Potted meat is a form of traditional
food preservation
Food preservation includes processes that make food more resistant to microorganism growth and slow the oxidation of fats. This slows down the decomposition and rancidification process. Food preservation may also include processes that inhibit ...
in which hot cooked meat is placed in a pot, tightly packed to exclude air, and then covered with hot fat.
As the fat cools, it hardens and forms an airtight seal, preventing some spoilage by airborne
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...
.
Before the days of
refrigeration
The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
, potted meat was developed as a way to preserve meat when a freshly-slaughtered animal could not be fully eaten immediately.
Spores of ''
Clostridium botulinum
''Clostridium botulinum'' is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming, motile bacterium with the ability to produce the neurotoxin botulinum.
The botulinum toxin can cause botulism, a severe flaccid paralytic disease in humans ...
'' can survive cooking at 100 °C (212 °F),
and, in the anaerobic neutral pH storage environment, result in
botulism
Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum''. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, feeling tired, and trouble speaking. This may then be followed by weakne ...
.
Often when making potted meat, the meat of only one animal was used,
although other recipes, such as the Flemish ''
potjevleesch'', used three or four different meats (animals).
See also
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Bully beef
Bully beef (also known as corned beef in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and other Commonwealth countries as well as the United States) is a variety of meat made from finely minced corned beef in a small amount of ge ...
*
Confit
Confit (, ) (from the French word '' confire'', literally "to preserve") is any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period as a method of preservation.
Confit, as a cooking term, describes when food is cooked in grease, oil, or sugar ...
*
Home canning
Home canning or bottling, also known colloquially as putting up or processing, is the process of preserving foods, in particular, fruits, vegetables, and meats, by packing them into glass jars and then heating the jars to create a vacuum seal and ...
*
Pâté
''Pâté'' ( , , ) is a paste, pie or loaf filled with a forcemeat. Common forcemeats include ground meat from pork, poultry, fish or beef; fat, vegetables, herbs, spices and either wine or brandy (often cognac or armagnac). It is often ser ...
*
Potted meat food product
A potted meat food product is a food preserved by canning and consisting of various seasoned cooked meats, often puréed, minced, or ground, which is heat-processed and sealed into small cans. This is different from potted meat, an older nonco ...
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Potted shrimps
Potted shrimps are a traditional British dish made with brown shrimp flavored with nutmeg. The dish consists of brown shrimp in nutmeg-flavoured butter, which has set in a small pot, the butter acting as a preservative. Cayenne pepper may also be ...
References
External links
A description of historical meat potting in Alberta
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