Preparing Salt Pork - 18th Century Cooking 

Recipe: Salt pork. Ingredients: Salt, pork. Instructions: Salt pork.

I would like to give a big shout out to all of our ancestors who died from food poisoning and botulism figuring all this stuff out.

This guy seems like he would be genuinely one of the nicest people on earth.

I live in rural Virginia and it was common to do this to herring in a stoneware crock when I was a child, but it was done dry with salt and a little pepper and sugar. The herring weren't deboned. The salt almost disolved the bones. You ate bones and all. The fish would keep for a couple of years. You just soaked them in water prior to cooking to remove most of the salt and rolled them in corn meal and fried them. Nowadays, you can hardly find them.

the salted pork is particularly good...

We're sitting in a field of victory, enjoying a few earned comforts. And the salted pork... Is particularly good!

One of the most impressive things about this video (of which there are many) is actually the video and audio quality. I was amazed at the production quality of this video compared so many of the other videos on youtube in 2011

He got a shout out from Binging with Babish! That is so freaking cool!

It depends on the context. In the 18th century they might keep pork like this for many months, but using modern food safety recommendations I would not suggest using brined pork stored at room temperature for any length of time.

4:17 We're gonna start pouring it in on top until it covered our meat- *inhuman roar*

It's really nice to see a channel producing high quality content for 10+ years.

Invasive species of feral hogs are a problem in Texas. Even with 2 freezers and giving it away to Charity it has become necessary to go Ol' School to not waste the meat from the kills. Salt breaks down the tissue and tenderize the meat. We use this method but cheat in a historical sense by an ice water brine in a Yeti cooler...fresh water rinse cycle before a bit of time in a smoker box on low heat before placing the toughest cuts in a keg with a bit of brown sugar with the salt. I recently got dentures and it's still tender enough for me to chew and delicious.

You should show the finished product more often in your vids. very cool though

I always have that Gimli voice in my head saying "salted pork"

Just processed one of our sows, 361 lbs hanging, now I can make some. Hunting season next month, 🦌 in my garden, gonna make smoked salted venison as well.

I'm shocked to find Townsend's 10 years old video. 10 years is a whole life. Amazing they keep making this content over 10 years.

I'm disappointed that you didn't show the final product

I think this video is PARTICULARLY good!

Excellent Explanation.... I've done that many times, as a boy on the Farm a Long time ago (with a Cherokee mother) when we would slaughter Hogs and Beef Cattle, salt up meat for the Smokehouse, Render Lard, and pickle the feet, tongue, etc....and as a living Historian. Great Story for those who have never done it!

Gimli-tested, Gimli-approved.

My grandmother made this and much of the stuff you do. She lived the rural life and didn't get power until 1978. I spent many Summers with her and most of our days were spent revolving around food preparation, working in the garden, picking wild edibles and acquiring meat. The days were full, literally sun-up to sundown and you were too tired to be bored, get into trouble or develop bad habits. Due to the salt ( I suppose) she did die of hypertension at about 66 years old.

Townsends and Son is always a joy to watch. They really take pride in our nation's history and show us just a glimpse into that history.

I feel like there should be a part 2 to this my good sir. Thank you for all you do!

Ten years ago....wow! I only just found this channel about a year and a half ago and I've been having a blast watching these videos. From this channel, along with Tasting History, I've learned quite a few unique and interesting bits about the past, what people would eat, and how they lived. Thanks for the amazing videos!

This channel is so relaxing. No negativity... no politics. Just good old fashioned to the point information. What a refreshing change. Keep up the good work.

Your channel and others like yours, are the GOOD side of YT. Informative, educational, inteligent AND entertaining! THANKS MAN!!!

Fascinating from start to finish! Especially enjoyed the tip about floating the egg to check the brine solution. Have always been so curious about salt pork and it's extensive usage, particularly on 17th and 18th century ships.

Your content is some the most entertaining and wholesome stuff ever. Love it man!

"The Grapes of Wrath" includes a description of Ma Joad packing kegs of freshly butchered pork in salt for the family's journey. That's only from the Depression, so this skill was part of at least some Americans' daily life into living memory.

I just found this channel and this is so great, it's actually a great way to save food in case of an emergency.

I’ve no idea why this showed up in my recommended videos but I’m glad it did. This was surprisingly fascinating and I’m going to watch more.

Great video. I like the way it went straight in. Great explanation.

Great videos, I'm really enjoying and always learning a lot. I find my self, time to time, using cooking techniques in my modern recipes that I have learned from your videos. Please keep it up

I joined the Army in 2004 and served in Iraq from 2006-07. I also have been an avid back packer. And earned the rank of eagle scout in 1999, it feels like a life time ago. But I always love good food and I appreciate knowing how soldiers before me survived in the revolutionary War years . I love all your videos and I have tried every single recipe that you have done. All of them are absolutely Amazing. Keep up the great work

can I just say how much Im so glad I found your channel. I love your videos

Wonderful atmosphere. Bless you Mr. Townsend.

The wholesome part of RU-vid. I love the Townsends!

Since i found your channel i have truly been enjoying watching it. There has been a few recipes that i will be trying soon.👍👍 Keep up the good work. If you ever want someone to help out a week or two you know were to look🤩

Your new video brought me here, great stuff!! It's so awesome to see your order production, nicely edited and good quality.

Always happy to see you still at this, good sir!

To all the people sent here from babish I have one thing to tell you people Please enjoy John Townsend and his videos and streams, welcome to the 17th-18th century fan battalion soldiers

Finally gave this a try and it worked! Thanks Jas!

I am enjoying these vids so much!

Awesome, what a wealth of useful knowledge!

Very cool video, thanks for sharing your knowledge

This channel is excellent! I intend to use some of these techniques to live off the land later in my life

This is awesome, thanks for the upload and info.

I am really glad I watched this. I am always keen on learning off ways of preserving food that require as simple a process and material requirements. Thank you for teaching me this.

I read the Little House on the Prairie cookbook about how Ma would parboil the salt pork after she had cut it thin. Then she would dredge it in flour and fry it. I thought she the salt pork she was using was like I see in the store. What you made sounds more like what she used.

The salted pork is particularly good.

Love all your videos!

Love this Channel! Thanks for your content

Lol I can’t help but imagine being this guys neighbor. Looking out the window and seeing him dressed like that. “Honey! He’s filming again!”

It's been 11 years since you have posted this video - still going strong!

Just came by this on my homepage. This is amazing. Just subscribed. Please continue your work.

i truly enjoy your videos keep up the outstanding work

You don't need to add water. A brine with form just from the moisture pulled from the meat. Adding diced garlic and onions, or other spices (pepper, chilies, pork spices...) will enhance the flavor.

My grandparents salted vegetables and fish and they both lived well into their 80s and 90s in age.

Great video, Mr. Townsend! As always, very tastefully done!!! Wish you could show another video about how to use the salted pork!

Late to finding this channel somehow but im thoroughly enjoying spending my whole work day catching up! Thank you for making such wonderful videos. As a lifelong history lover, who was made fun of for loving this kind of stuff, i love seeing how much love these videos get.

My great great grandmother passed down this recipe to draw out the salt. Soak your ham roast overnight (changing water twice). Place in roasting pan, cut grid on top. Put a clove in each cross, pack top with brown sugar. Pour beer over entire roast. Bake at medium heat. The beer and cloves react with the salt to draw it out and replace with brown sugar

this channel makes me feel cozy, like im sitting in a log cabin heated by a wood furnace. NOICE!!!

I always enjoy watching your videos. Very informative. Thank you. I've haven't been much into history. You make it worth while.

I watched this video when it first out 10 years ago and out of nowhere it shows up as a suggested video now in 2022. That's awesome!

Growing up in the MS delta in the 70’s and 80’s, my favorite breakfast was mama’s biscuits and fried salt pork. I still love it. It’s deadly but I love it.

Hello! I have been watching this channel for awhile and I like it very much! I have never eaten salted pork like that (must make someday) but salted fish is done pretty much the same way still this day. I would very much like to see an episode of drying fish and how to use it, quite sure they did that too.

I was already subscribed here, but amazing Babish gave you the shoutout!!

I remembered watching this 8 years ago.... you made another video recently more updated. Loved both videos. Keep it up, i hope for more salted pork videos tbh.

So happy when Bingeing with Babish referenced this video! Long time viewer here, and you guys deserve it!

the salted pork... is particularly good

Love this channel.

So glad I stumbled across this channel

I always wonder how things stayed dry. I know it's less humid in the North but... Jamestown is in Virginia and it's like a tropical rainforest here in the summer sometimes! I'm sure it wasn't too much less humid a few hundred years ago... just wondering. thanks, Amanda

When I was a kid 50+ years ago I can remember us butchering and my dad would put up pork belly by salting. He used a large crock and lots of salt to cover the pork. He called it green bacon because it wasn't smoked. Just wondering if they used crocks back then to store meats. Oh, if I remember correctly some of the salt would leach through the sides of the crock.

Love your channel keep up the awsome vids

Ive watched and een a fan of your show for years

How are there 1000 dislikes on this video. This is the most wholesome stuff on youtube y'all

Is this guy on TV? He could be if he isn't already. Very entertaining. We need more shows of this quality for mature audiences. Do it right and do to educate.

Dear Townsends, I remember when you first started i watched alot of your videos, I do have to say you have grown alot from a handheld cam cord to what seems to be a professional camera the quality and look of your videos feel so authentic and professional i am very impressed with how much this channel has grown. You have been doing an amazing job and I look forward to watching more of your videos, Keep up the the amazing work! much love ❤ Vive L'Liberte! 🇺🇸🇫🇷

Thank u for this video! Really helpful!

Have a couple friends who do LARP so been sharing these with them. Subbed btw

Not only how to salt it, but how to USE it: Covers all the bases. Good to know.

This is great! History and food, two things we love!

this is great. I love your channel!

time to get drunk watch these videos and plan on making these meals and never end up making them

I think it's very very important that people know these things because things aren't going to always be easy you're going to run out of fuel one day or you can have the sign cut down all of our modern-day electricity and stuff how are they going to survive if something ever goes wrong

Fantastic that Binging with Babish gave you a shout out. Two of my favorite channels!

I love watching these videos sooo much!

Not just the 18th, heck, here in Oswego NY, it's still standard fare, we even have church hosted salt pork dinners. Not to mention how vital salt pork was to the west.

In Croatia (and I supposed the entire Ex-Yu area) we still have something like this. In winter when it's cold we get a pig and salt and smoke pretty much all of the meat and whatever we can use for eating. But the salting is much more intense, you manually fill up every crevice with salt and you apply it generously, the barrels are filled with salt as much as necessary. And the pieces stay there closed in cold for various time intervals before being hanged and smoked. Since it's winter and if you've done everything right, there's no chance of it going bad. This year we did it a couple weeks ago, and I know I'll be waiting for my bacon and sausages for at least a month. And btw I don't think we use hot water. The only meat I think we use salted water for is ham for Easter day. And that's only if you want to do it that way you don't really need to. And we don't do the "soak in fresh water to get the salt out" part.

I love this channel.! Ur videos are very interesting ☺

Most relaxing channel on youtube by far.

Gimli approves

Your cool man thanks for sharing with us :)

Tested it on myself and my sailor team, and it rocked! Now it was salty since cooking aboard a boat has to be done in short time and in rocky conditions so i could only squish in a few hours of soaking. Adding potatoes (unsalted) helps with the dish saltiness, we also added peppers and that was basically it. Great meal, and thanks for inspiration master Townsend!

Hey man love your vids! Keep up the good work :p

I still think Townsend is in the pocket of big nutmeg.

Babish sent me.

This is fantastic!!

This guy is awesome. So calming.