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Preserve Meat – That’s How it Works

Meat is a food that you can preserve in many ways. You have far more options than just the freezer. You can find out what options are available to you in this article.

Preserving meat – not just in the freezer

If you have bought meat in advance, freezing is probably the first thing you think of when it comes to extending the shelf life.

  • Freezing: Freezing meat is certainly the most common and also a very simple method of preserving sensitive food.
  • Oil: If you don’t have to store meat that long before you prepare it, you can extend its shelf life by a few days by putting it in oil. The advantage of this is that the meat becomes more tender when it is marinated.
  • Tip: If you know in advance how you want to season your meat, you can give your meat the right taste.
  • The advantage here: The spices permeate the meat more deeply and it becomes more intense in taste.

Long storage with more taste

If you not only want to make meat last longer, but also want to give it a certain taste, curing is a good alternative to the methods mentioned so far.

  • Salting is particularly suitable for larger cuts of meat. You can either buy pickling salt as a ready-made mixture or make it yourself.
  • You mix pickling salt from table salt and sodium nitrite. There are five grams of sodium nitrite for every kilogram of salt. To salt one kilo of meat, you need 50 grams of curing salt.
  • Lay out the work surface with parchment paper and spread the curing salt generously over it. Then take the piece of meat and cover all sides evenly with it. Massage the curing salt into the meat properly.
  • Tip: For larger pieces of meat, or if the meat has a layer of fat, pierce it in several places with a skewer. Then the pickling salt can penetrate better.
  • When curing, you have to work extremely hygienically. So wash the meat thoroughly beforehand and dry it well.
  • Store the prepared meat in a suitable container. If possible, there should be no free spaces or gaps. The vessel must also be able to be closed tightly.
  • The salt withdraws so much liquid from the meat within four to eight weeks that it is relatively dry. After all, it has a long shelf life.
  • Mix finely ground spices into the curing salt to add flavor to the meat. Pepper, coriander, mustard seeds, rosemary, and juniper are popular.
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Written by John Myers

Professional Chef with 25 years of industry experience at the highest levels. Restaurant owner. Beverage Director with experience creating world-class nationally recognized cocktail programs. Food writer with a distinctive Chef-driven voice and point of view.

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