by Ray Fauteux

Created on: November 23, 2008   Last Updated: March 13, 2012

In it's simplest form curing meat is the process of adding salt to meat in order to draw out the moisture. That in a nutshell is the key, because water in meat will allow micro-organisms to grow which in turn will lead to the meat spoiling. The main reason for curing meat is to enable it to be stored for long period of time, so eliminating or slowing the growth of these micro-organisms is the main goal.

The storage life of the meat can be greatly extended by using the salting and drying method of curing. Possibly the best known of cured meats in North America would be that old favorite, beef jerky. This product can sit on store shelves and on consumer's shelves at home for weeks and never spoil.

Salt and meat have always complemented one another. It's hard to even imagine what it would be like without adding salt to meat in one form or another. Salt not only prevents microbial growth, but perhaps more importantly, adds a pleasant flavor to meat when added in ideal amounts. Too much salt will ruin the flavor and be overwhelming, but just the right amount makes for a real taste sensation. That's the very reason that salt has been used for centuries to enhance the flavor of meat and is one of the main ingredients in most meat curing methods.

The exclusive use of salt in curing might be the simplest method, but it certainly is not the best. Salt alone tends to harden the meat fibres and at times can also dry meat out. In order to avoid just that result, sugar and nitrates are also used in the curing process.

Here are a few rules of thumb:

-Salting is the term if you use simply salt to do the curing.

-On the other hand, if you use salt and water, the process is called "brining."

-Actual "curing" results when nitrates are included along with the salt.

If only salt is used, the meat will develop a better flavor, but will not develop the "pink" color that we usually associate with smoked meat. Instead it will be a dark color that is not really what most consumers find desirable.

Adding nitrates along with the salt will improve the flavor and at the same time allow the meat to develop it's true pink color once it is submitted to cooking. The cooking method might be boiling, steaming, or baking.

Nitrates will also help prevent botulin-um spore growth that will result in toxins. This is especially true when the curing is done at low temperatures.

The length of time of the actual curing process depends on several factors. For instance, the type and size of the meat being

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