Salted Pork- Koson Sale

Let us savour the past by salting our own pork and enjoying the many opportunities that Salted Pork- koson Sale-provides us as a base flavour for many dishes.

Before the advent of electricity, one of the ways that the Seychellois would traditionally preserve their meat, was to salt it and the most popular method was the dry-curing method. This method involves the rubbing of a salt mix into the meat, as opposed to the wet-cured method where the meat is placed in a salt/brine solution. In this recipe, we will be using the dry-salting method to salt our pork.

HOW DOES THE SALTING WORK?

Salting is a process of preserving meat, usually by adding salt and cloves, cinnamon and other spices to the meat.  It consists of two steps, firstly the physical addition of the salt and secondly the absorption of the salt into the meat. Salting preserves food by drawing water out of the food by osmosis, preventing bacteria growing and spoiling the food.  All living things require water and cannot grow in the absence of water, including the bacteria. Furthermore, salt inhibits the growth of microorganisms by drawing water out of microbial cells and killing them.

It is worth noting also that, as salt enters the meat cells, it alters the structure of the muscle fibers and proteins, and this gives rise to a change in texture.

NO SALPETER IN THIS RECIPE

We do not use any saltpeter in this recipe, for the simple reason that it is of a small quality; the cured meat will ultimately be frozen and there is also no need to enhance the colour of the salted pork.

Saltpeter (potassium nitrate) is locally known as salpet, derives from the French ‘salpêtre’, which is a naturally occurring chemical that is widely used as a food preservative.

You may choose to use curing salt to cure your pork, but bear in mind that it contains sodium nitrite as a preservative.

What is the purpose of saltpeter

Saltpeter imparts a bright reddish, pink color, which is desirable in a cured product. In addition to the colour role, it has a pronounced effect on flavour by acting as powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants are compounds that prevent the development of oxidative rancidity, which would reduce the keeping quality. It also prevents the growth of a food poisoning microorganism known as Clostridium botulimum, the bacteria that causes botulism. Excessive use of saltpeter is harmful to health and should therefore be used as directed on the label. 

USES FOR SALTED MEAT IN SEYCHELLES

Although today we still cure meat, it is not done to preserve it as such, but to savour the unique flavour that can be achieved by the process and the different dishes that can be made from them. Salted meat is  very versatile and is used as a base flavour in a large variety of dishes including in frikase  with young pumpkin; pilaf rice and curries; stir-fry with marsh spinach; cooked in lentils; cooked in a coconut curry with breadnut seeds or jackfruit seeds ; curried with raw pawpaw, the list  is endless.

SALTING THE PORK

Salted pork or koson sale is not to be readily available these days, so why not make your own, and this is how: 

ACCESS YOUR PREFERRED MEAT CUT

The pork belly is the preferred cut to be salted because it has a good balance of fat and meat. This is necessary because without the fat the salted pork could end up being quite dry. For this recipe, I have used the pork shoulder which is also a good alternative

PREPARE THE SALT MIX

Prepare enough salt mix to cover the surfaces for your sliced pork. The traditional mix is simply made up of salt, cracked peppercorns and cloves.  You may decide to be creative and add some other spices like coriander seeds, bay leaves and mustard seeds.  But bear in mind that, as your salted pork will be boiled before you cook it, most of the effect of the extra spices will be lost.

PREPARE YOUR MEAT

Pat your pork belly dry and incise the meat in such a way to get about 3 cm square incisions. You can also score the skin but do not cut through. Massage the salt mix into the incisions as well as on the skin. This ensures that the salt can penetrate into the flesh in a short time.

Place the meat into an airtight container and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least one day to allow the salt to penetrate the meat.

After the first day, transfer the container of salted meat to a fridge for about 6 days, turning the meat over on the third day so that the salt and the brine that has formed can penetrate the meat properly.  By the end of the six  days, the pork would have been well cured.  Remove it from marinade (which has now formed by the melted salt and meat juice), and dry well with paper towels, portion it and wrap it in cling film or place in zip-bags and freeze until ready for use.

What is Quatre-épices-Katrepis?

One of the spices used in the marinade is the ‘quatre-épices’. The quatre- épices can be confusing because it is a term used for a seasoning blend as well as a spice in itself. The seasoning blend is made with a mix of white pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, but cinnamon may also be added.  

We are not using the seasoning blend but the leaves of the spice itself, the English name of which is the West Indian Bay Leaf or all-spice leaf, pimenta vulgaris/dioica. It is a highly fragrant and aromatic leaf from a medium sized tree that has notes of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg with hints of vanilla, hence the name ‘quatre-épices’ meaning four spices. The leaves are thick and shiny. The colour ranges from a bright green to bottle green. The darker the leaves, the more mature and robust the flavour is.  They are used mainly in gamy meat curries like goat and rabbit.

Here is the recipe for Salted Pork- Koson Sale

Did you make this recipe?

I hope you will enjoy cooking this dish. Please let me know how it turned out for you. If you have a different version of the recipe or have related questions, please leave your comments below.

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