How Much Curing Salt Per Pound of Meat?
Today, salting a slab of meat is a very important practice that needs to be discussed and understood when dealing with food preservation. There are many ways in which to deal with salt curing a foodstuff and a cook should be knowledgeable in the process so as to make the process as efficient as possible.
First, know your purpose. You are attempting to cure the meat in order to preserve it for later use, as opposed to simply to flavor it. Your goal is to restore moisture and flavor to your meat while preventing it from spoiling.
Salt curing is usually done by either wet or dry curing. A wet curing technique involves adding salt directly to the meat, whereas a dry method will dry the meat by packing the meat into salt. In order to prevent salting meat while preserving it, you should go by the rules of the competition by using dry salt.
Dry salt is somewhat expensive and does not contain moisture so it provides the best effect, but you do need to know how much salt per pound of meat you are using to ensure proper curing time. A good rule of thumb to follow is to start with a tablespoon of salt per pound of meat and increase by a tablespoon until you get to the desired temperature.
Secondly, you should set your crock pot for the proper curing time, such as overnight or one hour. This is to allow for the salt to penetrate and the flavor to develop for several hours.
This is a good way to prevent the moisture evaporating from the meat during curing. Keep in mind that the moisture evaporates from the meat as it cooks, which is why its important to have the proper air flow, but you can have that too. By placing a wet towel underneath the crock pot, you will be able to circulate the air from under the meat to keep it moist.
Another consideration is the amount of curing salt that you would like to use. Start with what you think will be adequate to make it to your final point.
Next, its time to plan the process and choose the appropriate salt to use. Some salting methods involve soaking the meat in brine or salt, so there is a standard amount of salt to use.
For a salt brine method, the salt brine is traditionally made by using a ratio of two parts salt to one part water. This salt brine is absorbed by the meat and then a layer of salt is spread over the surface of the meat and allowed to soak in for about twenty-four hours.
In order to completely prevent the excess salt from evaporating, you must leave the meat in the brine overnight. While some recipes recommend one hour or less for the brine to absorb, it is never bad to leave the meat overnight if you are unsure whether youll need to cure overnight or not.
Remember, the best practice for using salt brine and curing salt is to use an adequate amount of brine for the amount of meat you want to say. When using this method, the remaining time depends on how much the salt has soaked into the meat, which is why its always good to include this step in your general Curing Salt Weight Per Pound method.
