Curing methods
One of the oldest methods of preservation. -
Cure ingredients- salt is baic to all curing mixtures and is the only ingredient necessary for curing.It
acts by dehydration and altering the osmotic pressure in such a manner that bacterial growth and
subsequent spoilage are delayed. It has some associated problems like– harsh taste,dark undesirable
color and nutritional accewptance. The first two problems are alleviated or reduced by using nitrite,
nitrate and/or sugar. Nitrite and nitratetake care of color and flavor; sugar takes care of flavor. -only
food grade should be used for curing. Amount ingredients and curing time, appropriate amounts of ingredients
and reasonable curing times are presented below for each type of curing method – There are basically two
methods of curing i.e. dry and pickle.

1)Dry curing
It can use salt alone or a blend of cure adjuncts.

• It is mainly done for speciality products such as dry- cured bacon and country cured hams.
• Traditionally the cure mix is rubbed on the meat cuts intended for curing and stored in wooden barrels
  or wooden shelves.
• The brine is formed by withdrawal of natural juices from the meat by the salt.
• The cuts are turned periodically.
• Now a days galvanized iron or stainless steel pressure boxes are also used which have a lid and
  springs which generate pressure.
• Wooden and concrete vats are also used for this purpose.
• The advantages of dry curing are
  i)relatively high priced speciality products are produced.
  ii)the cuts are less perishable because of their dryness and firmness
  iii)they have more flavor.
• The disadvantages of dry curing are –
  i)high cost due to poor space utilization and amount of labor required.
  ii)high inventory due to slowness of curing.
  iii)harsh salty flavor of the final product.

2.Pickle cure

• It uses the same ingredients as the dry curing except that the cure is dissolved in water to form
  a pickle.
• Meat cuts intended for curing are submerged in the pickle until cure mix penetrates completely
  in the cuts submerged.
• The strength of the brine is expressed as degrees brine which is a measure of its density.
• To determine the strength of brine a salanometer or salometer is used.
• The usual pickles are 60 – 70 brine.
• Most pickles contain salt, sugar, nitrite and/or nitrate.
• The submerging has been replaced largely by artery pumping and single needle or multi-needle
  stitch pumping.
• The disadvantages of pickle curing are -
  i)poor utilization of space
  ii)slow turnover of meat inventories

a)Dry curing

• Used primarily for the manufacture of salted pork from jowls, fat backs, clear plates
  or heavy bellies.
• Use 10 lbs. of salt and 1 oz of saltpeter to cure 100 lbs of meat.
• Rub completely with ½ of the cure, overhaul after 1 week with 1/4 of the cure, overhaul
  after 1 week with 1/4 of the cure, overhaul after 3 weeks with 1/4 of the cure; cure for 5 weeks.

b)Dry sugar curing -

• Used for hams, picnic shoulder and bellies.
• The historical practice was to use an 8-3-3 mixture i.e. 8 lbs of salt, 3 lbs of sugar and 3 oz of saltpeter,
  but the 8-3-3 results in an excessively salty final product for modern consumer.
• Use 5 lbs of salt, 3 lbs of sugar, 2 3/4 oz of nitrate and 1/4 oz of nitrite ( 5-3-3mixture) to cure 131 lbs of
  meat ( one ounce of mixture per pound of meat).
• Rub completely with ½ of the cure, overhaul after 1 week with 1/4 of the cure, overhaul after 2 weeks with
  1/4 of the cure; cure for 7 days for each inch of maximum cut thickness ( a 14lb ham measures
  4 to 6 inches through its thickest dimension – cure for 28 to 42 days).

c)Curing with liquid

• Salt acts as main preservative in cured meats.
• The amount of salt in a pickle is measured with a salimeter which indicates the specific gravity of solution.
• Normally - used pickles will have specific gravity or salimeter readings ranging from 40 to 100 degrees
  depending upon the desired saltiness of the final product and the method of curing.
• A 100 degree pickle has a specific gravity of 1.208 and is a solution of 26.3% NaCl ( by weight) in water.
• A 50 degree pickle has a specific gravity of 1.01 and is a solution of 13.15% NaCl ( by weight) in water.
• Correspondingly, if you mix 10 lbs of salt with 5 gallons of cold water ( cold water weighs 8 1/3 pounds
  per gallon, hot water weighs 8 lb per gallon) you have 10 lbs of salt in a total volume of 51.65 lbs
  ( 10 lbs of salt plus 41.65 lbs of water) or a 19.36% salt solution which would have a salimeter reading
  of 74 degrees ( 19.36 divided by 26.3 times 100).
• All pickles are described by salimeter readings and expressed as degrees of pickle.

d)Cover pickle curing –

• Used primarily for hams, picnic shoulders and bellies (pork) as well as briskets, inside rounds, outside
  rounds, knuckles and clods (beef).
• For farm curing and dry storage without refrigeration, prepare a pickle of 75 to 85 degrees.
• Place the cuts in a vat, bin or barrel and pour enough solution over the cuts to completely cover them.
  Place a weight on the uppermost cuts and cure for 9 days per inch of maximum thickness. Or
• For mild curing and subsequent storage under refrigeration, prepare a pickle of 45 degrees.
• Place the cuts in a vat, bin or barrel and pour enough solution over the cuts to completely cover them.
  Place a weight on the uppermost cuts and cure for 11 to 13 days per inch of maximum cut thickness.

e)Injection curing -

• Used primarily for hams and picnic shoulders (pork) as well as briskets, round cuts and clods (beef).
• For farm curing and dry storage without storage without refrogeration, prepare a pickle or sweet pickle
  of 75 to 85 degrees. Stitch , spray or artery inject enough solution to increase the weight of the cut by
  8 to 15 percent. Place the meat in a box or bin or on the shelves of a rack and cure for 7 days per inch
  of maximum cut thickness. Or
• For mild curing and subsequent storage under refrigeration, prepare a pickle or sweet pickle of
  45 degrees. Stitch, spray or artery inject enough solution to increase the weight of the cut by
  8 to 15 percent. place the meat in a box, bin or barrel or on the shelves of a rack and cure for 9 days
  per inch of thickness. Or

For delicious mild cured ham popular with most consumers, a typical ham curing sequence would
be as follows:

• Pump the ham to 14% of green weight with solution of the following formula– 100 gallons of H2O 200 lbs
  of NaCl 21 oz of NaNo2 15lbsof sugar 6 oz of ascorbates 29 lbs of alkaline phosphates.
• When pumping , the operator switches back and forth from artery to spray pumping. In some hams the
  arteries have been damaged, making artery pumping practical. In most cases , however, even with arteries
  intact it is still advisable to use both artery and stitch pumping. Areas for stitch pumping include the joints
  and the outside edge of the cushion.
• Packers who cure hams in this manner , pump the hams with 10 to 34 5 of the solution and move the hams
  directly to the smokehouse without holding . They bring the smokehouse temperature up to 180 F gradually.