Homemade Pork Lunch Meat

by misko13

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Intro: Homemade Pork Lunch Meat

The traditional Polish way to make pork lunch meat was to condiment the meat and put it in a smoker for a whole day. In the old times every family or neighbourhood would have its own smoker and use it to smoke meat or cheese, but times changed and more people began to live in apartments instead of houses not having the possibility to have a smoker at home. Due to this, people had to adapt the old recipe to this new "apartment version" I explain in this Instructable.

With this recipe you will get the perfect traditional lunch meat, using 100% natural ingredients, and you will save up to a 60-70% on the cost of this final product.

It's pretty easy to make, any beginner could perfectly give it a try!

STEP 1: Ingredients

Base ingredient:

1,5 kg Boneless Pork Loin

Condiment:

1 tbsp Sea Salt (Maldon salt)

1 tbsp Nitrite Salt a.k.a. Curing Salt or Prague Salt “sól peklowa”

1 tsp Milled Black Pepper

2 Chopped Garlic Cloves

1 tbsp Marjoram

2 tbsp Brown/Cane Sugar

1/2 tbsp Paprika

3 tbsp Olive Oil (If it's virgin oil, it's better)

For the cooking process:

3-4 Laurel Leaves

3-4 Allspice balls, also called Jamaica pepper

STEP 2: Preparing the Loin

- Mix all the ingredients that compound the condiment mix and let it set for about 30 minutes so that it becomes homogeneous.

- Meanwhile, trim the fat off the loin.

- Rub the mix into all sides of the loin.

- Cover the recipient using food wrapping film and put it in the fridge.

STEP 3: Macerating Process

- Keep the loin in the fridge for 72h. During the macerating process you will see how the loin releases its juices and are mixed with the condiments.

- Every 24h, turn the loin over and spread the condiment mix on it using a spoon.

STEP 4: Boiling Process

- Bring to boil 2l of water along with the laurel and allspice. Then put the loin and all its juices and condiments in it. Keep it boiling for 5 minutes.

- Let it all cool for 12 hours.

- Boil it again for 5-10 minutes at low heat.

- Let it cool again.

STEP 5: Preservation and Serving Suggestion

Here I leave a suggestion on how to serve the lunch meat. It's a slice of bread toasted on a pan using olive oil, with cherry tomatoes and horseradish sauce as toppings and parsley as decoration.

Preserve the lunch meat uncovered in the fridge. If you cover it, humidity will deteriorate the meat.

It lasts up to a week in perfect conditions.

24 Comments

InarcoC 5 years ago

Hi! From your recent posts I saw you are in Spain now. Where do you get Jamaica pepper in Spain?

InarcoC 5 years ago

Thank you.
After I made you this question, I saw a suspicious spice called "pimienta guayabita" in a grocery store, I checked google and I found it was the same "Jamaica pepper" or allspice. Now I can try your recipe or improve my borsch recipe.

Stan1y 7 years ago

I like the recipe. I've made and enjoyed similar myself.

But.... This is not chemical and additive free, Ordinary salt and curing salt are both most definitely chemicals, they are also the two main additives that are considered the problem by some with processed meat. Particularly the Prague powder, the fact that you can't cure pork with out it doesn't mean it isn't an additive. You could just get away with saying all natural ingredients, but it is far more likely that its been produced in a chemical works, than mined in Chile, or refined from a dung heap, although that is either potassium or ammonium nitrate. Nice instructable though.

corradini 7 years ago

Stan1y - as Wolfgang Pauli put it: not only is that not right - it isn't even wrong. Yep, salt is a chemical. And so is dihydronium oxide (also known as WATER). And oxygen. And carbon. You want "chemical-free" food, you'll need to go Star Trek and subsist on pure energy. And you're griping about the narrow definition of the word "natural" - we can substitute celery powder for Prague and end up with substantially the same "chemical" - as the industry now disingenuously does with "no added nitrites" bacon.

Saying that salt and nitrite are "considered by some" to be "the problem" is a wildly vague straw-man statement - who's "some", and what's "the problem"?.

It's hard to see what your point is that cured pork needs Prague powder but it's an additive - so are salt, sugar, and spices; what's the point? Seems like you're just nitpicking terminology here.

(And NO idea what the point is to bring up two other preservatives only to point out they're irrelevant here.)

I'm trying to be "nice and respectful" -- I'm just responding to the oddly non-relevant critiques you made - or didn't - here. It's cured ham. Cured ham uses nitrite (as you pointed out!) Other than being pedantic, it's not clear what you were trying to accomplish.

misko13 7 years ago

Thanks for your comment. I didn't really know how to express in english that this lunch meat won't have any artificial colouring, flavors or preservatives. I'll change it right now!

Stan1y 7 years ago

I congratulate you on your English, it didn't cross my mind it wasn't your first language

explosivemaker 7 years ago

Boiling a cut of meat that thick for only 5 mins, then letting it sit
for 12 hours at room temperature definitely does not sound safe,
especially with pork. Have you checked it with a meat thermometer to see
what the internal temperature gets to?

It sounds like it might be a good candidate for sous-vide though. Even if slow cooked in an oven water bath.

joekurm 7 years ago

Fluffydragon stated that it is boiled for 20 minutes. By your directions, it sounds like 5 + 5 to 10 would be 10 to 15 minutes. Also when you let it cool, you do this on the stove, or in the fridge?

misko13 7 years ago

Yes, it's 5+10 minutes and I let it cool at room temperature not in the fridge.

Phoghat 7 years ago

Hi
I'm of Polish extraction and never heard of this. What's it's name in Polish?

misko13 7 years ago

It's called “schab parzony peklowany”.

The version that is usually found at shops is a smoked loin that's been cured with nitrite salt. The seasonings added in this recipe try to simulate the taste given by the smoking process.

Phoghat 7 years ago

Dziękuję ci bardzo !

SophiesFoodieFiles 7 years ago

What a great tutorial! I will make it soon! I just voted for you! yay! x

fluffydragon 7 years ago

So it's only boiled for 20 minutes total? That doesn't seem like enough to cook it through? or is it?

misko13 7 years ago

Those 5+10 minutes are enough to cook it and eliminate the unwanted organisms.

yonkersplanner 7 years ago

For those of you jonesing for Canadian pea meal bacon, this recipe is very close to how you can make that delicacy at home. Leave the fat cap on, leave it in the cure for at least 4 days, take it out, let it dry for an hour on the counter and then roll it in coarse corn meal. Slice thinly and pan fry.

buildandsewandstuff 7 years ago

Can you make this but leave out the nitrite salt ? By the way, nitrites (or Prague powder) IS a preservative. I'll try marinating the meat in your combination of condiment (we call them spices or seasonings in the US) next time I roast a pork loin. It sounds like it would be very flavorful. Thanks for the very clear instructable - it's nice you used plenty of pictures!

misko13 7 years ago

I wouldn`t recommend it as nitrites provide protection against the growth of botulism-producing organisms.

I found a recipe without nitrite salt you can try: https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-cure-meat-without-sodium-nitrite/

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