An illustrated guide to curing ham, bacon, small cuts and sausage making
by Morton Salt
Product Details
• 34 pages (inc front cover)
• NO photos included
• Contains numerous line sketches and tables
• Publisher: Morton Salt
• ISBN: NOT APPLICABLE
• List Price: $3.99 + P&P http://www.mortonsalt.com
• Product Dimensions: 8 ½ inches x 10 ½ inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.30 Lbs
• In-Print Editions: softcover
Review Edition (R 10/01)
Front Cover:
Back Cover:
NOT APPLICABLE (Basically blank)
A Little Look inside the Book
Table of Contents
Sample Recipes
None of the 15 recipes included appear difficult to produce though it should be noted that these are applicable only to Morton Products.
The following recipes are available from their web site
Beef Salami
http://www.mortonsalt.com/recipes/recip ... cipeid=115
Canadian Bacon
http://www.mortonsalt.com/recipes/recip ... cipeid=117
Deli Style Corned Beef
http://www.mortonsalt.com/recipes/recip ... ecipeid=43
German-Style Cured Pork Chops (Gepockelte)
http://www.mortonsalt.com/recipes/recip ... ecipeid=44
Herbed Sausage
http://www.mortonsalt.com/recipes/recip ... ecipeid=45
Pepperoni
http://www.mortonsalt.com/recipes/recip ... ecipeid=46
Summary
Having received the latest revision (October 2001) I quickly thumbed through it, and as nothing really stood out as being glaringly different from my 1990 edition—apart from the fact that the price has dropped significantly—I decided to compare the two. In summary the latest revision contains very few changes, with the majority of these being found in the recipe section. The major change here being the use of Morton Plain Sugar Cure mix has been added to most of these offerings.
Morton clearly state that this book was intended for the novice/beginner …
The recipes in this guide have been collected from many sources and have been revised and tested. The intent is to keep the process simple and still produce quality products. You will note that there is no mention of smoking or fermentation of dry summer sausage. These are special applications requiring proper equipment to be certain of success; they go far beyond the scope of this guide. Ours is a simple basic approach that can be achieved by anyone with a kitchen, a refrigerator and a desire to have foods that are “home-cured”.
Examples of items/statements that I find questionable
• Page 4 – the meat thermometer shows an incorrect “Temperature Danger Zone” range of 50 °F to 130 °F.
This should be revised to be brought in line with the latest FSIS/industry guidelines of 40 °F to 140 °F.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/cfg/cfg9.htm (Note: the FDA Food Code states a range of 41 °F to 135 °F)
At the moment this represents a 20 degree difference between Mortons figures and the FSIS (or 14 degrees if using the FDA Food Code).
• Page 12– states “There are two basic methods to cure hams in the home.”, however, information from their web site states
Meat Curing Methods
1. Dry Curing - Dry curing involves applying the cure mix directly on the meat. Curing is done in the refrigerator. After curing, the meat is rinsed to remove the excess salt and then cooked. Dry curing is used in curing hams and bacon as well as smaller cuts of meat.
2. Brine Curing - Brine curing is also popular for curing meat. This method is also called a sweet pickle cure. Brine curing involves mixing the curing salt with water to make a sweet pickle solution. The meat is cured with this brine by injecting the brine using a meat pump or by soaking the meat for a specific time. Curing takes place in the refrigerator and the meat is cooked after curing. Often larger cuts of meat and poultry such as hams and turkeys are injected with a sweet pickle cure. Smaller products including whole chickens and fish may be soaked in a curing brine solution.
3. Combination Cure - Combines the dry rub cure with injection of brine solution (also known as a sweet pickle solution). A combination cure is used for curing hams. This method shortens the curing time required and reduces the chance of spoilage because the cure process takes place inside and outside the ham. Curing takes place in the refrigerator and the ham is cooked after curing.
4. Sausage Cure Method - The method for making cured sausage is different from the curing methods described above. Curing salt and spices are mixed with ground meat. Curing takes place in the refrigerator and the sausage is cooked after curing.
• Page 17– mentions “Use the bacon within two weeks or freeze up to 3 months.”
Refer to chart from USDA/FSIS and FDA http://www.foodsafety.gov/~fsg/f01chart.html
NOTE: Due to oxidative rancidity it is not recommended storing bacon in the freezer for periods of longer than 1 month.
• Page 18 – mentions “Bone-souring is more common when large cuts of meat, like hams and pickles, are cured only in a sweet pickle brine. Salt from the pickle takes nearly twice as long to penetrate the cut as does salt from the dry cure. Slower salt penetration allows additional time for the bone-souring bacteria to become established. For this reason, Morton Salt does not recommend curing large cuts of meat in a sweet pickle brine.”
NOTE: Suggest injecting the meat with the pickle and then using a cover brine.
Miscellaneous
• Page 10 – Table 1 mentions combination cure yet the information on combination cures doesn’t appear until page 12.
• Page 10 – Table 1 mentions dry cure yet the information on dry cures doesn’t appear until page 14.
• Page 12 – “Combination cure: The first method is the combination cure which involves pumping the hams with a curing pickle solution and then rubbing some of the dry cure mix onto the surface of the ham.” This is referred to by the FSIS/FDA as “Dry Salt Cured”
• Page 12 – for combination cures mentions “To prepare a sweet pickle cure, combine one (1) cup of either Morton Sugar Cure (Plain) mix or Morton Tender Quick with four (4) cups of clean, cool water”. This is sufficient for approx. 32 lbs of meat (2 hams) and seems an excessive amount to make up every time. As one (1) cup of Morton Tender Mix weighs approximately 200 g (more than 1/5 of the weight of the smallest packet purchasable) I would recommend using the following table.
• Page 32 – Several of the references under “For Further Reading” have been revised and the previously referenced smokehouse plans have been deleted.
With this said, I didn’t get any surprises—unpleasant or otherwise—from the content, and with a list price of $3.99 (+P&P) I feel that what you get in this book represents a fair value. It’s a beginner’s book, nothing more, nothing less. The disadvantage of this book is that as I mentioned previously it is only for use with Morton products. This is now noted in the book’s title which was previously “Home Meat Curing Guide”. If you are serious about meat curing and sausage making I would suggest that later on you invest in a more detailed book of which numerous are available on the market.
Rated as a
Beginner's Book
Overall Rating: 6 ¾ out of 10
The above figure was based on the following criteria, with each having a possible maximum score of 2
• book price (value for money) ----------------------------1 ½
• targeted audience vs book’s relevant content---------1 ¼
• recipe reliability and thoroughness ----------------------1 ½
• OVERALL ease of use and clarity of instructions----1 ¼
• user friendliness---------------------------------------------1 ¼
Would I personally buy this book?
I did 14 years ago as beginner’s book
Would I recommend this book to anyone?
YES, for someone that was starting out using Morton's Tender Quick etc.
Thanks to The Sausage Source for the review copy
Reviewed by Parson Snows
30 July 2005
Disclaimer:Though this book is available via this site this review expresses the views and opinions of the reviewer and does not necessarily reflect those of The Sausage Source and/or its management or employees.