Fw: Processing Meats

[Guest guest]

Re: Processing Meats

Processing Meats

Hello Folks,

We sell a lot of our pork and beef here on the farm, by the package, organic

of course. A lot of our customers have been asking us recently if we could

supply beef hot dogs, bologna and hams without the nitrates and sugars commonly

used during processing and smoking.

We've asked our local butcher shop if we could have these items made without

the additives and their reply was that we could not if we intended to sell them

in our retail store.

Is there any way around this? Most of these additives are not allowed in

organics, yet we must have them in our meats to sell them in our store?

Something isn't right about that.

Any comments or suggestions?

Wayne and Janet Brunner

[Guest guest]

>Our customers want no nitrates, no sugar, less salt, and low fat. When

>you make a sausage according to what customers think they want, you end up

>with an inedible, off color, dry, flavorless sausage that no one will buy.

That is so true. Thanks for the nice writup. Have you -- or anyone, lately

-- tried the lacto-fermenting approach? I made kefir-jerky, and that kefir

is an amazing preservative. It also adds a lot of flavor without salt.

Somehow I imagine a combo of kefir and kraut -- the kraut would add

moisture. I don't know about the gov't regulations, but someone was doing

some experiments with kefir killing e-coli, it is pretty effective.

Nothing I've made with kefir has ever spoiled or molded, and I had some

kefir-sour-cream in the fridge for 3 months. (I know some people have not

had this experience -- it may depend on the " breed " of kefir). I've been

considering mixing it with ground meat and letting it age a bit in the

fridge -- I'd still cook it though, or hard-smoke it.

Heidi Schuppenhauer

" If you like Magic, you need CONJURINGS! "

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