How to Cure Meat
Whether you're out in the wild or just hungry at home, use this recipe and ordinary household ingredients to cure your own meats for jerky.
Instructions
- Step 1: Combine dry ingredients Combine the salt, brown sugar, pepper, herbs, and saltpeter. Make sure the saltpeter is thoroughly mixed in.
- Step 2: Make brine solution Chill the water to 38 degrees Fahrenheit and add the dry ingredients. This is your brine solution.
- Step 3: Wash and trim meat Thoroughly wash the meat and pat it dry. Then cut away any fat or waste.
- Step 4: Soak the meat in the brine Submerge the meat in the brine solution. Keep the meat from floating above the brine by weighing it down with a heavy plate. Cover the meat and let it soak in the brine for four to six days, keeping it between 30 and 50 degrees.
- TIP: If you're impatient or in a hurry, you can inject the meat into the brine solution with a turkey baster.
- Step 5: Wash and refrigerate Remove the meat from the brine solution, wash it under cold running water, and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat.
- FACT: Salt containing nitrates was used as long ago as 850 B.C.E. to preserve meat.
You Will Need
- 1 c. salt
- 1/4 c. light brown sugar
- Black pepper
- Fresh herbs
- 1/4 oz. saltpeter
- Cold water
- Rack of meat
- Heavy plate
- Turkey baster (optional)
