Salt pork/ sow belly

[ssorllih]

In this neck of the woods salt pork is hard to find and I consider it an essential part of chowders and baked beans. The result is I filled a 2 quart mason jar with fat hog trimmings and brine. It has been in a 32.5 degree refrigerator for about a month and seems to have reached equilibrium. We used to get dry salt packed pork fat in barrels and kept it that way until it all sold. Does anybody have reason to think that this won't keep just as well?

[Darthfrog]

Depends upon the salt concentration in the brine. It needs to be concentrated enough to inhibit bacterial growth. I'm not sure what that concentration needs to be.

Mind you, you're keeping things cold enough that bacteria would find it rough going as it is.

[ssorllih]

At that cold I keep milk for 2 months and have kept a fresh turkey and simply gone down and cut off a chunk of meat when I needed it until all that was left was the carcass and I took that up stairs and cooked it for soup.. I have two refrigerators, the one in the kitchen and one in the cellar. My wife thinks it rather barbaric that I go down stairs with a knife and a plate and return with meat for supper.

[Chuckwagon]

Ross wrote:

My wife thinks it rather barbaric that I go down stairs with a knife and a plate and return with meat for supper.

Well shucks pard, that beats mosyin' on down to the ol' corral and cuttin' off a steak!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

[Chuckwagon]

Ross and Froggy,
I've posted a recipe for "dry-cured" bacon (and salt pork) in "Smoked Pork Products".
Here's a quick link:
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?p=1330 - 1330

I hope some of this information will help answer some of your questions. If you've never had honey-rubbed bacon, please give it a try. You can't buy it in any store.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon