flavors you find in preserved meats from around the world In France, it’s called charcuterie In Italy, it’s salumi (incidentally, salami is a specific type of salumi) Whatever you want to call it, it’s the craft of preserving meat—of taking those bits that nobody really wanted to eat and turning them into the besttasting stuff around In this book, I’ve included recipes for the simplest form of curing, letting meat and salt mingle overnight—and you’ll be amazed at the transformation that meat undergoes in even that short amount of time But the world of curing goes far beyond the scope of these recipes Here’s quick overview of what you’ll find out there: • Chemical cures involve the use of salt, sugar, nitrates, and/or nitrites The idea is that by adding a high-enough concentration of these chemicals (yep, salt and sugar are chemicals), you create an environment that is inhospitable to bacterial growth Salt and sugar we know about As for the other two, sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate both break down into nitrites as a sausage ages, and these nitrites prevent the growth of certain types of bacteria (mainly the botulism-causing bacteria Clostridium botulinum) They play an important role in flavor development as well as helping cured meats to retain a pink hue even after being cooked Their effect on human health is debated, but it’s probably a good idea to keep your intake of them to a reasonable level None of the recipes in this book call for nitrates or nitrites, as none of the sausages are dry-cured These days, you may see bacon, salami, and other meats that have traditionally been cured with nitrates marketed as “uncured” and “nitrate free,” but it’s a bit of a misnomer: they are still cured with salt and often with natural sources of nitrates like celery extract • Smoking meat with a wood fire also aids in its preservation During combustion, nitrogen dioxide is formed and released from the smoldering wood This gas reacts with the water on the surface of a piece of meat to form nitric acid It’s this acid that inhibits the growth of bacteria Smoke also creates compounds that prevent the oxidation of fat A smoked pork belly (aka bacon) will go rancid much more slowly than a fresh or simply chemically cured pork belly Thinner pieces of smoked meat, like jerky or thin hot dogs, can become completely penetrated with nitric acid and other compounds formed in the smoking process, while in larger cuts of meat—say pastrami–these will only penetrate the outer ¼ inch of so of meat Incidentally, nitric acid prevents the breakdown of muscle pigments during cooking, which is what creates the bright pink “smoke ring” you see on a properly smoked brisket or rack of ribs • Dehydration/fermentation is the oldest form of ...of them to a reasonable level None of the recipes in this book call for nitrates or nitrites, as none of the sausages are dry-cured These days, you may see bacon, salami, and other meats... penetrated with nitric acid and other compounds formed in the smoking process, while in larger cuts of meat—say pastrami–these will only penetrate the outer ¼ inch of so of meat Incidentally, nitric acid prevents the breakdown... is formed and released from the smoldering wood This gas reacts with the water on the surface of a piece of meat to form nitric acid It’s this acid that inhibits the growth of bacteria Smoke