I’m not sure I quite agree with that. If you can get the same product dry-cured at the same price, I’d say, sure. But dry-cured meats cost much more (in my experience) than wet-cured, so I would say the water is included in the overall per pound price.
One of the reasons for the higher cost is the weight loss from drying. A dry cured ham could easily lose 20% of the weight of the uncured meat, just as in dry aging. For ham the wet cured meat is ready to eat without rehyrdrating so more convenient but lacking the kind of flavor you’d get in something like a Virginia Ham.
True. It’s a matter of perspective. But I hear the same sorts of things about poultry, but when you look at the price of non-brined chicken vs brined-chicken (“enhanced with up to an XX% solution” type chicken), the prices do seem to reflect the water weight, but it’s hard to make a direct comparison, as it’s typically different brands of chicken.
Or corn syrup! Corn’s healthy, rite? :smack: