Preppers: Preparing Salt Pork
Kevin Felts 07.14.17
Storing meat without modern technology is an issue that a lot of preppers think about. A solution that has been around for hundreds of years has been storing the meat in salt. This is known as salted pork or corned beef.
Until modern times, salted pork was a common food in militaries and on board ships.
This is one of the things with time, what used to be common knowledge is slowly forgotten. We have to relearn what our ancestors knew well. In this case, preppers may want to understand how salted pork works.
Thankfully, Jas. Townsend & Son has put together a number of videos about 18th century living. One of the videos is about preparing salt pork.
From the video:
- Cover the bottom of the barrel with a layer of salt.
- Add a layer of pork with the fat side down.
- Pack the pieces of meat tightly.
- Add a layer of salt between each layer of meat.
- Prepare a solution of hot salt water (brine).
- Slowly fill the drum so that the meat is covered with the brine solution.
- Store in a cool location.
After watching the video, I can picture a cellar with dozens of barrels of salted pork. On a cold winter day, the family gets some pieces of pork from the barrel, washes the meat, then fixes a hot dinner.
Townsends & Sons YouTube Channel.
On a personal note, I have been following their YouTube channel for a couple of years and really enjoy their videos. The past has a lot of good lessons that modern preppers can learn from.
