Curing methods

The techniques that turn fresh meat into something else entirely. 10 cure methods across dry-cure, smoke, cooked, preserved-in-fat, and fresh categories — from long-aged whole-muscle prosciutto and fermented salami to cold-smoked Black Forest ham, mortadella emulsification, and duck confit.

Cure methods
10
Families
5
Foundational
3
Products tracked
49
10 cure methods

Dry-cure

3 methods

Salt-and-time work. Whole-muscle prosciutto, fermented salami, air-dried beef — the techniques that produce the world's most prestigious cured meats. Salt as the primary preservative; time and controlled environment do the rest.

Dry-cure Foundational
Dry-cured fermented sausage
fermented sausage
Ground-pork sausage fermented with starter or native cultures, then air-dried. The salami universe — soppressata, finocchiona, saucisson sec, chorizo.
Salami (Italian) · Soppressata · Finocchiona
15-25°C
Dry-cure Foundational
Dry-cured whole muscle
whole muscle
Salt-cured whole-muscle work — prosciutto, jamón, lardo, coppa. The foundational long-aged dry-cure process; produces the world's most prestigious cured meats.
Prosciutto di Parma DOP · Jamón Ibérico de Bellota · San Daniele DOP
12-18°C
Dry-cure Established
Air-dried aged (no fermentation)
air dried
Lean-meat dry-aging without fermentation — bresaola is the canonical example. Pure salt-and-air work on beef rounds.
Bresaola della Valtellina IGP · Bresaola Piemontese · Air-dried Aubrac beef
12-15°C

Smoke

2 methods

Wood-smoke applications. Cold-smoke (low temperature, applied to cured raw products like Black Forest and Speck) vs hot-smoke (cooks the meat through, American smokehouse tradition). Two meaningfully different techniques that share the name.

Smoke Established
Cold-smoked (low-temperature smoke)
cold smoke
Long low-temperature smoke applied to dry-cured meats. The German Black Forest, Italian Speck Alto Adige, and Bayonne tradition.
Schwarzwälder Schinken PGI (Black F… · Speck Alto Adige IGP · Cold-smoked salmon
15-28°C
Smoke Established
Hot-smoked (cooking smoke)
hot smoke
Smoke at cooking temperatures (60-90°C) that fully cooks the meat. American smokehouse tradition; less common in European charcuterie.
American smoked ham · Smoked sausages (kielbasa, andouille) · Smoked turkey
60-90°C

Cooked

3 methods

Heat-driven preservation. Emulsified mortadella, brine-cured pressed hams, baked pâtés — gentle cooking that preserves moisture and produces ready-to-eat products. Less aged complexity than dry-cure, more approachable everyday eating.

Cooked Foundational
Cooked emulsified
emulsified
Gently-cooked finely-emulsified products — mortadella is the foundational example. Pork shoulder and back fat blended to a smooth paste, cooked slow.
Mortadella di Bologna IGP · Prosciutto cotto · Saucisson cuit
70-77°C
Cooked Established
Cooked & pressed (jambon-style)
pressed
Brined and slow-cooked pressed hams. Jambon de Paris, prosciutto cotto, mass-market lunch ham — the gently-cooked whole-muscle cooked-meat tradition.
Jambon de Paris · Prosciutto cotto · American deli ham
65-75°C
Cooked Established
Pâté & terrine
pate terrine
Cooked preparations baked in molds — pâté en croûte, country terrine, smooth pâté. The French cooked-charcuterie tradition.
Pâté de campagne (country pâté) · Pâté en croûte · Pâté de foie
75-85°C

Preserved in fat

1 method

The French southwest tradition of slow-cooking meat in its own fat for preservation. Duck confit, rillettes de porc, rillettes de canard — rich, unctuous, and preserved through anaerobic fat-seal.

Preserved in fat Established
Rillettes & confit
fat preserved
Slow-cooked meat preserved in its own fat — duck confit, rillettes de porc, rillettes de canard. The French southwest tradition.
Confit de canard (duck confit) · Rillettes de porc · Rillettes de canard
85-95°C

Fresh

1 method

Uncured and unaged. Fresh sausage and ground-meat preparations — technically charcuterie-adjacent but not preserved through cure, fermentation, or smoke. Included for editorial completeness.

Fresh Niche
Fresh & uncured
fresh
Uncured fresh meat preparations — fresh sausage, ground-meat preparations. Editorial completeness; the closest category to ground meat in cured-meat space.
Fresh Italian sausage · Fresh chorizo · Merguez
0-4°C