Semi dry curing bacon and whole muscle.
Semi dry curing bacon and whole muscle.
I have made some observations that I think may be of some interest. I put meat in to my cure and then into a tightly closed plastic bag. For the first few days there is an abundance of liquid in the bag in quantities in excess of the few ounces that were present when I rubbed the cure into the surface of the meat. However as I turn the bag everyday in order to keep this liquid distributed uniformly the quantity seems to diminish until on about the fourteenth day it appears to have been absorbed by the meat. When I take to meat out to smoke it there is only a coating of salty, sweet wetness on the surface. Has anyone else observed this and does anyone have a theory as to the mechanism involved here.
Ross- tightwad home cook
Brain hurts
Ross ,Think back WAY back to those long tedious days in chemistry class when you learned about the "Process of Osmosis", that is the transfer of a substance through a membrane from an area of greater pressure to an area of lesser pressure.
When you first apply the cure, spices, herbs and whatnot they are in effect an area of lesser pressure than the meat because they are defused and there is less water in the cure than there is in the meat so water is drawn through the cellular wall from the meat, as they dissolve they in effect become an area of greater pressure due to the high salt content as well as other ingredients. The liquid is then transfered back through the cellular wall into the meat by You guessed it The "Process of Osmosis". Nature abhors a vacuum.
Swallow
When you first apply the cure, spices, herbs and whatnot they are in effect an area of lesser pressure than the meat because they are defused and there is less water in the cure than there is in the meat so water is drawn through the cellular wall from the meat, as they dissolve they in effect become an area of greater pressure due to the high salt content as well as other ingredients. The liquid is then transfered back through the cellular wall into the meat by You guessed it The "Process of Osmosis". Nature abhors a vacuum.
Swallow
Retirement is easy , but Yuh really have to work at it sometimes.
Liquid
Well Ross I tend to think that the people who pour off this liquid are either not waiting long enough for the meat to reach an equilibrium with the liquid, the cure density was to high or they just don't mind wasting product and not getting a full cure because the liquid is the vehicle that carries the cure and if it's on the outside of the meat then it didn't carry the cure into the meat.
Swallow
Swallow
Retirement is easy , but Yuh really have to work at it sometimes.
