The art and modern science of producing thick dry-cured meats predates the advent of refrigeration as a means of preserving an abundance of late Autumn farm raised meat. It was once good practice to harvest some hogs and cattle at the on-set of cold weather while the animals were young and still in good flesh. As long as the weather stayed cold farmers had natural refrigeration. Over time trial and error proved the drying of uncooked meat to be a successful long term preservation method. Whole muscle meat cuts, which are fairly sterile inside by nature, can be preserved by slowly lowering their moisture level with salt and cure rubs. Bacterial growth on the surface of dry-cured meats can be further inhibited by smoking and/or mold growth. By their very nature, minced or ground meats stuffed into casings are inoculated throughout with bacteria. If salt-loving lactic acid producing bacteria are present in sufficient numbers, and there are carbohydrates for them to feed on, they will out grow spoilage/food poisoning bacteria and eventually all bacterial growth is stopped by way of creating an acid environment. As sausages dehydrate/ripen there is no longer enough water available for bacteria to start growing again. Also during ripening the acid formed from fermentation diminishes and meat proteins & fat breakdown to form desirable product flavor and texture characteristics. This breaking down of protein and fat causes the formation of some potentially harmful chemical substances, especially in combination with the presence of nitrite and high-heat cookery: a pepperoni topped pizza for example. Serendipitously, modern dry cured products are expensive to produce so few people and afford to overindulge in them.
