It’s this dissolved protein that subsequently cross-links
with other proteins to cause a sausage to tighten up, giving it
its springy, resilient texture. On top of this, with some of
their proteins loosened up by the brine, the muscle fibers are
able to hold on to much more moisture than before (see
“Experiment: Meat, Salt, and Time,” here).
In Good Time
What about timing? Does it matter how long you let your
salted meat rest? To test this, I divided one pork shoulder
into eight different test batches. The first batch was left
unsalted. The remainder were salted for intervals of time
ranging from 24 hours all the way down to immediately
before grinding. I then cooked all the different ground meats
in vacuum-sealed bags in a 60°F water bath and weighed