Salt Curing the Meat

What happens here

The processed meat cuts, including hams, bacon, jowls, and pig's feet, are carefully layered into the wooden salt box. The critical step is to ensure that every piece of meat is completely encapsulated by salt, with no meat touching other meat or the wooden sides of the box. The salt is rubbed generously over all exposed surfaces. Any empty spaces are filled with smaller pieces of fatback or jowl, which are also fully covered in salt. The salt box is designed to cut off oxygen supply to the meat, facilitating the curing process. This initial curing stage will last for six weeks. After six weeks, the meat will be removed, brushed clean of excess salt, and then left for one more week before being hung in a smokehouse for a year and a half to further cure and develop flavor. The used salt is recycled for up to two years and then can be placed outside for deer and other animals as a salt lick.

Goal: Properly layer and encapsulate all meat cuts in salt for curing.