Fresh Meat

[Jimmy69]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has any experience or advice on keeping meat fresh and edible on the trail for a number of days. After a days walking there's nothing i love more than some bacon in the morning, however i find it very hard to keep any meat edible longer than a day - two at the most.

So far i've tried seperating the meat into portions and freezing them so that they defrost over the first portion of the journey. However by the end of the second day they have become a nice little puddle of mush. Next morning the signs of oxidation are apparent and i'm pretty sure it is spoiled after another afternoon in a hot pack.

I was thinking about trying to cure some meat using curing salt but not sure how long it will last. But i guess if sailors used salt curing to keep their meat and fish fresh for entire voyages without refrigeration it can't be bad. Either that or i'll be found dead on one of the Culllins with a mess tin in my hand. :D

[Bushwhacker]

I'd suggest making some jerky.
I can give you my method if you so wish.

[Martin]

Don't forget, bacon is already cured. I'm not suggesting that you can keep it for prolonged periods but a bit of discolouration shouldn't be a problem and good cooking will kill off any bugs that may have developed.

Martin

[Ben Casey]

I was taught that if you smoke meat it should keep for a good few days.

[fish]

sorry mate but 90% of bacon in the shops is not properly cured,the current method of curing in mass production isto inject the pork with a saline mixed with preservatives,this is what the whit scum is on the bacon when you cook it these days,i will post a how to on traditional dry curing in a moment .

[Martin]

sorry mate but 90% of bacon in the shops is not properly cured,the current method of curing in mass production isto inject the pork with a saline mixed with preservatives,this is what the whit scum is on the bacon when you cook it these days,i will post a how to on traditional dry curing in a moment .

I realise that Fish. It's a shame that you can't get properly cured meat easily but nevertheless I would be quite happy to eat bacon which hasn't be refrigerated for several days, the same goes for beef.

Like your recipe as well. I'll have to have a go at that some time.

Martin

[Jimmy69]

I'd suggest making some jerky.
I can give you my method if you so wish.

Thank you Bushwhacker, i'd love to know how to make jerky. (lol, i had to rewrite that a few times so it didn't sound rude!!)


good cooking will kill off any bugs that may have developed.

Martin

I know what you mean Martin, I'm not too bothered about the early oxidation but when the bacteria have started to attack the meat. Although they pathogenic bacteria themselves may be killed by thorough cooking, the toxins produced by some bacteria can be quite heat resistant. :(


I was taught that if you smoke meat it should keep for a good few days.

I've always wondered how i could smoke meat at home...


,i will post a how to on traditional dry curing in a moment .

I'm really looking forward to that!


He he, part of my job is preservation out of the fridge but i really don't think formaldehyde would do anything for the taste :D

[Martin]

I understand the bit about toxins but I wonder how long you are realistically thinking about wanting to preserve this meat for? Three or four days I reckon you'd be fine as long as the meat was fresh to begin with and you observe good hygiene practise which it sounds like you are more than familiar with. Much longer than this and I would imagine that the time of year would play a big part. Ultimately, I guess that, as a race, we've managed to get this far and refrigeration is a fairly new concept so we ought to be pretty resistant.

Martin

[MikeWilkinson]

I make my own dry cured bacon and hams. Get hold of some good Belly pork - direct from the farm or your local butcher if you can, however Morrisons is a good alternative if you can't.

Make up a cure of salt, brown sugar, juniper berries and bay leaves - I use about 300g of salt, 150g sugar and a small handful of berries and a couple of leaves to dry cure a 1/3 of a whole pork belly.

Pat the belly dry and score the skin (don't pierce the meat, just the fatty bit), rub the cure mixture into all of the meat, and put the meat in a non metallic container that you can seal.
Stick it somewhere cool i.e. fridge or cold store. Every evening empty the liquid out of the container, pat the meat dry and re-salt. Do so for three to five days, the longer you cure the better it will last, but also the saltier the meat.
After this, rinse off any remaining salt, wrap in muslin and hang/ store in a cool place for upto 6 months over winter - maybe only 3 in summer (mine never lasts more than 2 weeks as we eat it to quickly!! :)).
The meat will discolour slighty but the salt will stop the spread of most bacteria, you can add a preservitive if you like, which will help keep the colour, however I don't really bother. Either use as is or if you want to make a pea and ham soup or a petite sale then soak the bacon in water overnight to help remove some of the salt.

I did do some that I wanted to really dry out and make a parma like ham, it molded a little on the outside, we just cut it away rubbed it with a little vinegar and used the good stuff underneath.

Works for me anyway.