Salting Meat

Meat can be preserved for long-term storage by using salt. This can only be done with beef, pork, lamb, etc. It is not to be done with poultry or fish as it is not safe with those meats.

The result of this process is to preserve meats for use later. The meat will still need to be cooked at that time.

1. Obtain rock or mineral salt. Do not use pink salt, iodized salt, table salt, etc. as they all contain additives we don’t want added to our meat.
2. Weigh the amount of meat you’re salt curing. This is important so we can measure the amount of moisture lost through the process (the whole point of this process).
3. Heat the salt in a pot so that all moisture is evaporated out and the salt is to approximately 212°F.
4. Take a pot and layer salt and meat inside. Ensure all the meat is completely covered with salt.
5. Place the pot into a dry, cold, dark place and leave it for 2 days.
6. Remove the meat from the pot and wash them off. The salt will be wet, and the meat will look grey. Remove all the excess salt.
7. Optionally, season the meat.
8. Optionally, the meat can be smoked for 3 hours to give additional flavor and another layer of protection.
9. Hang the meat in a cool, dry, dark place and let them dry for approximately 2 weeks. The meat must weigh less than 66% of their original weight to be complete.

The salt used to cure the meat can be reused. To do this:

1. Add water to the pot of salt and stir it well.
2. Drain all the water off.
3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 as needed.
4. Place the salt into an oven-safe pot.
5. Place the pot into the oven and cook at 1 hr at max temperature (about 500°F).