Salting, Curing & Smoking
Janice C. Laforteza, M.Sc.
Faculty, Dept. of Food Science & Technology
Salting
Salting is a process for preserving meat and vegetables and has been around for a very long time. In fact, it ’s probably as
old as using the sun to dry foods. Salt dries things out. Certain types of bacteria and other spoilage microorganisms thrive in
moist environments. By depriving them of water, you cause them to dry up and either go dormant or die.
Today, salting is more of a decision point in food preservation than a goal. It ’s the fork in the road at the intersection of pickling
and smoking. It ’s a useful emergency measure if you’ve no other way to put up food, but it leaches nutrients out of foods that
then require freshening to remove as much salt as possible before the food is usable.
Freshening – the process of rinsing and soaking meat or veggies in cold water to remove as much salt as possible before
cooking.
Principles of Salting Meat
Certain cuts of meat lend themselves more readily to salting than others. For example, in beef, the brisket, round, chuck,
and plate cuts are the most common. In pork, the ham, shoulders, and belly are good candidates.
The purpose is to draw out as much moisture as possible from the meat to prevent spoilage. To accomplish this you’ll dry
salt the meat, packing in as much salt as necessary.
EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES: Meat, salt, sugar in some cases, and a salting box
SALTING MEAT
Dry Cure Rub: 8lbs salt and 3 lbs sugar, 2 oz sodium nitrate and ½ oz sodium nitrite
For Pork : Use 1 oz of the cure mixture per each pound of meat. Divide this amount by the
number of times the meat needs to be rubbed with it. Rub this into the meat at 3-5
intervals. Hams should get the rub three times, picnic and butt roasts needs two rubs,
and the belly gest just one. The cure takes 1 week for each inch of thickness of the meat.
Procedure: Lay down a layer of salt in a wooden box, barrel or crate. Then rub salt into
the pieces of meat and place them on top of the salt layer in the salting box. Add a layer
of salt on top of the meat. Ten rub salt and whatever spices you want into the meat that’s
going into the next layer, add it to the salting box and add a layer of salt to that.
Continue the layering process until all the meat has been salted and boxed, ending with a layer of salt.
Be careful that the pieces of meat do not touch each other. Keep the meat between 32F to 40F
during the curing process.
You can also dissolve the dry-cure mix in water to make a brine or pickling solution. Place the met in a
watertight container or vat and cover it with the brine. Change the brine every 7 days to prevent
spoilage. This process takes longer than dry curing – a minimum of 28 days. You can expect it take
about 4 days for each pound of meat.
When you are ready to use the meat, check each piece over carefully to be sure it has not spoiled. If
the meat is bone-in, pierce the meat along the bone and check for a fresh smell. If you detect any
off odor, dispose of the meat . If the meat is good, rinse it thoroughly and check again. Look for soft
spots, an off odor, or other signs of spoilage. If you detect any, throw the meat away.
After the cure is completed, the meat should be either eaten, frozen, or smoked.
SMOKING
Smoking not only imparts a wonderful aroma to food, it’s also a preservative. Heat produced by
the smoking process helps to dry the food, and this keeps harmful water-dependent microorganisms
from growing and multiplying. Additionally , chemicals produced by the smoke kill insects or insect
eggs.
Smoking generally follows salting. Once foods have been salted, they are ready for the finishing
touch of the smokehouse. Meat, poultry, fish, and occasionally cheeses are good candidates for
smoking.
The most commonly used woods for smoking are apple, hickory, and maple, otherwise, you
may use woods bought at the hardware store as chips or flakes. Before using chips or
flakes soak them in water to prevent them from burning up the minute you set them on the
fire. You add these chips to the charcoal in small amounts – about ½ cup – to get that
good aroma going.
Charcoal is also useful for smoking, but be selective. Cheaper charcoal can be made from
compressed sawdust and other wood waste products that are glued together and then burned
to achieve the charcoal appearance. Following the firing process, they are saturated with
lighter fluid – these are the “quick start” briquettes. Avoid them.
Real charcoal is simply wood that’s been cooked in a metal kiln or metal barrel by indirect
heat so that the gases are driven out.
Cold Smoke
This is the process most often used with foods that have been salted. Cold smoking is the traditional method
used in the smokehouse. It does not cook the cured meat; rather, it helps to increase its dryness and keeps it
from turning rancid while at the same time giving it that characteristic smoky flavor.
Temperatures in a cold smoke for meats range from 70F to 120F – most are usually around 100F. It’s best
not to interrupt the smoking process, but if you must, refrigerate the meat until you can resume. After
smoking is completed (it takes days), the meat is wrapped for storing in a cool, dry place or is placed in the
freezer (the better choice). If your winter climate is severe, you want to avoid having your smoked meat
freeze, thaw, refreeze, etc. This causes the quality to deteriorate, so it’s best to either use the meat or freeze
it.
HOT SMOKE
This is the process most often used with foods that are fresh or have been previously frozen. Hot
smoking, uses higher temperatures than cold smoking. In addition to giving the meat a smoky
flavor, this process cures the meat so that, at the end of the smoking period, it’s either ready to eat
or requires minimal cooking to make it table ready. If you’re interested in hot smoking, invest on a
portable smoker.
Curing involves the application
of salt, sugar, nitrate and nitrite
to prolong the keeping quality
of meat. Other substances like
various sugars, spices, vinegar
and wine may be used for
different types of cure but are
only effective when used in
large quantities. Vinegar and
the essential oils in spices do
retard bacterial growth.
INGREDIENTS USED IN CURING PROCESSING
1. Salt, the primary ingredient used in meat curing, makes up the
bulk of the curing mixture. Functions as a preservative and
provides meat a desirable flavor. It also plays a role in the
binding of meat products by improving the ability of the meat
proteins to retain either their normal moisture content or added
water.
2. Sugar, a secondary ingredient in the curing formula, counteracts
the astringent quality of salt, enhances the flavor of the
product and aids in lowering the pH of the cure. Refined cane
sugar is most suitable since brown sugar caramelizes at a
lower temperature and tends to darken the meat on cooking.
Large amount of sugar on prolonged curing, however, promotes
vigorous microbial growth which usually causes acid
fermentation that affects product palatability and color.
3. Nitrates – Potassium nitrate (genuine saltpeter) and sodium
nitrate (Chile saltpeter) are color fixation agents or substances
responsible for the development of the proper color in cured meat
products. Nitrates and nitrites have a pronounced effect on flavor.
Without them a cured ham would simply be a salty pork roast. They
further flavor by acting as powerful antioxidants (substances that
oppose oxidation or inhibit reactions promoted by oxygen, thus,
retarding the development of rancidity).
Nitrate in itself is not effective in producing the curing reaction until
it is first broken down into nitrite. This is a slow process and is
usually dependent upon bacterial action. With the need for rapid
curing to meet today’s modern processing schedules, nitrite, instead
of nitrate, may be added directly.
4. Ascorbic acid (500mg) speeds up the curing
reaction and fights carcinogens present in the
preserved meat. The permissible level for this
additive is 7 ½ oz of ascorbic acid or its salt form
to 160 gal of pickle, or ¾ oz per 100 lbs of sausage
meat or emulsion, or 500 mg per kg of meat.
5. Vinegar is added for flavor but it also
has some antiseptic value. It therefore
aids in prolonging the shelf-life of the
finished product. The acetic acid
content of vinegar should be between
4.5% – 5%.
8. Binders, fillers, emulsifiers. The main reason for the popular use of these intentional
additives is one of economics. Flours, milk products, and cereals when added proportionately
do not cause any radical change in the quality of the product and in some cases, actually
improve its characteristics such as texture, appearance, sliceability and plumpness. They also
prevent shriveling and shrinkage to a certain extent.
9. Other ingredients. Anisado wine, monosodium glutamate (vetsin) soy sauce and food color
are added to further improve the flavor and appearance of the product.
