By Bruce Chamberlain

For this you will need:

1 container ( porcelain, stoneware or plastic; no metal), you can use a 5 gallon pickle bucket or a larger tupperware bowl with a lid, pickling salt and of course pork.

To make the brine pour enough water into the container so that the pork will be completely covered by the brine, making sure that the container will be at least 3/4 full once the pork is placed inside. Add pickling salt. One rule is to add enough salt to float a potato. I suggest adding salt until it can no longer dissolve and then add some more. When it comes to pork a friend of mine used a pork roast cut up into hand sized chunks without trimming the fat. I used 1 inch thick pork cutlets cut in half lengthwise ( about 1.3 pounds). Rinse the pork and then place it into the container. Weigh the pork down to keep it submerged. I used a dinner plate. If you do a large batch in a pickle bucket you might want to place a clean rock on the plate to ensure the pork is kept down. Seal the container and store in a dark cool place. The fridge is OK at this point. A book on meat preservation that I read, stated that 38 to 40 degrees is ideal, although a dark cool area in the basement will do. I let my first batch of pork sit for two weeks. I had read that 1.5 weeks per inch of thickness was the minimum time. It really wasn't a long enough time. A friend let his sit for 6 weeks. His reasoning behind this was thus; pigs were being slaughtered and packed into barrels of brine on the docks of Plymouth, England. It then took appx. 6 weeks to get to the colonies before being unpacked and distributed to the troops (British in this case.) also, the longer time in the brine won't affect the meat other than making it hard, but since we are drying the meat out after the cure this won't matter. About twice a week agitate the container to keep the brine mixed. It might be a good idea to open the container once in a while and check on the condition of the brine. If a large amount (a little is OK) of scum has formed on top and/or the mixture is ropy ( gelatinous and stringy) remove the pork and scrub and rinse it under cold water. Place the pork back in a fresh brine ( Clean the container first!) and let it finish out it's cure time. After the 6 weeks is up, remove the pork and place it in the open air to dry. If you set it in the fridge it will not dry out completely. The salt cure will protect the meat from spoiling. The meat should be almost rock hard when dry. You now have salt pork! Unlike the so called salt pork at the supermarket, this stuff will not spoil without refrigeration and if it gets a little wet in camp it will soon dry out and will be fine. Remember to soak it overnight to reconstitute it and wash out some of the salt. It is a good idea to boil it in a couple of changes of water also to remove more of the salt before eating. We are not used to a large amount of salt in our diet and you will be glad you removed as much salt as possible before eating. Good luck !

P.S. The six week cure works great. You might want to make up some of these "biscuits" as this will only add to the authenticity of your meal.