How to Cure Beef Jerky
Dec 8th, 2006 by Kirby
Beef Jerky: Methods of Curing
When speaking about food, the term curing generally refers to a series of preservation and flavoring processes. In the case of homemade beef jerky, the ultimate high protein food and snack, there are a variety of curing methods available. The two main methods of making cured jerky are referred to as wet curing and salt curing.
Wet curing is sometimes referred to as pickling or brining and, not surprisingly, involves preserving the food in a water or brine solution. Nitrates or nitrites are often added to the mixture because they inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Additional ingredients may be added to the solution in order to provide additional flavor.
For the purposes of curing low fat jerky and smoked meat, the various salt curing methods are much more common. These approaches often involve smoking or dehydrating measures to preserve the meat. Salt and various combinations of nitrates and nitrites are used during the dehydration or smoking process. These methods work best for jerky curing because the goal is to remove as much moisture as possible in order to preserve the meat.
Some Related Posts:
Buy me a tea if you enjoyed this post
* If you find what you read helpful, feel free to subscribe to our blog feed
No comments yet.