SC - Apples?

[Stefan li Rous]

Stefan li Rous wrote:

> Thanks for posting this.
> 
> But this isn't a recipe for drying meat, it is a pickling recipe. Which
> I would interpret to mean to store the meat in the pickle juice, not
> to marinate and then store dry. Or is that what you mean by an adaptation?

Correct. This is a recipe for storing _cooked_ meat. But it has the
basic ingredients for a jerk marinade, so I tried it. Yes, adapted a
cooked meat preservative marinade into a pre-drying marinade. I'm more
comfortable with it than teriyaki sauce or Worcestershire sauce. :)
> 
> I may have to try this as pickled meat sometime. It does sound tasty
> though as just a marinade. But would this pickled dried meat last
> any longer/better than just dried meat?

I suspect the pH from either the vinegar or the salt would discourage
bacterial activity, but it seems like the base salt would balance out
the acid vinegar. I do know that straight honey was used as a
preservative, as it is viscous enough to occlude oxygen (anaerobic
environment) and is too sugary for bacteria. All in all, being all or
mostly dried discourages the little guys from starting on your dried
meat before you do as well. And it certainly will taste better than
dried lean beef. Now a nice bison or elk, that's a bit different....
> 
> You said you would have used more seasalt except you ran out of sea salt
> at that point. Is there any particular reason you didn't just add some
> table salt at that point?

Two reasons. One being I don't think I actually have any at the moment.
Secondly, as 'Lainie will tell you with considerable exasperation, I can
be just a teeny bit....fixed in my opinions. I think the vernacular is
_stubborn_ to a fault. :)

The next batch I think I will add (and measure as I do) vinegar to honey
until I feel the honey is thinned enough to penetrate the meat. Then add
salt and mustard to taste, with an expectation of enough salt to make
the saltiness stand out over the honey, and lots of mustard. 

I'm mildly curious about other pre-drying techniques that would be
considered 'period' but I suspect that preservation of meat by drying
was not considered feast fare, hence would not have been recorded. Stuff
of long voyages and long forageless winters.

Seumas
- -- 
Roi ne suis prince, ni duc, ni comte aussi; je suis sire de
Bruyerecourt.