Whole muscle products - 1

Whole muscle products are bran carcasses that are salted, cured and smoked to preserve their natural shape. The skin can be saved (ham, pancetta), it is possible to use casings (Beef bungs, bladder, collagen casings) or coating the surface of the product with a special mixture with the addition of spices. Traditionally, ham is prepared (on the bone or with its removal), fiocco, bresaola or basturma, tenderloin, loin, koppa – from the pork neck, bacon, fenalore.
Separate issues of salting, drying and smoking will be considered in the relevant sections of the manual. Here we only note that for salting whole-muscle products it is allowed to use a smaller amount of nitrite salt (half of the norm for sausage products), since the possibilities for the growth of microflora in whole-muscle products are lower than in minced meat. For best results, dry salting or combined salting is recommended – when, after dry salting, the cut is additionally aged in a 20% saline solution. The combined method allows you to guaranteedly avoid cases of non-salting of individual sections of the product.
Attention should be paid to the correct cutting of parts of large cuts for curing. Muscle fibers should be located along the length of the piece for even curing. Too rapid loss of moisture impoverishes the taste of the finished product. Drying out of the product also prevents the use of a shell or surface coating with pectin-containing mixtures.