"Uncured" products

In recent years, a natural and organic movement has taken place. More and more consumers are demanding natural, organic products with minimal processing. I, for one, think this is a crock. However, as long as there are consumer's willing to pay the premium, then it would be foolish not fill the demand. HOWEVER, some processors are being very misleading to consumers.

Several companies, including Hormel and other big names, have come out with new "uncured" lines of products such as bacon and ham. This of course, makes the consumer feel as if they are getting a more natural minimal processed product. And to perpetuate this feeling, they package the product in "natural" un-dyed packaging. These products, are in fact cured though.

In order to understand this, you need to understand the curing process and it's effects. Curing is used to produce a distinctive flavor, color, and for food safety reasons. When items are cured they are typically injected with a mixture of sodium nitrite (this is the cure reactant), sodium erythorbate (this is essentially an accelerator for the sodium nitrite), and flavorings in a water solution. it is important to note, however that if it is a dry-cured product sodium nitrate is used instead of nitrite; furthermore, injection is not the only method of getting this mixture into the meat, simply one of the most common. The product is then typically smoked which activates the sodium nitrite and the cure process. After the product is smoked to an extent that it reaches an internal temperature capable of killing any and all bacteria (for hams this is 145 degrees F), it is removed from the smoker. The nitrite from the cure will have binded to the color receptors and this causes the pink color. The product will then have a distinctive cured flavor, and will be more shelf stable, thanks to both the cooking and the nitrite added to the product.

Listen carefully, this is very important: There is NO way to acheive the distinctive cured pink color without adding nitrite!

Now, you may wonder, how then, can these companies label their products, which clearly have this pink color as "Uncured". My friends, it is called a loophole. Like so many before them, these unsrupulous people have found a loophole in the law. Instead of adding sodium nitrite straight, they instead add celery salt, which contains nitrite in it. Since they can put celery salt on the label instead of sodium nitrite the law allows them to call these products uncured, when in fact they are cured. Furthermore, there are often much higher levels of nitrite in this salt than what processors add to their products.

What about those people which say to me (and there have been many): "But Rudi, I eat this meat and I no longer get nitrite headaches!" My response to them: "It's all in your head." (No pun intended). Anything that contains nitrite has the ability to give people sensitive to it headaches, both sodium nitrite AND celery salt. So if you mysteriously stopped getting these headaches, it is because you THOUGHT there was no nitrite in the product, and therefore fooled yourself.

So now, dear readers, you know the truth about uncured products. I hope you no longer waste your money on these products. But, if, even after reading this and discovering they are exactly like all other cured meats, you still want to throw away the money (for, these products come with a much heftier price tag then traditional cured products) on this, then at least you are now doing so knowledgeably.

Everglades

I have been absent for a few days due to the fact that I have been house-sitting with no internet.

I introduced my cousins and their friends to the previously mentioned Flat Iron steaks over July 4 and they were a huge success. I must compliment Brian, who manned the grill. The steaks turned out juicy, flavorful, and uber-tender. Overall, it was a great success!

Now I attend the University of Georgia- and I am a big Dawgs fan. As a fan of UGA, I can tell you, I generally detest anything to do with Florida.

However, I'm going to share a product with you today that's from Flordia and I absolutley love it. This product is Everglades Seasoning. Everglades has several types of seasoning you can use but the original is amazing. I have personally used it on steak and chicken, I am going to try it on vegetables soon. The company also recommends it for prok, salads, and grits also. My boss loves it so much he puts it on his popcorn! Another good thing about this particular seasoning, is that it contains Papain. This an enzyme derived from papayas, which is a natural meat tenderizer. So the longer you leave it on, the more tenderization you will get from it.

Everglades also has a mesquite rub, called "Cactus dust". I've had it. And I also LOVE it. Everyone I know who has ever tried it does. In fact, one of my coworkers liked it so muuch he stole my bottle of it. Jerk.

These are the only rubs from the company that I have personally tried, however, I hear good things about the others. Other rubs and seasonings available are Everglades Heat and Everglades Fish and Chicken.

Everglades makes sauces, too. They make: Everglades Moppin' Sauce, Everglades Steak Sauce, Everglades Remoulade Sauce, and Everglades Wild Orange Marmalade. I made short ribs with their Moppin' Sauce in February, and they were awesome. I got several compliments on them. I haven't tried any of the others myself, but if I can find the Remoulade, it's on.

Now, this product is slowly spreading in popularity north from Florida. It's hard to find in North Georgia, however Publix, which is Florida-based itself, typically carries it in their spice aisle. I highly recommend it!

Flat Iron Steaks

Most of you have probably never heard of a Flat Iron steak. You've been missing out. This is a particularly flavorful and tender cut of meat. In fact, this is the second most tender cut of meat in the beef animal, second only to the tenderloin. It also happens to be fairly new, and is therefore hard to find.

The Flat Iron steak was developed by the University of Nebraska and the University of Florida. It comes from a tender, tubular muscle in the shoulder of the animal. Formerly, this muscle was used to make a Top Blade steak. In this cut the muscle is cut vertically, yeilding a nice round steak with one major problem- there is a very heavy seam of connective tissue that runs all of the way through the middle of it. Heat will not break it down, and it is fairly inedible. You'll see in the picture below this seam. Many people will insist a Top Blade and Flat Iron are the same thing. This is not true. They are derived from the same muscle, however, the Flat Iron is far superior to the Top Blade.

Researchers were characterizing tenderness of muscles in beef animals, when they realized how tender themuscle could be if the connective tissue were removed. They used a process very similar to fileting to cut out steaks on either side of the connective tissue. This left them with a flat, rectangular steak of uniform thickness. Thus, the Flat Iron was born.

Due to the shape and uniformity of this steak, it is perfect for grilling. It does well in a marinade, but it is not necessary. I wwould not recommend cooking it beyond medium (and as you'll learn, I would never recommend cooking any steak beyond medium), although even past that it stays relatively very juicy and tender. As with anything cooked on the grill, I would stay away from high heat unless it is very thin to avoid charring the outside while waiting on it to cook through. I cook mine on a medium-high heat and, depending on the thickness of the steak, I typically cook it for about 5-6 minutes on each side for medium-rare. This steak will typically shrink up some on the grill.

Go find yourself some Flat Irons.. you may even find you're new favorite steak!

There's my daily dose of meat science for you!