Dry cures of salt, sugar, curing salts, and spices enhance the flavor, texture, and appearance of foods as a prep step when aging, fermenting, smoking, barbecuing, or roasting. Ham, bacon, salt pork, pancetta, and, gravlax are examples of foods that are dry-cured.
Sanitation
When curing perishable foods sanitation is of the utmost importance so always keep foods cold, between 36-40° F/2-5° C, keep work areas meticulously cleaned and sanitized, and avoid cross-contamination by periodically cleaning or changing cutting boards when prepping different meats. Use the correct ratio of salt for the product, and for extended dry cures use nitrites and nitrates to avoid botulism.
Key Components of a cure
The simplest way to dry cure meats is to rub or dredge the product in the cure. The product can be sealed in plastic and turned every other day. Because of the delicate nature of the flesh of fish, the cure is usually packed on the fillet and it is then wrapped in cheesecloth.
The salt box method layers the product in a pan with the cure. It is then weighted down with pressure to extract the liquids. The liquid is discarded as the product is rotated every other day. During curing the product should be stored at temperatures between 32°- 40°F/0°-5° C
Curing Time
Curing times vary depending on the size, density, and desired outcome. Generally, 7 days per inch of thickness is the standard length of time for the salt curing process to be effective. A side of salmon takes 1-3 days, a side of bacon typically takes 7-14 days and a large ham could take 30-40 days.
Soaking & Rinsing
When the curing period has passed the product should be rinsed. For larger items soaking in cold water for one hour is recommended. Scrub the product to remove the entire cure and allow it to dry by air circulation under refrigeration. Items can be placed on wire racks or hung from hooks in coolers.
Aging
Aging is done to dry the product and to achieve a particular taste and texture. A side of salmon may be aged overnight, a side of bacon for 2-3 days, or in the case of large hams 45-180 days. For extended aging, the temperature, humidity, and air circulation are important in drying the surface of the product, particularly at the beginning of the process. Exhaust fans with humidity controls are often incorporated. Dry curing and aging result in moisture loss, for large hams 8- 12% weight loss is common and may be as high as 30%.
Smoking
Upon proper aging the item can then be cold or hot-smoked as desired.
