Curing your own meats

Now that I'm going to be watching my sodium for a little while, I'd like to see if it would be possible to cure my own meats at home where I can watch what goes into them. I'd like to see if it can be done using salt substitutes in place of actual salt. I'm wondering what the process is, and how long it takes. The meats I'm talking about are pepperoni and salami.

By the way, does anyone know where I can find low sodium luncheon meats?

You may be out of luck on the curing side of things... sometimes salt is needed, and substitutes don't have the same effect.

For lunch meats, if you like smoked turkey, you can do your own... just do a couple smoked turkey breasts, then slice them very thin (I use a meat slicer). Better than what you get at the store, and not expensive at all.

Ironwolf, Pepperoni & Salami, at least the traditional dried or semi-dried variety initially start at about 2-3% salt. However during the drying process, water leaves the product usually through a pH drop (the tangy flavor) which concentrates the salt content. Potassium Chloride (KCl) one of the most common salt substitutes imparts a bitter flavor if used in processed meats entirely. Mixing some KCl with NaCl is what some people do in the industry but overall it's just as easy to reduce your intake. So next time you order a pizza try not ordering it with double pepperoni, sausage and bacon and extra cheese.

hankgni wrote:

next time you order a pizza try not ordering it with double pepperoni, sausage and bacon and extra cheese.

I can't eat pizza anyway. Too much sodium in the sauce. Man, this is gonna be tough!

Make your own pizza with homemade sauce. Neither is difficult. That way you can control the amount of salt.

Anybody know the salt content of mozzerella?

irishfolker wrote:

Make your own pizza with homemade sauce. Neither is difficult. That way you can control the amount of salt.

Not only is it easy, it's cheap as can be. I make the dough, top it and then place it into olive-oiled cast iron skillets. Put your oven as high as it can go; mine goes to 550F; and cook for 11 minutes (vary the time intelligently depending on temp and results of course). Pizza ovens get up to something like 700F so your not going to burn your pizza. Just keep an eye on it.

This might be a blessing for you. It's easy to gradually increase the ole salt intake without really realizing it. I'm betting that in 6 weeks, food that you're eating now will taste salty to you.

That's actually not a bad idea. However, I may not have to follow that diet after all. I've been doing some research, and I may not have Menier's Disease at all. Boy, wouldn't that be swell ?