you, Maria, been looking for a good fish recipe
Thank you for watching🙂
You can also cure meat with smoke. Smoking the meat is another way to preserve meat.
Yes but I am concerned with scenarios where we don’t just struggle for food but fight for it and if the world or nation is that bad off, the food found, raised or hunted for will need to be hidden and not in a smoke house unfortunately.
@@demsakawalkinglatetermabor7ion
Aha I gotcha that’s great good job on the video by the way. Just smoked taste sooo good. Lol
@@bryanroye1112 Yeah smoked does taste better. I’m not the CZcamsr in the video by the way. Just passing through like you.
Almost there Bryan - In London in my tiny apartment I couldn't smoke meat - curing meat like that was the only way I could do any meat preservation and practice some old knowledge from my elders.
That's why we made the big jump to leave the city and move to a tiny place far away, where I can garden and raise animals to be more self-sustainable and have the space to cure my products with smoke.
I'm working on building the smokehouse already and as soon as it's done you will see all the smoked
meat, cheese, veggies and fruit videos .
Thanks for watching😊
@@HomevertHomesteader Sounds awesome! Thanks for the info.
You just blew my mind. I want to try this stuff.
That looks very nice. Thank you for the idea. Cheers from Romania!
Thank you Alex.
All the best.
Awesome video. I to cure meats but my process is a bit different than yours, however, I am going to try your process because I love how deep the cure penitents the meat rendering it very useful for many dishes. Thanks for sharing, blessings..
Thanks for the kind words James.
Happy this video was helpful.
Thanks for watching 🙏🙂
Great video,it brought back memories of my grandfather and his salt boxes and smokehouse .You delivered a great and informative video and I'm trying it starting tomorrow.Thanks again and Godspeed.
Awesome, thank you!
Honestly Joseph, I'm fuelled by a similar flame - one lit by my grandparents who thought me this recipes when i was still a kid and that still teach me to this day as I'm blessed to still have my grandma with us.
Thank you for watching
All the best😊
When you tie your final knot, double the turn on the first or start of the knot, then when you pull it tight to finish the knot, it will stay tight so you can finish. Just an old tip from granny.
AMAZING - Thank you for the feedback.
Granny always knows best and those who still have grandparents should treasure them and listen to the wisdom they have to share.
They can save us a lot of time, headache, and heartache if we're willing to listen and learn.
Thanks again for the message and the time to watch.
You are welcome, by the way, Granny has been dead for 60 yrs. My turn to pass on the info.
@@warwick3805 Then I'm grateful for the knowledge you shared.😊
Excellent! I had no idea how to do this Thank you so much!
You're very welcome!😊
Nice work. I've been wanting to try this myself
thank you - give it a try, it's delicious and it's worth it 😉
Just done my first duck cure and just loved it. I liked your approach and explanation on a larger piece of pork so well done..
Thanks
Great work - duck is something i love deeply.
Now i got the opportunity to raise my own ducks and i can't wait until i can cure my own, home raised ducks.
Thank for watching and for the feedback 😊🤠
At 71 I forgot all about curing meat as a boy my grandfather used to do that a lot matter fact all the time they didn't have a fridge
Same here Billy,
My grandparents didn't have a fridge till the beginning of the 90's and they were born in the 30's so they had to cure and preserve everything the old way.
A lot of fermentation, salt curing , smoking, dehydrating and pickling was the norm and I am blessed to still have them now alive and well and sharing all this wisdom with me.
The young generations could learn a lot from they're elders - all about self sufficiency and fixing things instead of throwing it away and buying ''a new one''.
Anyway - thanks for watching Billy.
All the best.
Good demonstration. Thanks for the video. I never knew how to do this.
Glad to help
Happy you enjoyed it.😃
That reminds me of Spanish bocadilla with hamon y queso. Good stuff.
Well, that's one of the biggest compliments this video has ever got - thank you, Allen.
Spanish cured meats and especially Jamon are my favorite of all time.
Take care and thanks for watching 😊👍
Liked and subscribed.thanks for the lesson in preservation. Never did this before.looking forward to trying it.
Happy it inspired you to try it 😁
Have a nice day Tony
Like a beautiful winter sunset.
Couldn't have said it better myself
Thanks for watching😊
I admire your effort , looks great i can even smell it from here. Keep up the good work
Thank you very much!
All the best to you 🙂
I salted my deer hide to preserve it in a hurry, went back to it after winter, and cut off all the meat that was still hanging off, and it looked so good. It was so weird, and I didnt realise what I had just created. Looks just like the thumbnail.
Thanks for this video. looking forward to seeing more food videos from you. Greetings from Sydney Australia
Thank you Heather,
As winter is settling in soon and the garden going to sleep till spring, I will get back to the curing, smoking and cooking videos - I promise 😊
Thank you for watching
Thanks dude. I'm learning how to do this. It's my third video. Take care
Very happy to hear Tom.
These skills are good for any generation and will keep us going.
I appreciate the feedback and your time to watch the video.
All the best 😀
Shake & Bake style in a bag, no mess.
👍
Great job!
This will be amazing with some beans ( not cannned If possible ) cooked in a cast iron cauldron , some onions, some carrots ,some ball peppers , just a splash of Worchester sauce or maple syrup and a good loaf of bread .
Keep it up!
Love the recipe, sounds right up my alley😁🥰
@@HomevertHomesteader You should try it !
It's not a recipe from cooking books ,it's Something my grandmother used to make in winter time. Of course over the years I perfected the recipe , even came up with some emprowed dishes to help those who are feasting or do not eat meat.
If You need help, let me know!
Have a Nice day !
@@ghostoftheash It's definitely on my to do list.
Any recipe that comes from a grandma is gold, no matter the country or culture you come from, grandma's know how to cook and eat the best foods.
Thank you for the recipe,
All the best ;)
I am really interested in doing some curing...and really appreciate the simple straight forward explanation!! Definitely going to use some cayenne on mine!
Great to hear that Melucs,
Let me know in the comments how the project went and how amazingly delicious it will become.
All the best,
yeah we call it biltong america calls it jerky you can also use vinigar hang to dry
🙂
Damn dude the end product looks tasty AF! Great video.
It was - I think I'll make a deal with myself in the next stage of my life.
I can only have meat as long as it's cured meat/smoked and done by me.
That should be interesting and keep me quite busy :D
Thank you for watching and taking the time to leave a comment.
Highly appreciated.
All the best :)
Amazing instructional. Thank you. Beautiful.
Thank you for the feedback and for taking the time to watch it.
All the best 🙂👍
That looks awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching and for the kind words 😍
Thank our friend. What a great job. Yummy! going to try it.
Thank you very much for the kind words.
Please let me know how it turn up if you make the recipe 😉.
God bless you all - and be safe out there ☺️👍
Looks like good old South African biltong. Well done
Thank you
"I'm not an expert when it comes to curing meat."
No sir, you are exactly that. An expert. This meat looks amazing, I wish I could have a bite. :)
Thank you , I really appreciate it.
I believe everyone can try this - it's a bit of a lengthy process but the finished product is worth it.
If you ever try to do it, let me know how it was - hopefully as satisfying as you hoped.:D
Amazing!! Thank you ma! this was so helpful!!
👍🙂
Beautiful mate, well done.
Thank you very much for the kind words,
Very happy you enjoyed it.
All the best Tris (very beautiful name)
Freaking awesome video! Thank you!
Thank you very much for the feedback, much appreciated.
Love your enthusiasm :D
My mouth is watering. I’d love to taste that
😀😀😀 It was amazing and I think that anybody who like meat should try it at least once
Thanks for witching
All the best 😀
Excellent video! I wish you well on your success you are a good teacher! May God bless you and your family!
You are so kind
Thank you for the encouraging words.
All the best to you to and your loved ones Craig.😊
One of the most interesting and relevant videos I’ve ever watched on CZcams!!! Good job!
Thank you for the kind words 🙂
This has my mouth watering by the end.
Thanks for watching and for the kind words.
Happy you enjoyed it :)
@@HomevertHomesteader I’m definitely going to give this a try in the future, I assume I could use the same process on beef also?
@@geordielad4578 yes, with beef works as well, especially because beef is hanged on purpose most times and left to age - a process called dry ageing - to develope more intense flavour and to make the meat more tender.
A dry aging of at least 30 days is appreciated ( the more the better - of course the dry aging happens in a fridge enviorment) among restaurants as it produces a superior product.
I worked in hospitality as a chef for the better part of the last 15 years and dry aged beef was the standard for high quality beef steaks and gourmet burgers meat.
Hope this helps 👍🙂
Thank you for this sharing, but I would like to know : how much is there Italian seasonning ? Thank you for the answer. Have a good day.
Hi Christian
The amount is 10 grams.
Being a dried product, 10 grams may seem like a lot but it also has less aromatic power then a fresh herb mix - hence the volume of herb mix.
I'm currently experimenting with a bunch of whole country hams stored in containers packed in non iodized salt. It seems to be storing well.
Wow,always wanted to cure a whole ham :D
I'm fascinated with the Spanish and Italian methods of curing whole hams.
Do you do anything in particular with them after salt curing?
Would love to learn some tips from people who are actively doing this.
Thanks :D
Great Work Thank you! Made Biltong also similar spiced up.
Thank you for watching 🙂
I'm studying in case of an apocalypse so thanks! Very helpful!
✌
Gorgeous man, try with mustard, keep making more videos🤙✨🍻
Thanks for the kind words Angel.
I will try, I love mustard :D
Thank you for watching 😍
DYI curing is really great. Ty for the vid. May I suggest dropping that shank in a 5 gallon bucket with the salt. No sense playing with it on a tray.
Thank you for the kind words.
The bucket idea sounds great - I did it this way mainly because this is how traditionally my grandma.
I would definitely try this on the next one - maybe it will even help use the salt much efficiently.
Thank you Joseph - I love constructive feedback.
All the best.😊😊
The water that is drawn out of the meat, would just ruin the extra salt. Its better to just waste small amounts of the salt, each time.
I’m loving your channel. This whole other way of preserving looks wonderful. I enjoy charcuterie boards….yum. Love from Australia 🇦🇺💕☺️
You're to kind, thank you :)
I love charcouterie products, and its the primary way I eat meat lately.
I've reduced the meat amount and eat it only on the weekend, hence it serves me very well to eat a tiny bit of delicious homemade/cured meat that is full of flavour and good microbiome, then to have a massive steak often - no judgement on who does it.
Thank you for the interest and the kind words Kim, have a great week 🙂
Ps
I have an entire playlist dedicated to charcouterie and cured/aged meat products if you are interested.
czcams.com/play/PLOgVAdfi8D71O4g3jY9T3SdcMQq-MR8tK.html&si=4XY6ONm7LA0swd9Q
Hope it helps and you will become as food secure and self sufficient as you want to.
Take care and God Bless.
I was wondering why you did not cut away all that excess fat. You could have used it for cooking or rendered it (melted it) and used it for cooking or making suet. Here's the funny thing, people use fat to make pemmican, but oil and fat also go rancid thus the reason nuts do not last long (except they do in pemmican), so I would figure that removing the extra fat would make the meat last longer.
It's confusing, but worth thinking about.
Good point, just this piece didn't last to long.
In my experience as a chef, the fat is where slot of the flavor is, and if cured properly the fat will last as well, as long as it's kept in the right conditions.
If there was enough fat, then rendering it would have made sense but on this piece of meat specifically, maybe there was 100g of fat, hence i kept it for flavor and for future cooking in a dish as a whole.
Back home we preserve in rendered fat the bulk of the hog meat when we sacrifice it for Christmas, we smoke the muscles, the hams, use all the body parts to make speciality charcuterie products but the main amount of meat is cooked, and preserved in containers that get melted fat on top of the meat.
Once the fat solidifies, the food stays good for about 6 months if kept in the right conditions, fridge , root cellar, pantry as long as it away from direct sun, and the temperature is between 5 and 8 Celsius constantly.
After about 6 months the fat can go rancid but the meat pieces inside it are still good and don't take any nasty flavor from the fat.
I grew up on this, as the family had one hog for the entire year and the meat had to last at least from December till June, July when the garden would produce fruits and veg and the birds start laying eggs.
Thanks for the good info, very on topic.
🙂
great work mate. wasnt expecting the cut to look that good !
Thank you for the feedback.
All the best.😃
Great video! Learned a lot and subscribed to your channel. With food prices blowing up, think there will be more folks looking for options to grow/fish/hunt and preserve food at home if they are lucky enough to be able to do that. Keep it up and hope your fan base grows!
Thank you, Jim,
As a lifetime prepper myself I agree with you fully.
The reason we moved away from London to a tiny town in east Europe was to have a more hands-on approach to our food supply and on the chemicals that go into it ( you know the toxic stuff from supermarkets)
At the moment I'm growing about 35 to 40% of our food in a small garden, soon to be 70% as the main crops will mature, with the hope of adding livestock within weeks and expanding our menu with more cured, smoked, and preserved meats.🍇🍓🍈🍒🍑🍅🍆
In London I was growing a decent amount of fruits and veggies in planters DIY'd from free pallet wood and that's a good solution for all those in city areas without the option to garden in a larger space.😊
The reality is that if you really weren't to be more self reliant you can do it anywhere 😉
Thank you again for your support and kind words
All the best to you 😀
@@HomevertHomesteader I am not trying to be difficult, but I could have sworn the wood from pallets has been treated...? I mean pallets are a great source for building and stuff, but I have always been afraid to use them for food related projects. When I say treated, I mean with pesticides for termites and stuff to make it longlasting in the elements. I am under the impression that these chemicals leech, especially when it's been raining. I could be wrong.
@@googleyeyes5122 I think most pallets are made as cheap as possible without any kind of treatment from the majority of the ones I have seen, but I haven't looked up the information on them, I just know that they rot in the yard and ants and termites live in them along with other insects.
@@SW-ii5gg interesting. I am so used to looking at where they are coming from and where they are stacked that I never notice termites. I am pretty sure, though that all wood (as fresh timber) has to be treated before becoming lumber, with the exception of the heat treated wood used for camping. Even that is to kill anything that can destroy wildlife. But I am going to look this up (it's probably an episode of How It's Made 😁)
Thanks!
@@SW-ii5gg turns out he totally covers this in another video.
czcams.com/video/-sW1T3GSjAM/video.html mark 14:30 Really useful info!
That was interesting. Thanks for sharing! 👍
Thank you for your time 😀
All the best 🍀
Awesome video man!
Thank you very much
Happy you liked it
All the best 🙂👍
I love the H.R. Giger book on your shelf.
Great attention to detail Leandro,
Thanks for watching 🙂🙂
I always shied away from salt because I didn't want salty meat (tho I love salt!). This is a great tutorial even for a first try. I'm going to do it in an outdoor winter greenhouse with temps that drop to 40F at night and see how it goes. Good thing bears hibernate in winter! Maybe that's why they do this to cure in that season :D
Such a interesting observation about the bears - never thought about this though I am familiar with these animals(back home they walk through my garden sometimes)
But yes - I recommend trying it and in the greenhouse in the winter - that sounds fantastic - I might try it as well this winter and see how it will develop.
Thank you for the fresh view on this and if you do try it let me know how it went 😊
All the best
I was thinking about greenhouse chilling .... the problem would be consistent cooling since unheated greenhouses usually have highs and lows.
For instance, I'm making an experimental 'cold' greenhouse out of my back porch during winter (and we get snow up here in Michigan zone 5) The winter hardy plants (mostly lettuces) will be inside split and retaped plastic milk cartons for warmth, with clear plastic sheets around the porch (floor and ceiling covered too) for greenhouse effect, but since it won't be heated other than solar. With angled and brief 24 degree winter sun during the day and somewhat chilled at night, then I believe meat will not drop below 40F though it may drop below freezing temps on occasion. I have a remote thermometer probe to check temps from indoors, so if it gets too warm out there, I'll put it in the fridge. Thermometers like that are handy and run about 35 USD on AMZ.
If that doesn't work out, next year I might have to choose a location outside the house in constant winter north shade, and build a mini-greenhouse just for preserving meat as a cold house. Well out of mouse range of course ;)
I can't see taking up fridge room if there's already a refrigerator in all the great outdoors for free 3 months of the year already. The greenhouse shelter would be needed to keep it from freezing instead of brine curing. I suppose a winter garage would work too, provided it doesn't reek with gasoline fumes, or temps get too warm.
Dunno. Seems like there's a lot of experimenting to be done to be sure :D
If you use the Himalayan salt , you’re getting minerals your body needs and it’s way less sodium then what’s used in most places . It prevents dry hydration for one . Blessings to you !
You have to have salt….. unless you love to eat bacteria
I like the fact that you left fat on it. People think fat goes rancid, which is not true at all. Fat actually almost never goes rancid. Specially if there is no wetness
So true
Fat goes rancid if moisture is too high and when a lot of time has passed. (1 year or more)
The problem is my cured meats never last that long 😅😂
Every time we have guests, they beg me to take out some of them and make a charcuterie board, so between the guests and us - I am on constant curing meat duty.
P.S
If done properly, the curing process transforms the fat into a flavor factory and compliments the meat nicely.
Thank you for the message
Thank you for sharing, definitely going to try. My family came from that region turn of century. Look forward to more videos.
Great to hear that Traci ☺️
Got some more videos on homage and preserved meat products already on the channel - have a look at them when you have time.
Thanks for watching 🙂
I’ve tried a variety of curing techniques using salt, short term and long. Two weeks ago I dry brined a beef tenderloin on a suggestion from a chef friend who is renowned in NYC. I’ve come to the conclusion, and this is just for me, that salt curing, dry brining is not for me. When the meat is finally cooked it’s way too salty. I don’t like that, I.e., I do not like tasting the salt. I cooked a full prime rib rack today for 35 minutes at 400 with nothing added, no garlic, salt or pepper. I didn’t even baste it. Just delicious. Magnificent! The meat was tender, juicy, lousy with sumptuous meat taste. I’m asking you respectfully, why salt the meat so it tastes salty? That may sound like a dumb question, but I’m not asking that out of the blue with no experience. On the contrary.
Hey Dan,
In my experience, there are no dumb questions.
I cured the meat with salt because:
1: I love the flavor of salt-cured meats in general - grew up on them as my grandparents were preserving their meats like this because of tradition, flavor, practicality( in the winter the attic was cold and a perfect place to salt cure meat and hang it to keep the space in the fridge for other foods and dishes)
I love products like prosciutto, parma ham, Jamon Iberico, and other traditional salt-cured, dry-cured, smoked products because I can have a tiny bit and feel satisfied by the flavour and not the quantity.
2: I am fascinated with learning and sharing knowledge about older ways of living, thriving, and preserving food from a time when refrigeration wasn't a thing when humanity had to ferment, salt, smoke, and dry the harvest they got and had to preserve the meat from their animals to last for a long, long time until the next harvest and the hog is read.
At the end of the day, I guess it's a taste/preference thing and the fact that we have so many options,, variety and inspiration to tap into is great.
Hope this somehow answers your question😊
You can pre boil salted meat to get rid of excess salt before cooking.
@@R0m0n3 that's a good point 👍
Great territorial. The meat looks so delicious.
Thank you,
We just finished it and I would recommend to anyone to try curing their own piece of meat at least once, for the experience.
The taste is a bonus, but in these days that we live in now, where the supermarket has all our needs and we love comfort above everything else, to actually cook your meals and cure your meat, give you a really fulfilling feel, that is so rare these days.
All the best.
Howdy, Brother! This was a great tutorial and I truly appreciate all your time and effort. Nicely done!
Thank you very much Robert, I appreciate your time and enthusiasm.
Keep on being amazing.
All the best to you too brother.
Thank you! Im going to buy a fridge today just for curing. 😅 Liked and subscribed
He he, you don't have to.
Use what you have, where you are and that's good enough.
Now of you do want to get something for curing meat, look into a wine cooler ( a more modern one with moisture and temp control)
you will have the best results and delicious cured products
If I had the $$$ now, that's what I would do.😉
Thanks for your time
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing this information. I believe I could smell the aroma right on my computer! 😏
P.S. I like to vacuum seal my meats and freeze them that way.
Thanks for watching!
I vacuum and freeze smaller pieces as well 😊
It's a great way to keep different projects and come back to them and compare them with the other ones
All the best😊
Oh wow I thought at some point you were going to cook it. I had no idea you could eat pork raw like that.
Hey Ryan,
If the process is falowed properly the meat is safe to eat due to the salt curing, the lost of moisture 35 to 40 % of the weight after the salt curing and because the entire process was done in the fridge at a temperature between 3 and 7 degrees Celsius.
All these factors contribute to a safe to eat product.
Hope this helps 👍and thanks for watching 🙂
@@HomevertHomesteader here’s how Europe got the plague...pork eating! Sure it tastes delicious...I don’t eat pork, I want to do beef 🥩! Great teaching, thanks! I’ve now subscribed
Pretty awesome bro. I've been wanting to see how they do that! Thank you so much.
Glad to help Marc,
Thank you for watching
All the best ☺
Thanks for sharing.
Never cured any meat before
After you salt when you put in fridge water collect in tray maybe put a rack so as it drain the meat is kept dry.
Recipe for spice in tablespoon/cup. Can't guess in %.
When do you put slit the skin?
Temperature in fridge? Many ppl have lots of stuff in fridge & opening/closing will affect temperature.
Good video. Enjoy watching it.
Thank you for watching.
So:
Measurements are in grams mainly because where I'm from the metric system is the one i learned and use.
Quick Google converts grams to spoons and cups.
I do this for when i do recipes that use the imperial system.
I don't cut the skin as it keeps the piece of meat together better.
It can be cut after the product is done, but i love the skin and enjoy it, so i keep it on.
The temperature in the fridge is a strady 5 Celsius, and yes the door opens from time to time but it's not like it's a restaurant fridge where it opens every 5 min.
The curing process happens due to air that dehydrates the meat to make it shelf stable and that salt that makes it un-desirable for spoil bacteria and fungi.
The trick is to weigh the meat after the initial salting and hang it till it looses 35 to 40 % of that weight.
Again easy to calculate% with Google.
Just Google "what's 35% of 2000 grams ( or 2 kg piece of meat).
Then wheigh it after About a month and see where you are.
At the time.of the video we were living in a apartment in the middle of London, and curing meat outside, smoking it or doing any of the "normal" procedures couldent work as my landlord would kick me out 😅.
So i came out with this method to still make my own food and help others who are in the same situation.
Since then we moved closer to nature and now i can cure meat properly with smoking, air drying, using winter as a fridge instead my fridge and so on.
Thanks for watching Odelia,and hope this message helps 🙂
Nice video man! I have not yet dried ham but I have made Biltong which is dried and spiced beef. Also soaked in salt and spiced before hanged in a dryer. The dryer is made of a cardbord box with a 40 W light bulb as power source. Takes about 5 days
Hello Henrik - thanks for the advice 😍
Quite a few people are mentioning Biltong (must be amazing) and ill definitely give it a try soon.
Winter is almost here and the garden will go to rest till spring leaving me with a whole 4 months of meat preservation experiments to play with - so exciting 😀😃
Thanks for watching and for the suggestion - all the best
Can you put it into a dehydrator?
@@HomevertHomesteader does anyone know how to make dry rendang it’s something that my exwife bought me in Malaysia 🇲🇾 it was delicious but I ate it as it was it looks like handrolling tobacco but it’s full of spices and they make chicken and beef rendang and the men would take it with them if they were on the warpath I suppose you would call it
@@alundavies8402 unfortunately can't say I do.
I googled it and it seems to be mainly a paste.
I assume anything can be dried/dehydrated just not sure how it will store.
Let's just leave it to the community and see if anyone has any advice or has done something similar 😉🙂.
@@HomevertHomesteader the paste is for rendang type curry
Rendang dried is what the merchant and soldier would take on long journeys it’s got the look of tobacco to it and is very Moreish
I love your description of this video. It's so funny and relatable. The emojis made me laugh. I will watch some more of your videos... See how many more times you choke on spice. 😂 That happens to me all the time, by the way!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Cooking is fun and should be seen as that, of course, health and safety and food safety is essential(been a chef for 15 years so I know very week the importance of this) but the fun is a key component.
Thanks for watching 😍
Subscribed to your channel very great video thank you for sharing. Hope to see more videos.
Amazing, thank you 😊
Nice video! I’ve got a small cellar which I’m going to try this in.
That's great Ian, wish I had one of those. 😃
Let me know how it will turn up when it's done and Enjoy..
Thanks for watching😊