.” I actually used potassium nitrate (saltpeter) in the cure brine. “
From the reading I’ve been doing on the subject this afternoon, it seems that saltpeter is an essential ingredient for curing pork, especially hams and bacon...
J, you seem pretty knowledgable on the subject — is there any reasonable method to extend shelf life of cured meat (dried, salted, smoked) beyond the 90-100 days that the articles I read seem to agree on??
I keep dried sausages and meats for up to a year, regularly. The longer you keep them, the dryer they need to be. Keeping them cool also helps. I have a 54F special fridge for making/aging sausage/cheese/beer.
The other thing is local molds. If it gets fuzzy, cheese or meat, it can be wiped down with vinegar.
The bottom line is that you are trying to keep bad bacteria from growing. Bacteria need water, most of the nasties need oxygen, though some are anerobic, acidity and temperature also affect them. And finally, so does time.
The trick is to bind up the food so the nasties can't get to it and reproduce.
/johnny