Meat Club Charcuterie - Filed under 'tuscan'

March 6, 2010

Sloan Tuscan / Genoa update

Quick update on my Tuscans and Genoa from last weekend. I have kept my Genoa under a damp towel, changing and checking twice daily, for the past week. I have been able to keep the humidity at about 80-85% and the temp in the mid- to high-60s F. I took the Tuscans out of the oven on Tuesday morning and hung them downstairs in the same room as the genoa, but about 18" away and not under a towel.

Click here to download:

Sloan_Tuscan_Genoa_update.zip (9866 KB)

My curing "chamber" is just a little closet under the stairs in the basement, but the conditions in general are good. At this point all the salamis are in the same room. I mist the room once per day and check everything in the morning and in the evening.

The casings look very good to me at this point, still very pliable and not yet beginning to really dry out. A little mold is beginning to form, and so far it looks--to me--like the good kind. I have wiped off (with white vinegar) any small bluish-green spots right away just to be on the safe side.

There is a nice aroma of fermentation in the closet. I'm beginning to like that smell.

PS My genoa is in bondage because the string was too short to fit around my hanging rod and I was afraid it would slip off because the salami was so heavy.

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Filed under // erika genoa tuscan update

Posted by Erika

Comments [7]

November 28, 2009

Tuscan Excellence

Well, the three tuscans are done -- see photo series below.

I pulled them out of the chamber on Thanksgiving morning, after about a month in the chamber (recall that we made them on October 24). After the fermentation stage, I kept conditions in the chamber at around 54-58 degrees and humidity around 70-80%. The mold bloomed pretty nicely and weight loss was around 35%.

After I pulled them from the chamber, I scrubbed off the mold with some salt water solution, then dried them off, and wrapped them in wax paper in the fridge. You'll see the pre and post scrubbing images below. You'll also see the spread of sliced salami that my daughter and I quickly gobbled up. It tasted very good and was much less sour (in a good way) than the first batch that Tim and I made a couple months ago.

So, who wants some salami? I was just the custodian for these and I know that several of you wanted salami but did not have sufficient curing conditions. So, I could probably cut two of the tuscans in half and give to those who want some -- Andy? Robin? Yolanda and Frank? Others who helped make these?

Click here to download:

Tuscan_Excellence_tag_Jamie_tu.zip (1526 KB)

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Filed under // curing Jamie tuscan

Posted by Jamie

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November 21, 2009

Weight Loss

In response to Jim's call for weights, I just checked all mine and found that my tuscans have actually lost 32-38% of their weight, so I think it's time to crack one open.

The giant genoa has gone down from 9 lbs, 7 oz to 8 lbs, 2 oz, for a loss of 14%. Another couple months for that big boy perhaps.

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Filed under // curing genoa Jamie tuscan

Posted by Jamie

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November 19, 2009

Incipient Drops of Tuscan Fat

Interesting new development on my tuscans. A handful of tiny drops of fat on the surface, which were not there two days ago (see photos below, and look closely for the small, gleaming beads of liquid fat).

I've seen similar weeping fat in prior salami (though much more excessive), but I thought that was due to temperatures that were too high, and perhaps conditions too dry. But, these have been kept consistently below 60F and at or above 70% RH for the last several weeks. Anyone know what physically causes this? I've been reading the very interesting (and detailed) Marianski book (http://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Fermented-Sausages/dp/1432732579), but haven't gotten to anything on this yet (I'm bogged down in a section on the innumerable variety of bacteria and their properties and functions).

One interesting thing is that I only see this in spots where there is no mold (though it may be happening in other spots as well but the white mold is just absorbing it as it oozes out, so it's not visible).

Click here to download:

Incipient_Drops_of_Tuscan_Fat_.zip (204 KB)

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Filed under // curing Jamie tuscan

Posted by Jamie

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November 19, 2009

The Big Reveal!

Cut into my blister-less Tuscan and am very happy with the results!

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Filed under // curing erika tuscan update

Posted by Erika

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November 17, 2009

Rosen Salami Update

Here's the latest from the Rosen Chamber. Conditions have been holding steady in the mid 50s for temp and 70-80% humidity. I've been keeping my humidity up a bit more than the Ruhlman/Polcyn book calls for for a few reasons. First, because the outside of the giant genoa was starting to get dry and it's so big, I want to make sure I don't get case hardening. Second, I wanted to encourage more mold development. Third, I just got the Marianski book on fermented sausages and it recommends a humidity range of 70-85%, rather than Ruhlman's lower 60-70%, and I put more stock in Marianski. One interesting (and disconcerting) thing I found was that my remote humidity sensor generally reads about 7% higher than my base unit for the same conditions. Who knows which is correct. I have an analog hygrometer in the mail that I'll add to the mix ($5).

You'll see that all seem to be doing nicely, with plenty of mold on the tuscans and a slow but steady development on the genoa. I wiped off some blue/green/khaki mold spots yesterday with a water/vinegar mix. Probably wasn't necessary, but did it anyway. Also, interesting to see that much of the "white" mold on my tuscans is really off-white tending toward yellow/brown. I hope that's OK.

I haven't weighed anything yet, but plan to do so soon.

Click here to download:

Rosen_Salami_Update_tag_Jamie_.zip (3020 KB)

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Filed under // genoa Jamie mold tuscan

Posted by Jamie

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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

Posted by Jim

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November 13, 2009

Update on the curing

Hey guys,

Here is an update on the progress of my Tuscans and some other projects. My curing chamber has been holding pretty steady at about 65 degrees with a RH of between 64% and 70%. I took them out to give em a cleaning yesterday. I had some very minor, potentially bad mold spots on them. All is well now. Next to them, you can see a batch of saucisson secs which appear to be doing very well. If my untrained eye might say so. I added a couple of of tbsp's of brandy to the meat, so I am very anxious to taste these. They're about two weeks old. I'm guessing one more week and We're good to go. I also have a Bresaola about to finish its second week in the fridge. I soaked the meat in wine for about 12 hours before applying the cure. It smells awesome. After this week, it has 3 weeks of hanging out to do.

I'm not sure of the next class date, but I'm hoping to be able to bring all of these and some other goodies that I've been working on, for all of us to feast on. I'm especially excited for the Bresaola. Jamie, I dont know if you have a paticular item that you wanted to work on in the next class, but I'd like to let it be known that I'm Koo koo for Copa!

Cheers!

Wayne

Click here to download:

Update_on_the_curing.zip (20456 KB)

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Filed under // Bresaola salumi Saucisson Sec tuscan Wayne

Posted by Wayne

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November 8, 2009

Sloan Salami: Little to report

My Tuscans have firmed up considerably over the course of the last week. I have been misting now only once a day and my temp and humidity have remained constant, in the same range I reported last week (63-67F/60-65RH). I have no mold.

With that said, I am increasingly paranoid about case hardening. A couple of things that I don't know what to make of: (1) the outside of the salami is shiny and even a little greasy and (2) on one salami there are a couple of small, non-protruding blisters of liquid below the surface. I have tried to photograph these pockets, but struggled to get the detail with my camera. Try to look just above my thumb in the photo. What could these things mean?

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Filed under // curing erika tuscan update

Posted by Erika

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November 5, 2009

Spouse Versus Salami

My lovely wife, Jeanine, cannot stand the "stench" in our basement. She wants me to throw all the salami in the garbage. I tell her that I am THE PRESIDENT OF THE MEAT CLUB and that it is both my duty and passion to carry on these old traditions and craft some tasty morsels in the process. She pinches her nose and says: "Get rid of them!!!!"

But, of course, I cannot. I will need to come up with some other solutions. I'm thinking of setting up some odor barriers in the short term (shower curtains?) and then maybe devise a more involved venting system to the outdoors. I guess not everyone can appreciate the funky/sour smell of aging raw meat.....

While I've still got my cherished boys (they're really like family now), here's a quick update: the Giant Genoa and the three tuscans are all sharing the curing chamber, which is hovering around 55-60 degrees and 72-76% humidity. Everything's looking pretty good, especially the tuscans, which are developing an excellent bloom of powdery white mold (see pictures). The genoa is doing nicely too, but not much mold and the only mold is slightly furry (though it's white and not too furry, so I'm not concerned); I see the beginning of some nice white powdery mold, which is good. Despite the relatively high humidity in the chamber, I have some concerns about the exterior of the genoa drying out given its massive girth and the fact that the venting fan is often on, which may be passing a dessicating breeze across the genoa. We'll see.

Next time you see Jeanine, let her know how cool you think she is for curing salami in her basement....