(1) Pickling

Meat pickling is a process of using table salt or mainly table salt, adding nitrates, sugar and spices. Since ancient times, pickling has been a means of preserving meat products, and it is still commonly used today. However, the purpose of pickling has evolved from simple preservation to improving flavor and product quality, making pickling an important process in the processing of many meat products. The main pickling ingredients include salt, nitrate or nitrite, phosphate, ascorbic acid, sugar and spices. Among them, salt plays the role of dehydration, penetration and inhibiting the growth and reproduction of bacteria. Nitrate or nitrite has the effect of developing color and inhibiting Clostridium botulinum. They generate nitric oxide through reduction, and then combine with myoglobin to form nitric oxide myoglobin, which turns cherry red after heating. However, nitrite can combine with secondary amines to form ammonium nitrite, which is a carcinogen. Therefore, its dosage must be strictly limited. my country's national standards stipulate that the residual amount in meat products shall not exceed 0.03 g/kg based on sodium nitrite. Ascorbate can promote the reduction of nitrite into nitric oxide, prevent oxidation, contribute to the color development of meat, and prevent the formation of nitrosamines. Phosphate can improve the water retention and cohesiveness of meat, reduce the loss of nutrients, while also maintaining the tenderness of the meat and increasing the yield.

The pickling method can be divided into dry pickling method, wet pickling method and brine injection method.

Dry curing method: Mix salt and nitrate, rub it on the surface of the meat, then stack it in a container, and rely on the leakage of juice to form a salt liquid for curing. This is a slow pickling method, but the pickled product has a unique flavor and texture. my country's famous ham and bacon are cured using this method. Due to the long marinating time, it is easy to cause the internal deterioration of the meat. In addition, the pickling is uneven and water loss is serious.

Wet marinating method: Prepare brine and soak the meat in the brine for marinating. The concentration of salt during wet pickling is very high, not less than 25%, and the concentration of saltpeter is not less than 1%. In order to reduce the loss of nutrients, old brine is generally used for pickling, but the brine must be prevented from deteriorating. The color and flavor of wet pickled products are not as good as those of dry pickled products, and they contain too much water and are not suitable for preservation.

Saline injection method: Use a syringe to inject salt water into the meat. This method marinates evenly and takes a short time. However, the quality of the finished product is not as good as that of dry-cured products, the flavor is slightly worse, and the degree of muscle contraction during cooking is also greater.

Bacon refers to processed products that are cured and then baked (or exposed to sunlight). Bacon has strong preservative ability, can extend the storage time, and adds unique flavor. This is the main difference from bacon. In the past, bacon was processed in the twelfth lunar month (December), so it was called bacon.

Ingredients: Rib meat 100 kg, white sugar, 4 kg, sodium nitrate, 0.1 kg, soy sauce, 4 kg, refined salt, 2 kg, sorghum wine, 2 kg

Preparation method

1. Raw meat Selection and repair: Choose fresh pork rib meat, remove the bones and cut into strips of meat about 2 cm wide and 40 cm long. Prick a small hole in the upper end to facilitate hanging with a rope after marinating. Use warm water to wash off the floating oil on the surface and drain the water.

2. Marinate: Dip the rib meat into the evenly mixed ingredients, marinate for 6 to 8 hours, take out the string and hang it on the bamboo pole.

3. Baking: hang the marinated meat into the drying room, heat it with charcoal fire, and control the temperature at 50~55℃. The wooden frame of the drying room is divided into three layers: upper, middle and lower. If the meat strips in the drying room are all marinated on the same day, the positions need to be changed up, down, left and right every few hours to prevent them from being baked. The meat strips become finished bacon after baking for about 2 days. If you do not need to grill over charcoal fire, you can expose it to the sun during the day, move it indoors at night, and continue to expose it until oil appears on the surface.

Sausage

Ingredients: fresh pork, iodized salt, pepper powder, chili powder, etc. (simple ingredients, specific proportions, no preservatives)

Storage method: Store in a dry and cool place with room temperature below 20 degrees. It can be placed in a ventilated place, preferably in the refrigerator.

1. Production method

The main raw material of sausage: pork (fat to lean ratio: 3:7), which is the rear hip meat of lean pigs raised by farmers (local pork, Never feed pigs feed, hormone-based food).

The auxiliary materials are chili powder, pepper powder, high-quality liquor, white sugar, refined salt, casings, etc.

Slice the pork, mix the auxiliary ingredients in a certain proportion, marinate for 2-3 hours, set aside the washed casings, add the marinated meat, and make sure the meat is plump and compact. , after filling, tie it with string every 20 centimeters or so, and finally use bamboo skewers to prick the outside of the intestine at equal distances to release the air in the intestine. Place the sausage in a ventilated place to dry for 2-3 days to remove excess moisture.

Prepare the sawdust noodles, ignite the cypress tree, extinguish it with the sawdust noodles, and finally hang the sausage on a pre-made stand and smoke it in a sealed environment. The time is approximately one day.

How to make Guangdong sausage

Ingredients: 3500g lean meat, 1500g fat meat, 100g refined salt, 250g sugar, 250g light soy sauce, 150g Shanxi Fenjiu, nitrate 2 grams, 750 grams of water.

Preparation method:

Marining: To make this sausage, we divide it into two steps. First, soak the fat meat in boiling water until cooked, and mix with a small amount of Shanxi Fenjiu. Buried in white sugar (this method is called "ice meat" because the fat meat becomes transparent after being marinated and cooked, like ice cubes, so it is named, and this method of preparation can make the fat meat neither fat nor greasy), After marinating for about 1 day, use a knife to cut the meat into pieces slightly larger than soybeans. The second step is to cut the lean meat (preferably skinless pork knuckle) into pieces as big as soybeans, and add refined salt and sugar. , light soy sauce, Shanxi Fenjiu and saltpeter, mix well and marinate for at least 8 hours.

Wind cured meat: After the above two kinds of meat are marinated separately (if you want to make the bacon delicious, you can stir the lean meat first), put it into the same steel basin, add water, and With the help of the funnel, press the meat water into the soaked casing until it is 90% full, then tie the casings at both ends, use a needle to rake the meat sausage densely to facilitate air dispersion, and then use hemp rope each time. Divide it into sections 30 centimeters apart, tie it with water plants in the middle section, hang it on a bamboo pole, dry it slightly over a charcoal fire, and then put it in a ventilated place to dry for about 7 days, depending on the hardness of the sausage body.

Note: The "sausage" from Dongguan, Guangdong is made the same way, but the difference lies in the length of the casings and segments. There is a saying that "Dongguan sausages are thick and short".

Making cured fish is very simple, just like ordinary farmers making cured fish during the Chinese New Year. The bigger the fish, the better. Carp, grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, herring, and bream are all good materials for making preserved fish. Small fish such as crucian carp are not suitable for making preserved fish. Fishermen all know that catching big fish is enjoyable, but it may not taste delicious. It is indeed delicious to make the big fish caught into cured fish.

The method of making cured fish is to arrange the fish, remove the head, and cut it into two pieces from the back. Then cut the fish into pieces according to the size of the fish and put it in the marinating container. Put it into a container, sprinkle with salt, green onions, monosodium glutamate, chicken essence, and ginger slices (add or remove seasonings according to different tastes), then drizzle with a little sesame oil, stir briefly, and then place to marinate.

Farmers usually make cured fish in winter. Since the temperature in winter is low and the curing process will not go bad, farmers generally do not make cured fish in summer. We can completely use the refrigerator to marinate in the summer. Cover the fish pieces mixed with seasonings with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator. They can be taken out to dry in three to four days. Be sure to choose good weather to dry them and reduce the drying time. . Sunny and windy weather is best. Drying usually takes a month in winter, but water evaporates quickly in summer and two or three days is usually enough in good weather. In principle, don't dry it too much. Just hold the fish pieces with your hands so that they don't droop. You can store them in the refrigerator or freezer.

How to eat: Wash the marinated and dried cured fish pieces with clean water, put them in a steamer and steam them for 15 to 20 minutes. After cooling, the fish meat is fixed and you can eat it directly. It can also be reprocessed: chop the cooked fish pieces into half smoke-sized cubes, heat oil in a pot, pour the cured fish pieces into the pot and fry for a while, then drizzle with a little sesame oil (you may also add some vinegar) and serve. When plated, it becomes a shiny fish delicacy.