What is special about pork that makes it so suitable for curing?
No other meat has as many preparations as Pork - you have Bresaola out of beef, and I've seen the odd artisanal lamb and venison product, but why do you not get the range of hams, sausages, bacons etc out of other meats? I'm guessing something to do with the stability of the fat - but I'm not sure.
Best Answer
I suspect that this is because in Europe, the pig has been a fairly common household animal. For example, in the past in Poland, all families that didn't live in closely packed towns would have their own pigs. Some of the reasons for keeping pigs is that they don't need much room and can eat almost anything - you can easily feed them household scraps, or anything else you can find.
For most of history, pretty much everyone has been very poor. Thus, people need to keep an animal that can eat anything. For a pig you don't need to find grass or keep hay like you do for cows and sheep. And likewise you find a way to use every part of the animal no matter what. You also no doubt get a bit bored of pork all the time, so a variety of different methods of preparing and preserving would be developed.
So basically, I think the number of European preparations for pork is due to our long and close relationship with pigs due to their practical nature.
Further to support the idea that this has a Northern/Eastern/Western European cultural cause, Halal butchers will apparently sell beef bacon, and pastrami is traditionally beef, and comes from the Mediterranean area (more or less) so I suspect that there are simply a range of beef and perhaps lamb products that many Europeans either don't know about or don't consider as essential or main-stream.
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Why is curing generally preferred in pork?
Nitrites and salt work together to keep the pork from going rancid and protect the flavor. 4. Nitrites prevent the growth of pathogens, especially Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that causes botulism. They also prevent spoilage bacteria from growing in cured meats.What is the advantage of curing meat?
Cured meat is when meat is preserved with the help of salt and other curing agents like lime and vinegar to enhance the flavour of the meat. This also increases the shelf life of meat, tenderizes it and add flavour. Meat needs to be undisturbed during this period.What does it mean for pork to be cured?
Curing is the addition to meats of some combination of salt, sugar, nitrite and/or nitrate for the purposes of preservation, flavor and color.Why some pork products are processed and cured?
In addition cured meat has a characteristic flavor and texture. From a preservation standpoint cured meat is more stable than fresh meat. Not only is it essentially pasteurized during the heat processing, but ingredients such as the salt make it more resistant to spoilage.Why Spanish Iberian Ham Is The World's Most Expensive Cured Meat | Regional Eats
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Answer 2
You give three examples here: ham, sausages, bacon and I'm sure there are plenty of others from pork. But you can get a similar range from beef or venison/game meat.
I'm from South Africa and we have a traditional dish which is called boerewors which is sausage made from meat such as beef or game. We also have biltong which is a dried and cured meat also made from beef or game. The only one I can't match is bacon.
Also, carpaccio came to mind, but that is not cured or dried, just raw.
But to refer to the question, pork is not the only meat which can be cured.
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