102. What common form of meat issued in the American Civil War can safely last at room temperature without being refrigerated?
From Quiz A Civil War Reenactor's Rations
Answer:
slab bacon
It was just called bacon then, but if one looks for slab bacon at specialty meat stores and finds it hanging at room temperature, you know you've found what you're looking for. Ask the butcher as well.
At a reenactment, slice it thin and fry it in a lightweight reproduction sheet-iron frying pan, or sharpen a stick, pierce each slice and cook it over the flames
Properly cured bacon should be able to withstand a weekend, or a week, or a summer, at normal summer temperatures, due to the salt and smoking. A half slab is 5-6 lbs., and a whole slab is twice that. Buy it unsliced and cut off as much as you think you'll eat over the weekend, then save the rest in a bug-free environment until the next reenactment. A refrigerator may be the best place, not for the temperature, but to keep the critters at bay. Wrap the rest in brown paper (cut up grocery bag) or in cloth, put it in your haversack, and slice it thin when mealtime comes at the reenactment.
Another option is true salt pork, salted to be kept at room temperature, not the chunks of fat sold in the refrigerator at the store, but it's even harder to find than slab bacon.