Curing Meats for Smoking
The best quality smoked meats and sausages are made from cured meat. Fresh sausages, blood sausages, liver sausages are usually made from uncured meat, although meats (for example tongues) for some head cheeses are cured in order to make them pink and more visible. The general rule, however, remains the same, meats that will be smoked should be cured first. Curing meat not only develops a pink color, but what is more important it develops a characteristic curing flavor in smoked meats.
Some of the meat cuts listed below might not available for a hobbyist, however, a farmer who slaughters his own animals will definitely find the information useful.
Dry Curing and Salting
The cuts that don't contain meat (and myoglobin) such as back fat or fat trimmings are cured with salt only. Sodium nitrite reacts with myoglobin (meat) so it will be wasted when added to fat. In addition, the customer will have to eat it.
Salting Back Fat for Smoking
Back fat should be as thick as possible, 1.5 inch (30 mm), including the skin. There is no need for adding nitrite/nitrate as backfat does not contain meat and myoglobin. There is nothing for the nitrite to react with.
About 7% salt total is used in relation to the weight of back fat (70 g salt for 1 kg of back fat). The salt is applied in two stages: 50 g (5%) of salt is rubbed in into 1 kg of back fat. Some salt is sprinkled on the bottom of container, then back fat is placed the skin down. Then the second back fat goes on top (skin down) etc. The top back fat is placed the skin up and some salt is sprinkled on top.
After 7 days, the stacking order is reversed; the top pieces go down and the bottom fat backs go up. During this step 2% more salt (20 g per 1 kg of back fat) is added. Back fat remains in salt for 7 days or more. The total time is 2-3 weeks.
Curing Jowls for Smoking
The cross section of jowl looks like bacon, the difference is that jowls are much tougher due to more connective tissue. Having more collagen they easily produce natural gelatin which helps to bind different ingredients together, for example groats or bread crumbs with meat. For this reason they are added to special sausages such as head cheeses, blood and liver sausages.
As jowl contains layers of meat, sodium nitrite is added with salt in order to develop curing flavor and pink colour. To cure 1 kg of jowls use 50 g salt (5%) and 0.02% (2.0 g) of Cure #1 which contains sodiun nitrite.
Mix 7% (70 g) of salt with 0.02% (2 g) of Cure #1 per 1 kg of jowls. The mixture of salt and Cure #1 is applied in two stages: 50 g (5%) of the mixture is rubbed in into 1 kg of jowls. Some mixture is sprinkled on the bottom of container, then first jowl is placed the skin down. Then the second jowl goes on top (skin down) etc. The top jowl is placed the skin up and some salt is sprinkled on top.
After 7 days, the stacking order is reversed; the top pieces go down and the bottom jowls go up. During this step 2% more mixture (20 g per 1 kg of jowls) is added. Jowls remain in salt for 7 days more. The total time 2 weeks.
Wet Curing
Meats are placed in a container, secured on top with a screen to keep them submerged and covered with curing solution (water, salt and sodium nitrite). In the USA cure #1 (sodium nitrite and salt) will be used in other countries different strength sodium nitrite cures are available.
Making Brine...
Making brine using tables is the first step of making curing solution. The next step is adding sodium nitrite, usually premixed with salt and known as Cure #1. Adding very little will result in a weaker curing flavor and color, adding too much will push us over the maximum limits which were establish by the Food and Drug Administration. The following tables were created in 1969-1970s and potassium nitrate was used as curing agent. Nitrates are seldom use today and sodium nitrite is universally accepted curing agent. It is hard to find potassium nitrate today, at least for a hobbyist. To make the tables easier to use, the most popular curing solutions were calculated with Cure #1.
Example: To make one gallon of 46° SAL curing solution you need to mix 14.4 oz of salt, 4.2 oz of Cure #1 and 1 gallon of water.
Combination Curing - Injection Method Followed by Immersion Method
Meats are injected and then immersed in curing solution. If solution contains fresh herbs and spices, the meat should be injected with salt and nitrite first and the spices should be added to curing solution. Otherwise the needles can become clogged.
Mixed Curing
Procedure: rub in dry curing mix into meat all around. Place in container, covering each piece with more salt. Pieces with skin are placed the skin side down. Cure for 14 hours and then cover with wet curing solution and cure for 1-2 days.
Brine Curing
Submerge meats in brine. Drain.
Special Applications
Salting Back Fat
Back fat does not need to be smoked, it can be just salted. After 3 weeks of salting back fat softens up and can be eaten; it has been a popular snack in the past.
Back fat is salted using 8% salt in relation to the weight of back fat. This corresponds to 80 g salt per 1 kg of back fat.
5% salt is used for rubbing.
3% salt is used for sprinkling.
Rub in salt into each piece of back fat on all sides using 5% of salt. Use remaining salt (3%) for sprinkling the bottom of container (about 1/4 inch, 6 mm) and the top of the pile. Salting time 14-21 days depending on thickness of fat backs. After 7 days you can reverse the stacking order; the top pieces go down and the bottom fat backs go up.
Salting Small Fat Trimmings
Fat trimmings are salted taking 2% salt in relation to the weight. Mix fat trimmings thorougly with salt and place in a container for 24-48 hours.
Blood
Fresh blood is usually salted with 3% salt in relation to the weight, but sodium nitrite may be added as well. Blood can be kept up to 48 hours at 40° F (4° C). It can be frozen for longer storage.