Ever heard of vinegar meat??

[WonkyEye]

I came across this in November 2024 muzzle lasts.

"Take a slab of meat and inch or so thick, submerge it in a pan of half vinegar and half water, bring to a boiling boil. Keep it submerged while boiling for 1 hour, pat dry"
The author says it's been lab tested to stay bacteria free for up to 20 days with no refrigeration. I searched for a while but found almost no safety info or even mention of doing this online. I know vinegar is going to make the meat pretty gross if eaten on its own, but I usually make a stew when backpacking with bullion, herbs, dried vegs, and jerky. The jerky takes a long while to rehydrate and tenderize, this vinegar meat could be a game changer for me if I can verify it's safe for up to 5 days without refrigeration.

 

[wiscoaster]

We're counting on you to leave it out for five days and submit your report.

 

[Beaverman2]

We're counting on you to leave it out for five days and submit your report.

5&10&15 days, make it a true experiment, wonder of Townsends have any info on this preservation technique in one of their period cookbooks?

 

[Jappo]

Chorizo is similarly made with vinegar.

 

[Brokennock]

I came across this in November 2024 muzzle lasts.

"Take a slab of meat and inch or so thick, submerge it in a pan of half vinegar and half water, bring to a boiling boil. Keep it submerged while boiling for 1 hour, pat dry"
The author says it's been lab tested to stay bacteria free for up to 20 days with no refrigeration. I searched for a while but found almost no safety info or even mention of doing this online. I know vinegar is going to make the meat pretty gross if eaten on its own, but I usually make a stew when backpacking with bullion, herbs, dried vegs, and jerky. The jerky takes a long while to rehydrate and tenderize, this vinegar meat could be a game changer for me if I can verify it's safe for up to 5 days without refrigeration.

I saw the same thing. Have an in with the health department infectious disease people that also works with the section that inspects restaurants. I'll see what she can find out.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

Slice a rump roast. 50/50 water vinegar bay leaves pepper corns.a touch of spices and salt and pepper carrots celery and onion,s and potatoes put in a plastic bowl and let it sit for two days. refrigerator
take it out and bake it 1 hour
tasty. does not matter beef or venison

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I don't know why it wouldn't last for a long time. What makes meat poison is keeping it in plastic so it's subject to anaerobic bacteria or botulism. Cooked and left in the air to dry it should be fine. Of course, all the people who preserved meat like that in the 1800's died so maybe we should be scared of trying it.

 

[WonkyEye]

I saw the same thing. Have an in with the health department infectious disease people that also works with the section that inspects restaurants. I'll see what she can find out.

Thanks, I'm curious what she will say. I'm usually pretty good at tracking down pickling,/curing/fermenting recipes and practices that have been proven either safe or unsafe. Many universities share this type of info, but I couldn't find anything besides one vague study that indicated it lasted longer in refrigeration.

I could see it working in theory, short term.
Fermented meats like pepperoni rely on lactic acid to lower the pH to make it inhospitable to bacteria, but fermented meats are usually have a high salt content that sucks the water out of the cells where it can drain/evaporate and rely on the lack of moisture to make it safe long term so I could also see this being a potentially dangerous food after a few days.

 

[WonkyEye]

I don't know why it wouldn't last for a long time. What makes meat poison is keeping it in plastic so it's subject to anaerobic bacteria or botulism. Cooked and left in the air to dry it should be fine. Of course, all the people who preserved meat like that in the 1800's died so maybe we should be scared of trying it.

Instructions didn't say to dry it, it said to boil it. The author then wrapped the moist cooked meat in wax paper, followed by oiled paper bag to hold the moisture in.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

As long as the meat isn't deprived of oxygen it should not cause an issue. Wrapped as the author said it should be fine.

 

[Brokennock]

Thanks, I'm curious what she will say. I'm usually pretty good at tracking down pickling,/curing/fermenting recipes and practices that have been proven either safe or unsafe. Many universities share this type of info, but I couldn't find anything besides one vague study that indicated it lasted longer in refrigeration.

I could see it working in theory, short term.
Fermented meats like pepperoni rely on lactic acid to lower the pH to make it inhospitable to bacteria, but fermented meats are usually have a high salt content that sucks the water out of the cells where it can drain/evaporate and rely on the lack of moisture to make it safe long term so I could also see this being a potentially dangerous food after a few days.

She will get back to me tomorrow after she digs through some files at work. Initial response was that meat weight/thickness to vinegar amounts has to actually be pretty precise to be reliable, but that there is data on it.

 

[Caterpillar Hunter]

Yumm. "The author then wrapped the moist cooked meat in wax paper, followed by oiled paper bag to hold the moisture in." I'd eat the waxed paper and oiled paper bag and throw out the meat.Just kidding, kinda.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

Pickeled meat was the way to go back...back back...in the day...

 

[Trev]

But pickling was done with salt, sugar and Potassium nitrate not vinegar. We also kept meat for months just covered in lard. Or smoked, or sugar cured.
I have used vinegar (apple or wine, not white) as my main meat tenderizer/marinade since way back when.

 

[windini]

Here in NC, we call that Barbecue.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

Slice a rump roast. 50/50 water vinegar bay leaves pepper corns.a touch of spices and salt and pepper carrots celery and onion,s and potatoes put in a plastic bowl and let it sit for two days. refrigerator
take it out and bake it 1 hour
tasty. does not matter beef or venison

I forgot the peppercorns and cloves

 

[Captndan]

Here in NC, we call that Barbecue.

That’s not funny!

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

Here in NC, we call that Barbecue.

I had some of the best Bar B Que when I lived there. People were masters at it.
You just cannot eat it daily unless you want a short life!

 

[Howard Pippin]

As a lad I herded sheep for my dad in the summertime when our regular herder would go on layoff for a couple or three weeks to spend his money that he had saved up, which generally all went to the local bars. The reason those old boys were sheepherders was because they couldn't work any place where liquor would be available easily or they wouldn't show up for work. Of course the only meat you could keep in a sheep camp wagon was ham or bacon as you had no refrigeration. Sometimes it would start to get slimy on the outside and all you had to do was take and wash it off with vinegar and that would kill whatever was doing it and it would be good for another week or 10 days. Of course all the bacon and ham that I remember in those days, in the 50s, was cured very heavily with salt and smoke and would keep where this stuff today would not do that at all. We didn't have electricity at home until I was probably 12 years old, and so the practice was pretty common then too that you could make ham or bacon edible by washing it with vinegar. We never kept it in anything that was sealed tight, generally it was kept in a tightly woven cloth sack that flies and stuff couldn't get in.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

I also saw those instructions years ago in another publication (maybe muzzleblasts from the 90's) and made a very small meat batch. I used a lean cut of meat with little or no fat so the fat wouldn't go rancid. I ate it the next day and the meat was really dry by itself and 'chewy'. It probably would lend itself better to being added to a soup or stew where you have moisture. On the 'Net, there is alot of readings about pickled meat. Here is one comment: Pickling meat is a way of curing and preserving different types of meat. This method was developed before the days of refrigeration.
There is unrefrigerated bacon you can buy off the store shelves. This should work with beef.
Ohio Rusty ><>