Cured meats have been part of the culinary world for centuries and are a popular way to preserve foods. They have been traditionally associated with Mediterranean cuisine and are popular additions to tapas and antipasto dishes.
Creating these delicious delicacies involves removing the moisture from the meat using osmosis. This process is used to draw out potentially harmful bacteria using salt and nitrates that work to regulate moisture loss and preserve the meats.
Some of the most popular cured meats are salami, prosciutto and chorizo. The mainstay is red meat-based cured meats, but we can go through many different variants you may not have heard about before. This article will open your mind to the many types of cured meat so you can explore yourself and try some new dishes.
Biltong and Jerky
Biltong and Jerky are both popular types of cured beef; the creation came about when food needed to be preserved for long periods. This need involved societies drying out their meats so they could last longer, killing the bacteria and slowing degradation. This process brought about the delicious food loved by so many to this day.
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The processes of curing Biltong and Jerky are similar, but the ingredients and origin of these cured meats are what differentiates them. Biltong originated from Africa, uses more spices, and is generally softer and fattier. This cured meat is available worldwide; even Australian Biltong has risen in popularity. Jerky is usually quite dry as the cut of beef is leaner, and herbs are typically less intense and more palatable to western consumers.
Droëwors
Droewors is another cured meat with African origins; the name translates directly into dried sausage. It originated from South Africa and is the dried and thinner version of another African delicacy, the Boerewors sausage. The sausage is flavoured with coriander, cloves, and nutmeg.
Bacon
Bacon is one of the most common cured meats and is typically made from pork belly. It is fixed for a length but is considered raw and needs to be cooked before consumption. When the bacon is cured, it is ready to be smoked. The smoking process does not use heat or cooking; it is done using a cold-smoking method.
Pancetta
Pancetta is similar to bacon; they both use pork belly and are cured. The one difference is that pancetta is unsmoked. It’s raw and will need to be cooked before consumption. The curing process uses a spice and salt mixture, including nitrates, to extend shelf life and remove moisture. This cured meat has more pork flavour than bacon; since it is not smoked, it is typically less salty.
Prosciutto
Prosciutto is made from pork legs, and its origins date to pre-Roman times when villages began to dry-age pork legs to preserve their meat supplies. The meat is covered in salt and left to rest for weeks; the salt draws out the moisture and blood, preventing the bacteria from entering the meat. Once the salting process is complete, the legs are washed and seasoned, then left to dry-age at a controlled temperature for 1-3 years. This process results in a concentrated sweet and salty flavour, with the longer-aged prosciutto having more complex flavours.
Sujuk
Sujuk is a sausage believed to originate from Turkey an estimated several thousand years ago. It is a dry spiced sausage usually made from beef with a flavour similar to salami. It has a high-fat content, and although typically beef, sometimes we may use mutton or pork. This delicious cured meat is generally spiced with garlic, salt, cumin, sumac and red pepper before forming in sausage casing. It is then dried for at least three weeks before consumption.
Saucisson
Saucisson is a type of dry-cured sausage originating from French cuisine. It’s a type of charcuterie similar to salami, made typically from two-thirds to three-quarters of lean meat and the remaining fat with the meat coming from pork. There are many variations of saucisson, but generally, they include salt, sugar, spices, nitrates and fermenting bacteria. The sausage usually hangs for about three weeks to allow the fermentation; at the end, you will have a delicious, balanced-tasting sausage with a sour tang.
Zungenwurst
Zungenwurst is an exciting and unique type of cured meat. The origins are from Germany, and the name is derived from the words Zungen, meaning tongues and Wurst, which translates into sausage. The traditional dish contains pieces of pickled tongues with a mixture of pork blood and fat seasoned with ground pepper and spices.
The sausage doesn’t require cooking before consumption since it’s typically cured and dried. It is common in Austria, where it can be consumed hot or chilled, fried, sliced or in sandwiches. It is a truly versatile food for those of us with more adventurous tastes.
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