Meat Club Charcuterie

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March 7, 2010

Prosciutto - Second Week

The two prosciuttos (proscuitti?) from the Big Pig Day class on the 27th have been in my fridge for a week. Today I pulled them for flipping, massaging, weighing, and repacking in salt.

Here is the larger one after being pulled from the salt and put into a "working" tub for massaging:

Here is the other side of it (the side that was down):

Here is the tub it was in. Some water has collected in the salt:

Here it is repacked in salt (topping of with new salt) to go back into fridge:

Here is the smaller one showing the side that was down:

Here is the other side of it:

And the salt that it came out of:

And repacked to go back into fridge:

The weights are now 27.5 lbs. and 31.5 lbs.

This weight for the smaller one is about the same as what we got when we weighed it at the class - water coming out, salt going in, and some residual salt on the surface.

The weight for the larger one is actually one pound more than what we got at the class (I think).

When massaging the meat, there is still quite a lot of "give". But, the coloration change is quite noticeable - much darker red.

This whole process will be repeated at least two more times on a weekly basis. The reporting of it on this web site will not.

The next step you will see will be pulling, washing off, weighing, and into drying chambers/rooms.

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February 28, 2010

Prosciuttos Underway

Here is the story of the birth of the two prosciutto from the class at Peter's brewery yesterday.

One weights about 27.5 pounds and the other about 30.5 lbs. They were transported to my house both packed into one container with surrounding salt after being massaged with salt at the class for 15-20 minutes. I have an old refrigerator that will be used to keep them at about 40 degrees for the next three to four weeks. I moved each of them into smaller containers for ease of handling.

Here is one of them sitting in the new container which is in a utility tub in my basement conveniently located right across from the fridge in which it will reside. It has been totally immersed in granulated salt:

Here they are in the fridge:

Here weights (concrete stepping stone and floor tiles - wrapped) have been placed on them. The bag of granulated salt (donated to the cause by Jamie) will be used to top off when the hams are pulled, flipped, and massaged approximately once a week:

A closer view with the weights in place:

After the salting period, one of these will hang in a dark sealed off corner of my basement which maintains a 60-70 degree temperature range throughout the year with very slow changes from winter through summer. The other will go into a space to be provided by Oliver at his home.

Stay tuned!

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February 17, 2010

Genoa Salami - Second Harvest

We cut into the second Genoa salami that we had curing on Super Bowl Weekend (February 7, 2010). You may remember that surprisingly, we found that the weight loss on the first Genoa salami (created at the same class as the second one) was quick enough that we harvested it in late December at 31% weight loss. However, it was definitely not ready. The interior was not totally firm, and slicing produced delicate slices that sort of fell apart. This first salami continued to age in the fridge even after cutting into it - became firmer and tasted better. Perhaps I recorded the weight incorrectly at the beginning. But, I really do not think so. Can't explain the rapid weight loss.

The second one continued to lose weight at a slower and slower rate. At the end it was losing about .01 lbs. per week in an environment in the mid to high 50s degrees of temp and 50-60% RH. I finally decided 3.5 months was enough. It had lost exactly 30% of its weight and was very firm to the squeeze test.

Here it is before cutting:

Another view:

With and end cut off:

On a plate (top left) with other salumi destined to be consumed during the game, accompanied by (clockwise) dry cured pork belly, saucisson sec, peperone, Tuscan salami, and Genoa salami from Fatted Calf (for comparison purposes).

The final presentation:

Note how thinly the slicer can work on the slices of pork belly. Can actually see the bread sticks through them. I really like having a good slicer around. Use it at least once a week on something.

Bottom line - our Genoa salami beat Fatted Calf's hands down. Much more interesting flavors. Perhaps a little high on the fat content. This second one was definitely ready. Very firm inside and easily sliced. I have no doubt that it could have aged quite a bit longer. But, to what advantage I do not know. It is very good as it is.

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January 11, 2010

Canadian Bacon

Made a recent trip to COSTCO. Bought one of the Swift Pork Tenderloin packages (I know...I know...large, factory produced meat!) with the intention of making Canadian bacon...one of the two fine culinary traditions from that country....the other being Poutine (French fries with gravy and cheese). That package actually has two sections of meat - each being two tenderloins arranged back to back to make a large, long, very neat looking assemblage. I took one of them which weighs around 2.75 lbs. to be subjected to the recipe on page 88 of the Class book.

I cut it in half to take the brine and smoke more evenly and to allow for storage/freezing. You can see the line dividing the two back to back halves in the package looking like this:

I find a lot of our charcuterie products to taste rather salty. However, I understand the preservative intent. Since this one will actually be cooked by the smoke process, I cut the salt in the brine back to 2/3 of the recipe amount. Here is the brine:

Into the pot with a plate on top to keep them submerged:

And into the fridge for 48 hours:

Out of the brine, dried, and back into the fridge for 24 hours - to get a pellicle:

Had to tie the pieces to hold the two back to back loins firmly together. After smoking with minimal cherry wood chips at 175 degrees for two hours to an internal temperature of 150 degrees:

And another view:

Cooled, chilled in fridge, and sliced:

The product is quite nice - not too salty, good pork flavor (herbs actually are detectable), and moist. Destined for Eggs Benedict in the near future.

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January 9, 2010

Peperone Follow-Up

As I promised Tim, yesterday (Friday - January 8) we made home-made pizza using the great peperone we produced.

We made a pizza dough using 1/3 of the Cusinart recipe (perfect for one large pizza - no waste at all) with their dough blade, and it worked great. Also, for the first time we used a "00" flour (Alce Nero - farina di grano tenero - tipo "00") which was obtained at The Pasta Shop (Fourth Street area in Berkeley). Man...what a great crust this makes...light and crisp...almost like eating a thick cracker.

The pizza was topped with an olive oil/minced garlic wash, caramelized onions, and a small can of sliced black olives first:

Then, it went into a 500 degree oven for 10 minutes. Pulled it and added sliced mushrooms, grated Dobbiacco cheese, and about 50 slices of the peperone:

Then back into the oven for another 8 minutes with this result:

The pizza overall was just fabulous. However, I have to say that the peperone is such a rich, yet subtle product that it was overwhelmed by the other flavors on the pie. I much prefer to eat it all by itself.

Or maybe in some really fine scrambled eggs....I think I see sous vide in my future.

One interesting development is that the sausages have develop some white mold - a few of them significantly:

This was as they were stored in parchment paper in a Ziploc bag in my dry curing refrigerator (where the one remaining Genoa salami is hanging). Remember that the peperone originally dry cured in my "wine cellar". So, they picked up what is obviously "good" mold naturally. Easily removed with a vinegar or salt wash.

They are now in the freezer until needed.

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December 31, 2009

Genoa Salami - First Harvest

I have been conferring with Peter about the state of my two Genoa salamis which are 68 days old. The smaller one is at 31% weight loss and the larger one is at 26% - currently 2.13 lbs. and 2.69 lbs. respectively. They have been in an environment around 55 degrees and RH in the high 40s to low 50s for the last several weeks. Weight change has been very slow recently - e.g. .01 lbs. in the last five days. They both feel pretty firm. He thinks they are ready to try. So, this evening I cut into the smaller one.

Here it is before the cut:

Here it is after cutting off about 1.5 inches from the hanging end:

If you look closely in this picture you can see a slight depression of about one half inch around the darker spots in the lower left quadrant. When I felt this I thought that the sausage had not cured long enough.

Here are slices from the large end:

Here you can see holes/gaps in the area where I thought there was insufficient curing. The slice in the lower left is where my finger felt the soft spot. There are other slices with smaller holes that are clearly fill gaps - probably from insufficient stuffing. I cut these slices with the bung on, and you can see it coming off of the edges of several slices. I chose to remove them before eating which is easy to do. Peter says they are edible and make for a nice "meaty rubber band" chew separately. He is right.

The flavor is tangy and quite similar to the Tuscan salami. The texture is more moist and seems looser (probably because of its larger size) than the Tuscan. The slices (about 3mm) easily break into pieces when picked up. Also, the fat ratio seems a little higher (and coarser) which probably makes them more delicate. I prefer the Tuscan salami over the Genoa...probably because I like the firmer texture.

The other Genoa is still in the curing chamber at 26% weight loss, and I am going to let it go until 35% to see what difference that might make in texture and/or flavor. It may take a while to reach that point since loss is very slow now. Exterior mold has been stable for weeks. I don't think there is any downside in trying this, so I am going for it.

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December 30, 2009

Peperone

My wife and I made a batch of Peperone from the class Charcuterie book recipe on page 185 last Thursday, December 24, 2009. It was about 2/3 of the recipe using beef stew meat from Bud's Custom Meats in Penngrove that we picked up while taking delivery of a pig about four months ago. We followed the recipe to the letter using hog casings for the stuffing which yielded eight 10 inch sausages.

This is a fast fermenting sausage which was incubated in our kitchen oven with the product hanging from S hooks on the electric broiler element. They were twisted into bunches of two and hung from the joint between them. The "WARM" setting  which turns on the bake element on the bottom of the oven was used as needed to keep the temperature in the 85-90 degree range as prescribed for 12 hours.

After incubation, I hung them in a portion of my basement that is sealed off from the rest and used for wine storage and for winter garden produce like butternut squash. The conditions were near perfect - 57F degrees temp and 60% RH. I expected the sausages to take a minimum of 12 days to dry cure since we used hog casings. This is what the book recipe predicted for the 30% weight loss target. After three days, it became obvious that they were curing faster than that as they started to become firm and showed exterior shriveling.

I weighed them today and found 40% weight loss after six days of hanging. And, they were pretty firm to the squeeze test. So, I decided that was it. Cut into them and tasted. BEST DAMN PEPERONE I HAVE EVER HAD!  Very rich in flavor...undoubtedly from the fennel and allspice, but those flavors were mysteriously unidentifiable on their own along with a very nice pepper level. They just melded into an enticing flavor that made it difficult to stop cutting samples from the first victim piece.

Here they are being held up by my lovely assistant near the kitchen window for illumination:

Another view on a platter:

The cut end of the first victim:

A few slices (consumed immediately after their posing for the picture):

You may be able to see from this last picture that there are visible signs of case hardening as evidenced by the slightly dark ring around the exterior - which is kind of hard to figure since the moisture/weight level dropped so dramatically. You would expect case hardening to prevent weight/water loss. The interior is at a good moisture level - nicely chewy. The sausage is definitely ready for consumption. If this this is really case hardening, I like it!

I wrapped the rest of the product in parchment paper, into a gallon Ziploc, and into the fridge.

This stuff is destined for home made pizza and/or salumi plates unadorned - YES! It's that good. I had difficulty ceasing consumption. Had to give my neighbor (who has been following our salumi exploits) the rest of the victim to save it from total immediate death.

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November 15, 2009

Salumi Update - Due Finito y Due Progesso

I deemed my Saucisson Sec to be ready and consumable one week ago
after dry-curing for 30 days post-stuffing. Four of the sausages were produced.

Here is one of them before cutting:

Here it is at first cut:

Here it is sliced for consumption:

As you can see there were some interior gaps - don't know why - improper stuffing?

Found it to be quite tasty, but a little chewy. Not really any case hardening,
but probably went a little too long in the curing chamber.

I will have to confess to indulging in the acquisition of a good slicing machine.
I just could not imagine mangling a lovingly nurtured product with an uneven hand
cut no matter what quality of knife used.

Here are some pics of the beast:

         
Click here to download:
Salumi_Update_-_Due_Finito_y_D.zip (3136 KB)

Besides, I have another product in the works that absolutely demands paper
thin delivery to be enjoyed.

Today (Sunday - November 15), it became apparent that the Tuscan salami
were ready. They were quite firm and some very small beads of fat tears started
to appear. So....finito.

Here they are before cutting:

Tuscan salami ready for tasting:

VERY tasty product - the lactic acid tanginess is quite different from what
the Saucisson Sec presents.

That leaves two products that still PROGRESSO (pardon my Italian) in the
dry curing chamber:

Voila:

 One, of course, is the two Genoa salami which now
have a good coat of white mold and look like this at three weeks:

The other is a 1.3 lb piece of pork belly that I started on October 28 using
the recipe in the book on page 201.

I cured it in a quart size Ziploc under a brick for 10 days:

After curing, and before going into dry-curing chamber:

It has been dry curing for 8 days an now looks like this:

It was very noticeably firmer after the time in the Ziploc cure, and is
even more firm now. I hope to try it on my guinea pig Thanksgiving
guests 11 days from now.....PAPER THIN!

They will have to suffer through proud presentation of Saucisson Sec,
Tuscan Salami, Dry-Cured Pork Belly, and some home cured/cold-smoked
Loch Duart Salmon that turned out quite well (again using the recipe from
the book)....home made Hickory Smoked mixed nuts (treated with gourmet
soy sauce, salt, and a pinch of cayenne) for the squeamish or unadventurous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

           
Click here to download:
0Salumi_Update_-_Due_Finito_y_D.zip (3671 KB)

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Filed under  //   dry-cured pork belly   genoa   Jim   salumi   Saucisson Sec   slicer   tuscan   update  
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November 6, 2009

Molds I Have Known - Update

Here is an update on the salumi in my dry-curing chamber/fridge.

The saucisson sec are very near being ready. I will probably cut into one of them to test tomorrow - Saturday, November 7 - which will be 30 days of curing since they were stuffed. They still have no mold on them, very little squish when you squeeze, and no signs of case hardening. Appearance has not changed for over a week. Hope they taste as good as they look.

The Tuscan salamis have not changed in appearance much - just slightly more white haze on them (undoubtedly the white mold I painted on) and now a few more dense spots of other white mold.

The most interesting items are the two Genoa salami. Two days ago (Wednesday - November 4), I spotted some new blue/green mold spots on one of them. I did not want to wipe them with a salt/vinegar solution as this would destroy the other white/beneficial mold that has developed nicely. So, I mixed a very small solution of 50/50 Clorox and water (about a teaspoon of each) and painted the spots lightly using a small artist's paint brush - hoping to kill the spots and not use enough of the mixture to taint the flavor. I appears to have worked quite well. Pictures and explanations follow:

Here is the most serious area before painting 2 days ago.

Here is another area with less of a problem.

This is the first area immediately after painting.

This is the first area 2 days later (today).

This is the other area today.

As you can also see, the white mold has developed well and continues to do so.

The other Genoa has had absolutely nothing bud the white mold on it.

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November 1, 2009

Molds I Have Known

Here are some photos taken over several days showing the appearance/disappearance/reappearance of molds.

The Salumi Curing Notes word document that is attached gives the details - right from the beginning to the end. Look at the end of the document if you have seen some of this before.

Here are the Genoas from last Thursday when Jamie came over and we inspected. Shows several kinds of molds as they were hanging in the styrofoam box used for fermentation.

Some are white and round, some are dark green and round, some are hairy and black on the ends, some are red (is that really mold around the knot/hook). The thought was that anything that is NOT white is NOT good:

         
Click here to download:
Molds_I_Have_Known_tagjim_salu.zip (2651 KB)

Here they are after I gave them a bath in one half of the kitchen sink with tepid water, salt, and vinegar added. Scrubbed a little with a sponge. Was careful not to go through the casing. Painted them (and the Tuscans - which had been moved from the kitchen oven to the curing chamber several days before) with the white mold right after the bath.

Here they are 3 days after being painted and one day after transfer from sytrofoam box to dry-curing chamber. Taken up residence with the Tuscans which are looking good with a slight bloom of white mold from being painted. Saucisson sec keep on doing their thing:

You can see that one of the Genoas has new white blooms and the other one does not....why?  Both are showing signs of the painted white mold developing:

Tuscans and Saucisson looking good. Hard to see here, but the Tuscans (on the right) definitely have signs of the painted white mold developing:

TWO hygrometer/thermometers. The remote reporting one on the left and the one that was in the styrofoam box on the right. It reads higher than the remote on RH and lower on temp:

(download)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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