1. Give It a Soak
Many farmers, back before the days of refrigeration, used a brine barrel to cure meat. This essentially was a barrel or crock full of salt and water which held the cuts of meat until cured. The process and amounts vary, but basically you take hot water and salt in a 32 to 1 ratio, or about 2 cups of salt in 4 gallons of water, and fill your barrel about half way with this brine. Add a bit of vinegar, and then take your larger cuts of meat, cut in no more than 15-lb. pieces, and place them in your brine barrel, followed by your smaller cuts. This ensures you don't disturb the larger cuts of meat when you remove the smaller ones later. Lid your barrel and let them soak for 6 days. Remove the meat from the brine and hang it in cloth sacks in a cool, dry place. This recipe should keep the meat for about 4 to 6 weeks if done properly. Make sure to discard the brine after processing your meat.
2. Add a Dry Salt Cure
Another way to extend the harvest of your butchered animals is to dry salt cure them. This involves keeping them at a low temperature and may require refrigeration if it's summertime, or if you live in a part of the country that doesn't see an extended period of below 40-degree weather. Take about 6 lbs of salt, sweeten it up with about 2 lbs. of brown granulated sugar, add 2 to 3 oz. of saltpeter, and mix well. Pack this mixture on your meat just after butchering and place in a large box barrel or sack in a cool place. Cure for 2 days per pound of meat and repeat the rub of salt mixture every 7 days during the cure. Be sure to hold the meat between 35 and 40 degrees to maintain freshness. If you have freezing weather for a few days, add that many days to the curing time.
3. Smoke Them if You Got Them
The smoke flavor of ham is a favorite among many. Curing meat in this way requires a smokehouse and a bit of know-how. Hang your meat in the smokehouse so the pieces do not touch one another. Build a hardwood fire out of woods such as apple or oak and open the vent to let moisture escape the first day. Monitor the temperature, keeping it at around 85 degrees, and shut the vent the second day of curing. Let the meat cure 2 to 3 days like this, then hang it in a cool dry, place or refrigerate if you don't want to further "age" the meat. Use meat cured this way in about 6 months.
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