Bacon curing

[TobyB]

You may or may not have heard the old tale that if you tried to cure the meat of a Gilt that was in season when it was slaughtered then the cure wouldn't take.

I've just done two bellies for bacon and the one is normal and appears to have cured as I would expect. The other piece does not appear to be cured at all. (same cure, same time, same weight of meat, same technique) I'm going to try cooking a little bit of it to see what it tastes like but it seems I may have one of these legendary "uncurable" bits of pork. Assuming it doesn't poison me I'll let you know what the taste was like.

[aris]

Do both stay pink when you cook them? If so, then they are both cured

[Erikht]

If the animal was stressed during slaughter, high consentrations of lacto acid in the meat can make it hard or the meat to take salt(or loose water). Mince and make sausages.

[TobyB]

Only a kilo in weight so not worth mincing.

Aris, it looks nothing like the cured bit. I'll report back after tasting

[aris]

Erikht,

Can you taste the difference between a stressed animal and a non-stressed one? I suppose the lactic acid must impart a flavour.

[TobyB]

Post tasting report:

Well I cut a few slices last night and cooked them and am pleased to report that they appear to be cured and taste almost identical to the other bit. I have no idea why the external colour is so different but the internal colour is almost identical. I guess it's just one of those things that happens and have put it down to experience.

[aris]

Did both pieces of meat come from the same animal? Perhaps differences in water content, or fat distribution made the difference.

[TobyB]

No they were from different animals and the piece that didn't look cured had a lot less fat than the one that looked cured which is odd as I'd expect the fattier piece to take the cure less well than the lean bit.

Sorry I can't post pictures as if I could you'd be able to see what I mean better.

[Erikht]

Erikht,

Can you taste the difference between a stressed animal and a non-stressed one? I suppose the lactic acid must impart a flavour.

Well, I can give you one practical example. When you fry pork Eye-of-rib cutlets, bought from an ordinary supermarket(and beiing from ordinary, not particulary well treated pigs), theese will be very pale, often dry and tasteless. This is a sure sign of too much lactic acid in the meat. You find it sometimes in beef too, esp. the sirloin when roasted whole. Usually this comes out brown and crisp on the outside, deep red on the innside. But sometimes it is almost like eating those tasteless porkchops. This, too, is beacause of stress.

A way to spot it while the meat is uncoocked is a paleness in the raw meat, like it has been soaking in water. When shopping meat, I now look for the deepest red I can find, and got the best rib-roast of pork ever for christmas, simply by doing so. Didn't cost me anything extra, either.

If we return to the biltong-chat for a wee moment, I don't think meat like this would be good for biltong at all. While lactic bacterial growth helps along maturing in meat, lactic acid made in the muscle because of stress will counteract the maturing prosess.