How to Cure Meat

Found this on a Penn State Web site...How I got there I don't know, but I thought it was kind of cool. The article is actually 20 pages and covers smoking, canning and pretty much anything you would want to do to Deer, fish, or small game.

Curing Methods for Game
There are several general methods of
curing, with a number of modifications
for each method. These methods
include pickle curing, dry curing,
dry salt curing, or application of curing solutions by osmosis, stitch pump, spray pump, artery pump, and machine pump.
Pickle Curing
A typical pickle curing solution could include water and salt (called a “plain” or “salt” pickle); water, salt, nitrate, and/or nitrite; or water, salt, nitrate, and/or nitrite to which sugar has been added (a “sweet” pickle).
Other ingredients could be added to enhance flavor. A basic brine solution generally consists of 1 lb brown sugar, 2 lbs uniodized salt, and 3 gallons of water. Use a noncorrosive container to hold the brine and meat during the curing process. Wood, crockery, stainless steel, or plastic containers work well. Place the meat in the container and pour the brine over it until it is covered. If the meat floats, you may have to place a weight on it to keep it submerged. Turn the meat in the brine periodically to cover all surfaces.
Dry Curing
Dry curing involves the rubbing and
packing of meat in salt and other
compounds for considerable periods
of time. Dry curing materials might
include salt alone; salt, nitrate, and/
or nitrite; or salt, nitrate, and/or nitrite
with sugar. One example of a dry
cure is dry sugar cure:
Dry Sugar Curing
A full concentration of the following ingredients (the “8–3–2–1 formula”) is applied directly to the meat surface:
8 pounds table or curing salt
3 pounds cane sugar
2 ounces nitrate (saltpeter)
1 ounce sodium or potassium
nitrite
Use 1 ounce of 8-3-2-1 formula for
each pound of meat. Place rubbed
meats in boxes under refrigerated
(<40° F) conditions. Cure 7 days per inch of meat thickness.
Dry Salt Curing
Another modification of the dry curing
method, commonly referred to
as dry salt curing, involves salt only
or salt plus nitrate. Just before being
covered with the dry mix, the meat
may be momentarily moistened to
facilitate penetration of the salt into the muscle.
Injecting or Pumping
The purpose of injecting or pumping
is to distribute pickle ingredients
throughout the interior of the meat
to cure it from the inside out as well
as from the outside in. This protects
the meat against spoilage and provides
a more even curing. Once the
brine solution is applied by any of the
methods described below, curing
should take place in a refrigerated or
cool room at temperatures less than
35° F. Rearrange the meat at least
once during the curing process to
ensure even distribution of the cure
into the product. Do not recycle the
brine because of the possibility of
bacterial growth over time.
Five general methods are used to
apply curing solutions to meat and
poultry cuts:
1. Osmosisinvolves covering the
meat cuts with dry cure or completely submerging them in a curing solution for an extended period of time.
Using this method, the brine soaks the meat approximately ½ inch per 24 hours. Thus, the cure does not penetrate deeply into the meat with this method. For pieces of game meat or birds more than 2 inches thick, pumping with brine is advised (see below). Cure ¼- to ½-inch-thick slices or slabs for at least 24 hours.
2. The stitch method involves in-
jecting curing solution deep into the muscles with a single orifice needle.
With this method, you can quickly get
deep penetration of the solution into
the product. Start by scrubbing the
pump in warm soap water and rinsing
it. Then, to keep the pump sanitary
while pumping meat, do not
touch the needle with your hands or
lay it down. When not in use, the
pump needle should be placed enddown
in the container that holds the
pickle. To use it, draw the pump full
of pickle and insert the needle all the
way into the meat. Push with slow,
even pressure. As pickle is forced into
the meat, draw the pump toward you
to distribute the pickle as evenly as
possible. Always fill the pump full of
pickle to prevent air pockets. The
meat will bulge a little, and a small
amount of pickle will run out of it
when the pump is withdrawn. To stop
this, pinch the needle holes together
with your thumb and forefinger for
a few seconds. Use three or four
pumpfuls of pickle for legs and shoulders
that weigh 10 to 15 pounds, and
five or six pumpfuls for those that
weigh 15 to 25 pounds
http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/foods.html