Reach Equilibrium
Once the cure has been applied to the meat the meat will almost immediately begin to release internal water. The first day or two will be the heaviest in terms of water release. Be sure to dump the water off daily, we want to remove water not add it. Adding cure in two parts is helpful for larger whole muscle cuts like shoulders and hams. For smaller cuts like loins adding cure in one part is usually fine because the water released is minimal.
Equilibrium begins once the salt is applied, usually equilibrium is 80% - 85% complete within 10 days. Typically full equilibrium is achieved after 10-20 days per kilo of meat depending on the cut, environmental conditions and temperature. Equilibrium is achieved when all the salt that has been applied to the meat is fully absorbed by all parts of the meat which creates a microbially stable environment.
A little tip that I've found very helpful over the years, after I weigh the meat and I've applied the cure I'll put my cotton twine through the meat so I can hang the meat later to dry. On the twine I add a tag, usually collagen sausage casing cut in a 1" x 1" square with the original meat weight and the target meat weight. This is important because you don't want to guess when your meat is fully cured and dried. The tag tells you starting point and end point ideally. I've found that I like my meat dried to between 38% - 42% of its original weight.
Anything more and its like a rock anything less and its too soft for my taste. Once the meat is at the ideal dry weight, cut it and taste it, if its to your satisfaction cut it into smaller serving portions and vacuum pack it to stop it from drying any further.
After two days I take my meat out of the plastic bins and hang them in a high humidity environment. To properly dry the meat the humidity level needs to be dropped gradually so the moisture from the center of the meat has a opportunity to work its way out. Drying meat, and especially sausage, quickly will create a "skin" on the outer edge of the meat which moisture will have a difficult time passing through. It could cause your meat to rot on the inside but appear to be dry on the outside.
After about 10 days I will begin smoking the meat. Depending on your taste you can apply light, medium or heavy smoke to your meats. My rule of thumb for smoking is 6 hours for a light smoke flavor, 12 hours for medium and 24+ for a heavy smoke.
Equilibrium begins once the salt is applied, usually equilibrium is 80% - 85% complete within 10 days. Typically full equilibrium is achieved after 10-20 days per kilo of meat depending on the cut, environmental conditions and temperature. Equilibrium is achieved when all the salt that has been applied to the meat is fully absorbed by all parts of the meat which creates a microbially stable environment.
A little tip that I've found very helpful over the years, after I weigh the meat and I've applied the cure I'll put my cotton twine through the meat so I can hang the meat later to dry. On the twine I add a tag, usually collagen sausage casing cut in a 1" x 1" square with the original meat weight and the target meat weight. This is important because you don't want to guess when your meat is fully cured and dried. The tag tells you starting point and end point ideally. I've found that I like my meat dried to between 38% - 42% of its original weight.
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After two days I take my meat out of the plastic bins and hang them in a high humidity environment. To properly dry the meat the humidity level needs to be dropped gradually so the moisture from the center of the meat has a opportunity to work its way out. Drying meat, and especially sausage, quickly will create a "skin" on the outer edge of the meat which moisture will have a difficult time passing through. It could cause your meat to rot on the inside but appear to be dry on the outside.
After about 10 days I will begin smoking the meat. Depending on your taste you can apply light, medium or heavy smoke to your meats. My rule of thumb for smoking is 6 hours for a light smoke flavor, 12 hours for medium and 24+ for a heavy smoke.
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