Anyone Know Any Benefits From Cured Meats?

[Keith O]

Hi all!

Anyone know if any/much of the benefits of eating raw meat is lost during the curing process?
I'm aware that cooking meat removes the bioavailability of certain nutrients/minerals, but this got me wondering if this is also the case with curing meats.

Just ordered a load of Biltong (similar to jerky but less likely to have sugar) and Drywors and while I am going to eat it anyway... it would be awesome if I was to find out that a lot of the benefits of eating raw meat is retained after curing.

I read somewhere that apparently sodium nitrate (preservative) is not as bad as I thought either...
Anyone know more about this?
I'm thinking about getting myself an Iberico Ham soon as a reward for staying off the carbs.
Obviously I'll have to get one which is free from some of the crap like MSG which some people use when curing meat.

 

But yeah... anyone know more about the benefits of cured meats vs cooked vs Raw?
 

[Geezy]

I really don’t know one way or the other but I would imagine that it would depend on the curing process.
Some curing involves just drying the meat and lightly smoking it with little heat. I would think that that might preserve the nutrients better than the meats that are cured in a higher heat slightly cooking it.
I make my own bacon and my curing process involves wet brining the pork belly for seven days in the cute and then hot smoking it until it reaches an internal temp of 135-135. I do it that way because it’s quicker. I have been thinking about doing a low temp smoke on my next batch.
You are correct, the whole nitrate myth was busted a long time ago.
Back when my dad died in 83 of a very aggressive cancer at the age of 59 the oncologist told us the cancer was caused buy all of the processed cured meats he ate. It wasn’t the cigarettes he smoked and it wasn’t that he was an alcoholic it was the nitrates. Lol! It turns out it was more than likely the Agent Orange he was exposed to during his time in Vietnam.
When it comes to the nutritional differences between how meats are made or grown I believe we can easily start to overthink things.


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[Keith O]

Crazy aint it?!
I read before that it takes on avg 17 years for research to trickle down into clinical practice. 17 years!! 

I now tend to request younger doctors when I have the option, just based on the fact that they will have less bad information to unlearn.
Unfortunately that also means they will have less experience, but I hope I can mitigate that somewhat by also being responsible for understanding what ails me or just generally how my body works. Big ships (i.e. medical profession) take a long time to turn, but a thankfully a tug boat (you and I) can speed up the boats turning by educating ourselves and having informed conversations with our doctors.

Man I wish I could make my own biltong or bacon!
As the days go by I become more adamant that I am getting a garden when I move again.
Kinda difficult to smoke/cure meat in a small studio apartment 

[Bob]

23 hours ago, Nowler said:

anyone know more about the benefits of cured meats vs cooked vs Raw?

There's very little difference between the three. Not enough for me to worry about. The nutrients in meat, such as protein and minerals, are pretty resistant to heat. If you cook meat in liquid (as in a stew or soup), some of the minerals and protein may leach from the meat into the cooking liquid. But if you consume the broth, little will be lost.

[Keith O]

So regarding the cured ham I am going to get, this is the one I am eying up.

I got one before which was Serrano shoulder (cured for 9 months) and cost me about £80 for 4.5kg.
It's was my first time buying a cured ham (excluding packaged slices) and it did not disappoint!
I pretty much ate some every day - it was amazing!
I got through the lot in about 10 days if memory serves, and on my own! 

This one is almost double the price, same weight but it's 100% Iberico Pata Negra (100% Spanish black pig) and was cured for 20 months.
I was tempted to splash out and get a higher grade but I decided I wanted to see what each of the grades tastes like - plus it allows me time to make some money because the top grade can easily cost £100 per kg! 

This one, while it's 100% the correct breed (others commonly sold are only 50%), it's not fed purely on acorns.
In fact, this one has only ever eaten grain I believe - or at least, has never eaten acorns.
As such this one is referred to as White label/de cebo.

I've not ordered it yet as part of me thinks I should wait until I have gotten through some of the 2kg of biltong/droewors I have arriving soon.
But the other part of me is saying the biltong/droewors are cured and they will last quite a while if stored correctly 

Anyone know much about Jamon?
Any suggestions or tips?
 

 

 

[Geezy]

Man, those hams sound delicious. I’ve never had any hams that exotic.
I love ham, especially what we call here a country ham but they probably don’t compare to what you’re talking about.
The best I’ve ever had was Black Forest Ham that I used to get when I lived in Germany. I really miss it.


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[Keith O]

On 7/10/2024 at 4:47 AM, Geezy said:

Man, those hams sound delicious. I’ve never had any hams that exotic.
I love ham, especially what we call here a country ham but they probably don’t compare to what you’re talking about.
The best I’ve ever had was Black Forest Ham that I used to get when I lived in Germany. I really miss it.


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There must be a Spanish shop somewhere relatively close to you, or even in your state... surely.

Have a quick Google and order yourself one. You won't regret it mate  

If you want to keep costs down, then a 8-10 month cured Serrano ham is still delicious! 

If you get one, I challenge you to not think about it when you are not currently eating it

I was  often sitting down watching stuff on my screen while munching on it.

[Keith O]

My 1kg of Biltong and 1kg of droewors arrived this morning, 1 day early and with a sticker to sayinsufficent postage paid (still arrived).

My door buzzer woke me up (bad night sleep so slept in since I'm between jobs)  and I just threw on shorts to go collect it at the door. Spent the next 20mins walking around my apartment half naked, shaking my head in disbelief at how good the droewors are! Haha

I'll send a picture of em when I get home but they are dried on the outside but a burst of fatty wetness inside when you bite into it. Must be at least 40% fat! 

I don't believe in a heaven, but I did for about 20mins this morning

Back to my point though... they arrived in brown paper bags in the box, not sealed. So I now need to figure out the best way to store half of em.

[Geezy]

There must be a Spanish shop somewhere relatively close to you, or even in your state... surely.
Have a quick Google and order yourself one. You won't regret it mate  
If you want to keep costs down, then a 8-10 month cured Serrano ham is still delicious! 
If you get one, I challenge you to not think about it when you are not currently eating it
I was  often sitting down watching stuff on my screen while munching on it.

I’ll see about doing that.
We don’t have any Spanish shops here that I’m aware of, just plenty on Mexican carnicereas. They have good meats but no jams that I’ve seen.


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