Curing

Curing is any food preservation and flavoring process for meats, fish, poultry, and vegetables by the addition of salt with the intentions to draw the moisture out of the food by process of osmosis.

Curing is a newer adventure for me, so I started with what was available in abundance, and for us, that’s eggs! We definitely get enough of them to be creative with consumption, and preservation, but this is probably not one of the first things that comes to mind when you mention curing. Usually meats are cured, fish, and sausages and so on, but because hens, rabbits, and bees are the only livestock we own here, we haven’t had the pleasure of curing our own meats yet, perhaps I may give it a shot with some local meats this summer.

Veggies are also cured, more often in other cultures and in a top shelf culinary setting, but they are still pretty popular. Curing is essentially a dry rub, not like the salt brine used for pickling or fermenting, this method requires no liquid at all, in fact you’re trying to do quite the opposite, and remove all the liquid from the product that you can. Of course, several rinses are required before consuming when it comes to veggies and most meats, but I have seen cured and smoked whole fish, with the salt coat cracked, and eaten right off the bone. So it would certainly depend on your intentions for a final product and presentation.

As my experience grows I will post and share more in this category, everyone feel free to email me or message me on any social media platform if you are experienced with curing!