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By HELEN W. SMITH
F.itension Agent, Home Economics
Frequently I’ll get calls on buying processed meats such as hams, sausages, curing and smoking, etc.
Processed meat may be defined as meat that has been changed by any mechanical, chemical or enzymatic treatment, altering the taste, appearance and often the keeping quality of the product. The National Livestock and Meat Board report that approximately 35 percent of the beef, veal, pork and lamb produced in the U.S. is processed. Most of the meat which is processed (about 75 percent) is pork, and the remainder is beef with a small percentage of lam or mutton. Classifications Of Processed Meat
According to USDA processed meat can be classified as sausages, cured whole muscle cuts, or. as restructured meat products. The topic of my nutrition column this week is Cured Whole Muscle Cuts.
Whole muscle cuts like ham, corned beef, pastrami and bacon are considered processed meat products because they have been treated with a curing solution, cured, smoked and/or seasoned. These products are more popular in their processed form than as fresh cuts. A ham, for instance, is more in demand in the U.S. than a fresh leg or pork from which a ham is made.
Ham — Ham is defined as the hind leg or pork that has been cured and smoked or cured and canned. Ham, one of the more highly valued pork products, can be produced in three styles: bone-in, semi-boneless or boneless. Bone-in hams can contain four leg-bone sections including the aitch bone (a portion of the pelvic arch), the femur, the patella (the knee cap) and the fibula shank and tibia. Semi-boneless hams usually have the aitch and the shank bones removed, although occasionally the shank is left attached. Boneless hams have all the bones removed and most of the external and as much as possible of the inter-muscular, fat trimmed away. The lean meat may be rolled, shaped or formed into a casing.
Specialty hams, such as the Smithfield Ham or Prosciutto Ham, are available regionally and by mail order. The Smithfield Ham, produced in Smithfield, Virginia, is dry-cured with salt, sugar and nitrate, then smoked and aged to give it a distinctive flavor and texture. Ham cured elsewhere by this process must be labeled “Smithfield-Style Ham” or “country-style ham. Prosciutto Ham is a dry-cured Italian ham that is highly
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