In the olden days they use to used salt pork. Do you think it would work as a tasty fat source? Or would it get too smelly and gross? I've never eaten it or bought it so I don't know what it is.

Edited by sbhikes on 02/09/2009 08:32:34 MST.

Look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_pork

With some stats here http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/equivalents_substitutions.asp?index=S&tid=1395

I have a chunk of this in my fridge right now, and I don't think you want to eat it straight, or even with the kind of cooking that most of us do in the field. I

t is pretty much pure fat, and it is extremely salty (as you might have guessed from the name) normally it is used as a flavoring agent for a stew or a long simmered bean dish (the classsic cuisine of New England: chowder and baked beans)it has just enough meat in it to make it tough unless you simmer it for a long time, which seems like a waste of fuel in the field.

As for how long it would keep, I'd have to guess a really long time, even without refrigeration. the piece in my fridge is about a month old; it tastes and smells just fine.

Diane. I remember my great grandma from sweden frying it up and eating it. She also ate pure butter and the fat off of pork chops. She lived to a ripe old age of 98. Who knows how long she would have live if she wouldn't have eaten that stuff...hee hee Anyway, she also used it to extract deep slivers. Placed it on the sliver and the salt would draw it out. I suppose if you didn't eat it on the trail you could use it for that purpose once home...hee hee Ok so i'm being a smart a-- now.....

Edited by clt1953 on 02/09/2009 14:06:20 MST.

Spam looks like its kinda a salt pork. Its pork,ham and salt.
By the way has anyone gone to the Spam website lately? its not what I was expecting.

Indeed, I use salt pork all the time when I make a pot of green beans. I recomend it for home use. Salt pork, minced onion and fresh half runner green beans. This is a dish that must simmer for 4-5 hours.

I think you may be thinking about salt cured ham AKA country ham. It may last a while in the field but I wouldn't try it. There is likely a reason no one makes ham jerky. They make it out of beef, and turkey but not pork. I suspect it may not be very shelf stable.

They do have shelf stable baccon but once you open the pack I think you have to eat it right away.

Edited by magillagorilla on 02/09/2009 15:08:06 MST.

They do have single servings of SPAM in foil pouches. Both lower fat and orginial version. Also turkey spam. Not sure how that is considered SPAM. It's not the healthest food out there, but is fun to eat once in awhile. Sorry, guess we are getting off the subject of salt pork....

Edited by clt1953 on 02/09/2009 15:23:21 MST.

We often use dehydrated Turkey Spam...goes great with instant mashed spuds and gravy, and weighs almost nothing ;)

If you buy the shelf stable bacon, get the smaller bags (often hid next to the croutons in the salad dressing aisle). They are about 2 servings (Hormel makes the smallest bag).

You have a couple days to safely use it up - though in really hot weather, use within 24 hours. It is protected by the salt and preservatives - and isn't terribly high in fat due to being cooked.

(In theory that stuff is WAY more shelf stable than they would have you think....but why tempt fate, eh?)

You can find old accounts of sailing voyages and a constant diet of salted beef and pork. I think the food made them fearless of the dangers of the sea-- what was to lose? :)

It was a this-or-nothing-at-all choice before refrigeration and canning. Things have improved! Imagine something the likes of beef jerky being the major portion of your diet.

All the cod shipped off the NE banks from the 16th century on was heavily salted. And then there are the tasteful joys of lutefisk {{{{{{{{{{GAG}}}}}}}}} and pickled herring.

I'm also reminded of Lewis and Clark's accounts of being without meat, while traveling down a river full of fish. They believed that fish wouldn't supply the nutrients and they would starve on a fish diet.

Could make a vegetarian out of me!

Mt grandma was Swedish, too. I think all her recipes started with cream and butter. Her cholesterol was sky high but she lived into her 80s.

Could you imagine how yummy your masked potatoes could be if they were floating a layer of bacon fat on top (plus cheese)? Maybe bacon would be a good first 2 days item.

Hey,wait a minute. What's wrong with lutefisk and pickled herring??? My family always told me it would grow hair on my chest. Why as a little girl I would want a hairy chest is beyond me, but my love of pickle herring is still with me. Hmmmm Wonder if you could dehyrate pickled herring to take on the trail. I do like the idea of dehyrating turkey SPAM...Yumm

As long as the pickled herring is not in oil...go for it! It will get more concentrated salt wise but should do just fine - think about it...Asian cultures dry salted fish all the time :-)

Pickled herring in sour cream. Yummy! Gimme a fork, and a comfortable place to sit, and stand back.

> My grandma was Swedish, too. I think all her recipes started with cream and butter.
> Her cholesterol was sky high but she lived into her 80s.

Impressive. How long did her husband live?

Cheers

R.Pump,
Thanks for mentioning Spam. I had forgotton about this salty treat. And now you tell me it's dehydrateable. I'll get some of the T. variety and experiment. I would have thought it'd have too much fat to successfully dry. I may be able to stomach a cup of mashed potatoes again.

You need to try the Spam Singles in the Lite version! Not only is it less fatty...it has 25% less sodium! Yay!

Less sodium! Sarah, why do you eat it at all? Surely not for the flaor.

>Less sodium! Sarah, why do you eat it at all? Surely not for the flaor.

LOL. The turkey spam is something around 97% fatfree, but lots of yummy saltiness. Much lower in fat than the reduced fat stuff. Of course, if you really miss the fat, you can always add lotsa butter!

Sadly my Finnish grandfather died of ALS in his 60s. I know it's not a genetic disease, but sometimes I think that if that's in my future, I should do all the hiking and backpacking I can right now.

Mmmm. Pickled herring.