Land Meats / Mammal.
Fermented Animal Products
Contrary to today’s practices, in native diets animal products are typically consumed raw or fermented more often than the plant kingdom.
The conditions the animal is raised in and the feed it is fed are probably the most important when sourcing meat.
You should obviously make sure the meat is from a clean source, i.e. fresh and from grass-fed animals.
Grass-fed beef is much less likely to harbor acid-resistant E. coli. A diet consisting primarily of grain creates an acidic condition in a cow’s digestive system, and the bacteria that survive this pH level are resistant to a human’s stomach acid.
Jamón ibérico, Chorizo, Salami, Pepperoni, Nem chua, Som moo, Miriss, Dodery, Corned beef, are all traditionally fermented products.
Grandma made Brötchen: a kind of sandwich made with raw meat on rye bread rolls.
The Chinese prepare pork by soaking in something acidic, usually cider vinegar, tantamount to fermentation.
Marinate liver or other soft cuts of meat, following the same recipe as Fish
HAPPY HIGH MEAT
Apparently, it is known as ‘high’ meat because people report a feeling of high and euphoria after consuming.
Nothing to do with the aroma!
That mellows when the meat is ready!
The ‘wee beasties’ in it secrete happiness chemicals! “High-Meat” is a fermented food frequently consumed by the Inuit in their traditional diets and is quite often used by Raw-Animal-Foodists.
HAPPY HIGH MENU
Rabbit carcasses-plus organs/ leg of lamb/mutton plus lamb organs, venison organs, giant tiger prawns, lobster, crab, mussels, beef organs, beef heart diced, lamb liver, marrow , salmon, cod, free-range turkey breast-fillets (whole goose and whole turkey at Christmas), wild boar muscle-meats/organs, horse-muscle-meat, wild mallard duck and organs, goat muscle-meat and bits and bobs.
Hoe: thinly sliced raw beef or seafood (Korean)
Carne cruda: finely minced raw beef (Italian)
Carpaccio: thin sliced raw beef with vinaigrette (Italian)
Steak tartare: mined raw beef with capers, seasoning, and egg yolk on top (Eastern Europe)
Conch: raw snails
Kibbeh nayeh: minced raw beef or lamb mixed with bulgur and spices (Aleppo)
Chee kufta: “raw meat patty” made with raw lamb or beef (Armenian and Turkish)
Kitfo: “steak tartar” with spiced chilli + herbed butter sauce (Ethiopian)
Mett: raw minced pork (German)
Sakura: raw horse meat
Yukhoe: raw “hoe” mixed with Asian spices and sauces (Korean)
Kuai: finely cut strips of raw meat or fish (Chinese)
From Ethiopia, tere sega (raw meat) is traditionally served by the wealthy at weddings and other special occasions. It is the speciality of some restaurants. Not unlike butcher shops in appearance, these eating places feature carcasses hanging near the entrance and men in bloodied overalls brandishing carving knives.
The restaurants aren’t as gruesome as they sound: the carcass is to demonstrate the meat is fresh, and men in overalls to guarantee you get the piece you fancy – two assurances you don’t always get in the West. A plate and a sharp knife serve as utensils, and awazi (a kind of mustard and chilli sauce) and berbere as accompaniments. Served with some local red wine, and enjoyed with Ethiopian friends, it is a ritual not to be missed – at least not for red-blooded meat eaters. It is sometimes called gored gored.
The Indigenous Fermented Food of the Sudan, Hamid Dirar identifies eighty distinct fermentation processes for every bit of animal flesh and bone. Miriss is made by fermenting fat; Dodery by fermenting chopped up bones in water.
Fermentation process of animal fats is like fish fermentation from the Naga tribes of Northeastern India. The fermented fat is stored in bamboo and usually a spoonful is added during cooking of vegetable curry to soften vegetables and to impart a taste to curry. Today, the practice is observed in remote villages.
Sausage is one of the oldest fermented meat products.
The writings of ancient Egyptians described the preservation of meat by salting and sun drying.
The ancient Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans used sausage as a food source during times of war. In the public houses of Sparta, sausages were said to have been hung from nails for old men to snap at with their teeth.
The French, Spanish and Italians have been fermenting sausages for as long as anyone can remember.
Think: French saucisson, Spanish chorizo, and Italian salami.
Microorganisms were recognized as being important to the production of sausages about 1921. In the 1940s and 1950s, pure microbial starter cultures consisting of lactic acid bacteria became available, but their use was not widespread until the early 1980s.
We all know that meat left at room temperature will spoil in time and that is why it is kept in a refrigerator/freezer. Yet fermented sausages are not cooked and do not have to be stored under refrigeration.
What makes them different?
Fermented sausages are made by use of “beneficial or friendly” bacteria that we manipulate to our advantage and they become microscopic laborer’s performing tasks that we cannot do ourselves.
LIVERWURST (Leberwurst / “liver sausage”)
Liver is an acquired taste that sends a lot of people running, Grandma would comment “never tasted properly made liver sausage”. Liverwurst normally contains pigs’ livers, rather than calves’ livers. Many varieties, for meat lovers to explore – for example: Christmas goose liver with pistachios.
Traditional sausage/salami used no preservatives and no smoking or high heat.
LIVER JUICE (did we say running, where are my jogging shoes?)
Use only organic liver, lambs fry or liver of other organic free-range animals. Blend with sufficient water, strain and freeze in ice cube containers. Drink one or more cubes dissolved in fresh enzyme juice or lacto-tonic. Or make a popsicle with kefir. We make for our dog and chickens in Summer.
CUBED HIGH MEAT
Choose lean meat/organs because fat can go rancid.
It is CRUCIAL to air the meat (expose uncovered meat to air for a few minutes) every 12-24 hours or so.
It is necessary to air out the meat frequently so that the air is exchanged, and the environment is not allowed to become anaerobic. This exposure to oxygen will make it so that botulinum, among other things, cannot gain a foothold on the surface since most pathogenic bacteria are obligate or facultative anaerobes.
Cut meat into small cubes and place in a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Do not fill the jar more than 1/2 to 1/3 full so there is lots of room for air in the jar. Refrigerate meat cubes.
Take the jar for a walk every 3-4 days and remove the lid… waive the jar around in the fresh outside air for a few minutes and put the lid back on.
Refrigerate until it is time for the next ‘outing’.
Be sure to do this OUTSIDE, because it will begin to smell strongly after 10 days or so. After 30 days it is ready to eat… and it is good for at least a year… if you refrigerate and air it out every few days.
So, if you go on holiday, you will have to get someone to walk your high meat, or take it with you – could be interesting at check-in.
MINCED MEAT
Use only mince from lamb or grass-fed or organic meat; do not use anything from a feedlot. Keep larger amounts frozen in meal-size portions. You may flavour a portion with chopped or grated onion, radish, ginger and tomato, use chili or cayenne, add some magnesium chloride, and squeeze some lemon or lime juice over it. If possible, expose previously frozen or refrigerated food for several minutes to outdoor sunshine before eating.
BEEF JERKY
1.5kg organic beef, lamb, chicken or goat mince
Raw Apple cider vinegar
Himalayan Salt
2 Carrots, grated
2 Zucchinis, grated
Dash of spice – Cumin
Coconut Amino
- Throw mince into large bowl and pour over apple cider vinegar to cover.
- Leave to marinade overnight. Mince is ready when it is not red or pink anymore. The acid of the vinegar cooks the meat, so the meat is not damaged through heating. When mince turns a brown colour (not red or pink) turn onto strainer and squeeze out the liquids.
3. Place onto dehydrator sheets and score into mouth size pieces.
4. Dry at 68 degrees C or 155 degrees F /use solar dehydrator for approximately 8 hours. Check jerky after this time as it may very well need more time to dry. Properly dried jerky when bent, should crack but not break.
5. When it is finished, leave out to cool.
CORNED BEEF
Corned Beef: The term “Corned” comes from putting meat in a large crock and covering it with large rock-salt kernels of salt that were referred to as “corns of salt” This preserved the meat.
By keeping the meat submerged below the brine’s surface, and in an anaerobic (oxygen-free environment) it safely cures.
6 cups water
3/4 cup Himalayan salt
6 cloves garlic
6 bay leaves
1 stick cinnamon
2 tablespoons whole coriander seed
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon juniper berries
4 cloves
1 – 2 kg (2 ½ to 3-pound) beef brisket
Bring water and salt to a boil.
Let cool.
Place spices and brisket in a deep pot, wide-mouthed gallon glass jar, or a non-reactive container. Cut the meat in half, if necessary, to fit into the container.
Cover the meat with the cooled brine. To keep the brisket submerged, weigh down with clean rocks or a water-filled, tightly sealed jar.
Cover the container.
Cure in refrigerator for one week.
Turn meat after 3 days.
Drain and discard the brine.
Soak meat in fresh water for 10 to 15 minutes to reduce salt.
Discard soaking water.
Place meat in a deep pot, cover with fresh water and (optional, add an onion, carrot, celery stalk and fresh spices such as those used in the brine).
Simmer for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until fork tender.
Remove meat; to serve some hot, slice very thin as it is concentrated.
Reserve broth for use as a stock and discard the onion, carrot and celery.
Press remaining meat into a container into which it just fits; cover and refrigerate with a weight (like a jar filled with water) pressing down upon it.
The moisture pressed from the meat forms a delicious jellied coating.
Refrigerated, corned beef holds well for up to a week.
Once fermented and then cooked, slice corned beef very thin and serve with horseradish sauce or mustard. Or, use on sandwiches or as an ingredient in soups and stews.
Grandma loved to share Labskaus – A dish made from corned beef, herring, mashed potatoes, and beetroot, served with a fried egg and a pickled cucumber.
• For a delicious corned beef, add a small onion, one dessertspoon of rapadura, one dessertspoon of apple cider vinegar and some fresh mint to the water the meat is cooked in.
• To tenderize steak, place three tablespoons of best quality oil and one of kombucha vinegar into a deep dish and marinate the steak in this for at least half an hour.
• If you are right-handed, always purchase a leg of lamb from the right side of the sheep. The bone will then be on your left side and the nice plump side of the meat in front of you for easier carving. Of course, it is the other way around if you are left-handed.
• To reheat a cold joint, soak in left over fermented vegetable brine / kraut juice for an hour before reheating and it will be as juicy as freshly cooked.
• When roasting pork, do not let the crackling touch the boiling fat or it will become tough as leather (it was used in the days of armor to withstand battle axes)!
Rub with salt and a little pounded fermented garlic. Put in a very hot oven for ten minutes then reduce to normal heat. Baste frequently. The good beasties will be destroyed in the garlic but the flavour will be divine! Serve with apple kraut salad.
BRAWN
1 pig’s head and feet
Pepper, salt and nutmeg to taste
Clean and divide the head; put head, nose, ears and feet in saucepan with water to cover, simmer covered 4 to 5 hours until meat falls off bone.
Strain and reserve reduced liquid.
Remove all bones.
Season and put into earthenware bowl, cover with reserved liquid and cool.
Turn out to use.
Love and bacteria, Xo Lynnie
https://linktr.ee/lynniesteinthegutacademy
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