Longlin Cured Meat

Longlin Cured Meat

　　Cured meat is one of the distinctive delicacies enjoyed by the various ethnic groups in Longlin autonomous county and is a must-serve dish when receiving guests. It gets its name from being cured during the lunar month of December (La Yue). Longlin cured meat differs in flavor from cured meats in other regions—its taste is unique. Once cooked, the meat is translucent with a golden hue, tender, fragrant, delicious, and rich in flavor yet not greasy, making it an excellent meat to pair with alcohol.

　　The method of making cured meat is as follows: every year around the lunar New Year, specifically between the 15th and 26th of La Yue, when each household slaughters its New Year’s pig, the pork is cut into long strips, each weighing between 1 and 1.5 kilograms. The strips are then mixed evenly with salt and an appropriate amount of Sichuan peppercorn powder, tsao-ko powder, five-spice star anise powder, and roasted ginger powder. Each piece of pork is rubbed with this mixture and placed in a large vat or iron pot. A suitable amount of strong rice wine is sprinkled over the meat, which is then covered with bamboo leaves and cured for three to four days. After that, the meat is taken out and hung above a hearth or stove, where it is slowly dried using fire-heated sugarcane residue. The drying continues until the meat turns yellow and dry. The cured meat prepared by each household can last for half a year or even up to a year. Longlin cured meat is not only a premium delicacy but also a traditional and ingenious method of meat preservation, offering great convenience to households in remote mountainous areas who live scattered and far from markets. As a result, every year during La Yue, nearly every household cures cured meat—ranging from several dozen to several hundred kilograms—for use during festivals, for serving guests, as gifts, and for their own consumption.