What are the rules for carrying cured meats? Like salami (probably my favorite cured meat) for instance. How does it keep uncut, or after it's been cut into, how does ambient temperature effect it- i.e. winter temps vs. summer, etc..? My dad grew up in the "old world" and I recall as a kid he'd bring a chunk of cured slab bacon to work sites for his lunch, along with a heavy piece of home made bread with some lard spread on it. I feel that in our modern life of refrigeration and food poisoning scares people err on the cautious side when it comes to meats, even though for thousands of years people didn't have refrigerators and found ways to make meat keep.

thanks,
BM

In my experience uncut salami will keep a couple of weeks at least. If the cut end goes bad, cut it off and underneath should still be good. Some meats tend to sweat more than others though which can get messy, I guess i would aim for lower fat content of the spectrum.

Howdy,

I do this on pretty much all of my short (1 or 2 night) trips, including last weekend. I've never had any problems. Come to think of it, I usually bring something similar on longer trips too, and just eat it by the first or second night. Maybe eat the sausage chunks the first night if it's going to be uber-hot and you're worried about it.

Idahoan instant potatoes + sharp cheddar chunks + summer sausage (or similar) = a Mighty Fine trail dinner. Obviously not the lightest, but for short trips who cares? I often roast the summer sausage on a stick over the campfire for added goodness.

This is just what works for me - so, ya know, please don't sue me if you hurl :)

I was also raised between two cultures where either Speck and Jagdwurst or Salame and Prosciutto were mainstays for traveling, along with some cheese and bread. If the meat is rather dry, it should last longer. Slicing it will dry it out further and potentially introduce some microbes that could affect the shelf life. As in anything with quite a bit of oil in it, there is a possibility of it going rancid, but that is pretty easy to tell by smell and taste.
Heat makes the meat "sweat", cold just makes it more work to chew.


Edited to add: uncut salami, if kept reasonably dry and cool, should last for several months.

Edited by Kat_P on 03/13/2012 14:35:14 MDT.

> uncut salami, if kept reasonably dry and cool, should last for several months.
Well, the whole point of such salamis was to provide meat in the winter, just as cheese was to provide milk products. Both were originally designed to last 12 months.

But Kat is very right on one point: you keep it in bulk, not sliced and diced.

Cheers

I agree Roger. Someone else posted about salame lasting a couple of weeks so I added to my post. US consumers prefer the moister salame, not the drier kind that I grew up with; same with other cured meats. There is also healthier trend toward less nitrates; these meats tend to spoil quicker which is fine as most people don't need them to last that long.

I've always found that meat and cheese last longer (even at home in the fridge) if you take precautions to introduce as few microbes as possible.

In the field, I run my clean knife blade quickly through a bic flame, and make sure never to touch the part I'm not going to eat. It seems like my grubby mitts pawing all over the food are the chief culprit in mold.

Dried beef like Bündnerfleisch or Bresaola travel fairly well and taste AMAZING. Super good with some hard cheese, and your adult beverage of choice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTvdjlJUO8A

Holy $%!^ that was hard to watch... I made it just about to when they starting signign...

Thanks to the rest of you for the helpful information. I'm going to try to skip the supermarket mass produced stuff and hit up the local butcher shop / deli has to offer. There isn't a lot of specialty meat stores (or cheese for that matter) in my area...

BM

I obtain it when I pass through Wisconsin and store it in the freezer until needed. Two weeks prior to a trip I take it out and hang it at room temperature to slowly air dry. After two weeks it will be about 20% lighter in weight. I place it in a cloth bag to allow it to breath and to prevent it from molding while on the trail/water. I have consumed it 5 weeks out of the freezer.

Out of the freezer it taste like a beef stick. Dried, it resembles pepperoni. Warmed on a rock beside a fire on a cold morning, it tastes like kielbasa sausage.

http://www.wisconsinmade.com/gift-ideas/Bavaria-Landjager-28.aspx

Edited by worth on 03/27/2012 19:44:16 MDT.

I've found Gallo brand dry salami to fine for a week on the trail, even in a California summer. I'll note that every time I've seen a bear get into a pack, it was the pack with the salami in it. YMMV. Or not.

I agree you want the driest stuff for both weight and shelf life. Look at the lable for the grams fat + grams protein + grams fat per one ounce serving. The more grams of "stuff", the less water is in it.

Supposedly bears are dumb animals. However, whenever they dig into a backpack, they can recognize the name Hormel and pull that package out first. They feel that it is their God-given duty as bears to liberate the cold cuts and sausage.

--B.G.--