| BRINE FOR VENISON There are preparations on the market for home curing of meats. Some of these preparations have been successfully used for venison. Game meat can be cured at home in a sweet pickle solution which takes about 28 days. Trim meat into pieces as nearly uniform as possible. Chill the pieces to a temperature between 34 and 40 degrees before curing.Keep meat and brine at this temperature throughout the curing process. Higher temperature will result in spoilage and lower temperature will retard the curing. Fit the pieces of meat into a clean wooden barrel or crock. For the top layer, the meat should be placed so the outside or skinned side of the pieces are up. Cover with the chilled brine. BRINE 3 pounds salt (use coarse or dairy salt, not iodized) 2 pounds sugar (brown, white. syrup or honey may be used) 2 oz. saltpeter 4 1\2 gallons water (must be pure water) You can purify water by boiling it for five minutes then strain it or pour it carefully into another container to avoid any sediment that remains. Heat the water again and add the curing ingredients. Stir until dissolved. Skim the surface and cool the water to 40 degrees before pouring over the packed meat. Cover meat completely with the brine and weigh it down. If any of the meat rises out of the brine, the entire cure may spoil quickly. Overhaul the pack about every week. (To overhaul, pour off the brine and rearrange the meat in the pack.) Cover again with the same mixture. Curing time for the thicker, larger pieces is about 3 1\2 days per pound. CORNED VENISON Prepare the meat as for brining. Use the corning brine to cover. Corning Brine: 1 1\2 to 2 teaspoons salt peter 1 gallon water 1 bay leaf 6 peppercorns 1 clove garlic, minced 2 teaspoons mixed pickling spice 3 cups salt 6 tablespoons sugar 1. Heat 2 cups of the water to boiling. Add the saltpeter to the heated water and stir until dissolved. 2. Measure out one more quart of the water and to this add the spices. Simmer together for 5 minutes. 3. Place remaining water into crock and add the two above mixtures and the salt and sugar and stir until dissolved. (Curing time is calculated on the number of pounds curing. It can be estimated as one day per pound of meat.) 4. After meat is cured, remove from brine and wash under cold running water. Then, place in kettle, cover with water, bring to a boil and skim. 5. Add a bay leaf and 1 teaspoon thyme. Boil 5 hours. To serve cold: Remove from water and refrigerate. To serve warm: Leave in water in which it was cooked until room temperature. Remove meat, slice and serve. |
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