Best meats to preserve?

[Crewdawg445]

Morning all, as the title states I'm wanting to try my hand at preserving some meats. From the start, pork belly is high on the list... Who doesn't want some naturally cured bacon!? Anywho, I'm wanting to see what type and cuts you all would recommend for a first timer. Not only would it be nice to have naturally cured meats for home use, but I'd mainly like the ability to carry non refrigerated/ processed meats on treks and at rendezvous. I have a local butcher so being able to obtain naturally raised meats shouldn't be a problem. Thanks in advance!

 

[Ringel05]

Depending on the process you use all meats can be preserved from 1 year up to indefinitely. Pork and beef can be smoked, cured or dried and last indefinitely if stored properly. Chicken, beef and fish can be canned and last up to one year. Fish can also be cured or dried and last a couple of years, again if properly stored.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

It depends on what you want.

You can make beef or venison jerky, and you can make pemmican. Pretty simple.

You can make wet cured salt pork, and that will keep a year or two.

You can also air cure and/or smoke pork. The problem with pork bellies is that to buy them uncured, so to do DIY bacon, you usually have to buy a large amount of them, and then your costs go up, and if you FUBAR the project.....,

Try a pork shoulder, bone in, and you will get a small slab of bacon, AND a roast, at first to get the technique down.

LD

 

[Ringel05]

It depends on what you want.

You can make beef or venison jerky, and you can make pemmican. Pretty simple.

You can make wet cured salt pork, and that will keep a year or two.

You can also air cure and/or smoke pork. The problem with pork bellies is that to buy them uncured, so to do DIY bacon, you usually have to buy a large amount of them, and then your costs go up, and if you FUBAR the project.....,

Try a pork shoulder, bone in, and you will get a small slab of bacon, AND a roast, at first to get the technique down.

LD

:thumbsup:

 

[Ringel05]

Oh and make sure you use non-iodized salt, sea salt is best.

 

[Crewdawg445]

Thank you for the responses gentleman, looks like I'll be making a trip to my local butcher! Would you recommend slicing the shoulder into thinner pieces for curing? It seems to make since, this in theory would allow the preserving salts to penatrate deeper?

 

[Ringel05]

http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ai407e/ai407e14.htm

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Well I'd check your local market first, unless you have a really good butcher that's close. Out my way Wegmann's often has pork shoulder at $1.00 a pound on sale. :shocked2:

You'd remove the portion that may be made into bacon, whole, and cure the entire piece, and use the other piece for eating...makes good pulled pork in a crock pot.

On the other hand, I advocate for paying a little more for a good quality butcher, and spreading the word about him/her to neighbors. There are some things you simply cannot get these days except at a butcher. A specialty cut roast, not normally sold in a supermarket is one, and Beef Suet from around the kidneys of a cow (the ONLY fat used in a boiled pudding), and if you don't support the local butcher, they go out of business or retire...and there you are....

LD

 

[tenngun]

Salt pork be good and easy to make. Dont forget beef, done just like pork it makes junk, or salt horse, although 'corned beef 'sounds a mite better.

 

[Crewdawg445]

I'll definitely be heading out to my local butcher, supermarkets are worthless for good meat IMO.

 

[Claude Mathis]

I'll definitely be heading out to my local butcher, supermarkets are worthless for good meat IMO.

Something to consider... If you're making jerky, you don't want what most would consider "good meat" - that is, meat with a lot of marbling (fat), that would make a great grilled steak. You want very lean meat and that can be a cheap cut from the supermarket. IMO

 

[Kansas Jake]

Claude, we often watch for the two for the price of one sales on roasts at the local supermarket to stock up on beef to make jerky. The grandkids love it and the price of the roasts per pound may be less than fatty hamburger.