Curing meat

[highpockets]

I was wondering how many of you salt and smoke cure your meat.  I think it may be late in the winter to start but I've always wanted to do it.  That is if I can steal a hog.

[Mooseherder]

If you want to try a purty good salt brine for curing.
Use canning or Kosher salt. For pork, we would take a 5 gallon bucket filled with water. You can use a smaller bucket if you don't have room for the 5 gallon bucket. Put enough salt in and stir. When you can float a raw egg dats enough salt. Other spices are optional. Leave in brine bucket/refrigeration for a week, then make a boiled dinner with greens like fiddleheads, green beans or cabbage. Guaranteed delicious or your money back. :D

[Qweaver]

We usually make corned deer and beef brisket right after hunting season.  I love corned deer for making Rubins and corned beef/deer and cabbage.  I'll post my recipe if there is any interest.
Quinton

[Norm]

I'd like to hear it Qweaver.

[Woodcarver]

I'd be interested in that recipe, Quinton.  I enjoy a good rubin.  We make our own saurkraut. Would enjoy making the rest of the fixins as well. digin1

[Qweaver]

Here is the recipe, we really like it

CORNED BEEF/DEER

The meat for this recipe can be either beef or deer.  If using beef brisket, remove all fat.

3 oz. (6 tablespoons) Morton's CURE-TENDER OR TENDER QUICK

10 oz. (1 ¼ CUPS)  Table Salt

10 oz. (1 ¼ cups) Morton's SUGAR CURE or 12 Tlbs sugar and 8 Tlbs  salt.

3 oz. McCormick Mixed Pickling Spices

5 Quarts Water

Mix the table salt, Cure Tender, Sugar Cure and water in a crock or plastic bowl (no metal) I use a large plastic container with a screw on lid to cure the meat in.  (the container that dog treats come is ideal)

Using a large syringe, inject the meat with the solution.
Add  the Pickling Spices to the mixture and place the meat into the solution.  If using a crock or other container with an open top, use a heavy plate to keep the meat submerged.

Allow the meat to cure, refrigerated, for at least 5 days and up to 10 days to insure a complete cure. I shake and turn the container over every few days.

To Cook:  Remove the meat from the solution, rinse and place in a pot with enough UNSEASONED water to cover the top of the meat.  Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for three hours.  Cabbage may be placed on top of the meat during the last 15 minutes of cooking.  If you like a little heat in your meat, :D add your favorite heat producing spice to the meat during the cooking process
The cooked meat freezes quite well.

IT WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT AND WORK

[Mooseherder]

Just so happen to have some cured meat. Corned Beef that the lovely wife had in da fridge tonight. It was good just the same even if it was store bought. ;D

Corned Beef on Rye, dats livin'. :D

[WDH]

Qweaver, I have got to try that !

[Qweaver]

Note that I added REFRIGERATED to the recipe, so if you printed it out you'll want to add that.
Quinton

[Bill in U.P.]

Bear roast works very good for corning also. Tastes just like corned beef. I used a recipe almost identical to the one posted.

[WDH]

I have had a hard time with the wild hogs on my property.  I have tried to eat them like a normal hog, and you can't do that.  Not much fat on them at all, and the fat is not good fat like a fed-out porker.  The meat is also so tough that about all you can do is grind sausage or make pulled-BBQ ( and even the BBQ is tough).  Anyway, this might be a stupid question, but how about corning wild pork?  Anyone ever done that and is it even worth considering?

[Tom]

About the only thing I know to do with wild pig that don't do with fed pork is "Shoot them when they are asleep".   My Granddad, Flem Dame, told me that.  It keeps the gaminess down.  :D

[Jeff]

Bear roast works very good for corning also. Tastes just like corned beef. I used a recipe almost identical to the one posted.

I wouldn't know.  Bill, Bearkraft or Washere or one of them guys didnt put you up to mentioning Bear did they? ;)

[WDH]

I have never seen a wild hog sleeping.  I am clearly going to have to modify my hunting methodology.....................

[Burlkraft]

Bear roast works very good for corning also. Tastes just like corned beef. I used a recipe almost identical to the one posted.

I wouldn't know.  Bill, Bearkraft or Washere or one of them guys didnt put you up to mentioning Bear did they? ;)

That wasn't even fair......accuse US.... ??? ??? ??? :D :D :D smiley_angel02_wings smiley_angel02_wings smiley_angel02_wings

[Jeff]

I dont recall mentioning your name... :D ;)

[Burlkraft]

Oh...Sorry......I just lost my head..... ;D ;D ;D

[Jeff]

I think I found it. Is it mounted on a board and looks a little like yogi?

[highpockets]

I saw an old lady (91) at our church today. I asked her what she knew about curing meat.  She said that when she was young, they normally killed about 6 hogs at a time. She said they had a large box where they cut the meat into hams, middlings, etc. and salted down for some time. Then they hung it in the smokehouse for sometime.  I have gotten different comments for the (sometime) some say 2 days and other say two weeks.

[PineNut]

I remember my dad curing pork in salt. Hogs would have to be killed in cold weather so the meat would not spoil until it was cured. The meat would be packed in salt in a large wood box. I don't remember just how long it was in the salt but seems like it was about four to six weeks. Then it would be removed, the salt washed off the surface ant then hung in the "smoke house". We never did actually smoke it. It was kept in the smoke house until we were ready to eat it. It would keep up into the summer and would be rather dry. Some times we had problems with worms (skippers as he called them) getting into the meat. We tried our best to keep flies away from the meat, sometimes placing it in cloth bags with straw around the meat to keep it away from the bags. I do remember that the meat was very salty.

[TexasTimbers]

I can't add anything to the thread cause I don't know nothin about it. But I'm still up with the coughing/hacking fits can't even lie down - and so it's a good opportunity to say howdy to you highpockets. Howdy. How ya been?

[highpockets]

Well thanks for the note. I too have been coughing and hacking for nie on two weeks.  I found out about some new (to me) mucinex that seems to be doing some good.  Since Siberia I have a lot problem with my toes and fingers going numb so I try to stay in when it is cold. 

As for the meat curing, I think I'll consider building a small smokehouse this summer.  That'll give me some time to figure out where I can steal a hog to smoke next winter. 

Hope you get to feeling better.  If not drop by for some muscadine wine.

[scgargoyle]

Here is the recipe, we really like it

CORNED BEEF/DEER

The meat for this recipe can be either beef or deer.  If using beef brisket, remove all fat.

3 oz. (6 tablespoons) Morton's CURE-TENDER OR TENDER QUICK

10 oz. (1 ¼ CUPS)  Table Salt

10 oz. (1 ¼ cups) Morton's SUGAR CURE or 12 Tlbs sugar and 8 Tlbs  salt.

3 oz. McCormick Mixed Pickling Spices

5 Quarts Water

Mix the table salt, Cure Tender, Sugar Cure and water in a crock or plastic bowl (no metal) I use a large plastic container with a screw on lid to cure the meat in.  (the container that dog treats come is ideal)

Using a large syringe, inject the meat with the solution.
Add  the Pickling Spices to the mixture and place the meat into the solution.  If using a crock or other container with an open top, use a heavy plate to keep the meat submerged.

Allow the meat to cure, refrigerated, for at least 5 days and up to 10 days to insure a complete cure. I shake and turn the container over every few days.

To Cook:  Remove the meat from the solution, rinse and place in a pot with enough UNSEASONED water to cover the top of the meat.  Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for three hours.  Cabbage may be placed on top of the meat during the last 15 minutes of cooking.  If you like a little heat in your meat, :D add your favorite heat producing spice to the meat during the cooking process
The cooked meat freezes quite well.

IT WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT AND WORK

Thanks for the recipe, Qweaver! We just had our first homemade corned beef yesterday, and it was well worth the wait. Next up, we'll try pork.

[WDH]

Qweaver, I am going to try that with deer this fall when the fresh supply comes in. 

[Slabs]

Since this thead has held in here for a while maybe I should add my experience with curing and smoking.

I was a slughter-house tycoon in a previous life and had a smokehouse and curing operation to accomodate my custom-slaughter customers.  We "cured" the pork hams, shoulders and "middlins" by pumping a brine solution into the hams and shoulders and rubbing the middlins (bacon sides) with a commercially prepared curing product.  The product was mostly salt with some sugar and preservatives and probably other ingredients that I didn't pay attention to.  To of the ingredients that I did pay attention to were sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite for color and flavor retention.  Don't know if those chemicals are still used or even legal.  We left the pumped and rubbed meat in a bin for 14-21 days at 40 degrees,  throughly washed it in hot water afterward and hung it in the "smokehouse" under gas heat and hickory smoke for two-and-a-half days.  Then back under refrigeration until it was sliced and packaged.  (hot meat slices poorly)

If there is one warning that I might emphacise it would be to take care to assure that the curing material gets  throughly aroound the bones and joints in the hams and shoulders.  Dissolved material can be easily pumped into the bone and joints but dry salt and seasonings must be stuffed well into the areas surrounding the bones and joints by opening up around bones with a knife and forcing material well into the meat.

I have had failures even with professional equipment that resulted in spoiled meat so be extremely careful and discard any suspect product.

Good luck