Butcher's Twine

bigguy136

Can I use cheap cotton twine from my hardware store or is it something special?

Gato

The last I bought at Walmart. Kitchen twine is not real expensive.

JMSetzler

Never used anything that wasn't labeled as butcher's twine... Bed Bath & Beyond carries it and a spool is pretty cheap.

Flamethrower

Ask your butcher for it, Mine gives it to me

Mighty_Quinn

As long as the cheap cotton twine from the hardware store is 100% cotton, the yep, go ahead and use it...it's the same thing.

Chubbs

When I buy meat from my butcher he gives me as much as I want. Try that.

OLD NORTH STATE BBQ CO.

My butcher gave me a bunch of it a few weeks ago. It must be pretty cheap.

fishlessman

i bout the william sonoma acorn several years ago in a closeout bin for half off, they still make them and while somewhat expensive the twine is alwas out on my butcher clock. replacement twine is 7 or 8 bucks for about a hundred yards. befre i bought the holder the twine in the drawer used to get grungy since it lasts so long.

stike

a grocery store will have "butcher's" cotton/linen string by the ball, for sale where they sell the spatulas, tongs, thermometers, etc.  don't think it's more than $3 for a ball the size of a baseball. the string pulls out easily from the center hollow.

i bind stuff when curing, and although other string is also cotton, i find the butcher's string is tougher (when tying tightly), and looks a little cleaner

you want as little lint as possible, because when hanging to dry, it can stick to the meat.  some linen string is nice and smooth, sticks less.  but whatever works, in a pinch

daveyray72

stike - that's a nice wrap up...Capicolla?

mustgrill

Any cotton twine will work as long as it 100% cotton.

mustgrill

I get mine at wallys. 1000 yards 2.99

fishlessman

stike - that's a nice wrap up...Capicolla?

i was thinking eyeround

Mighty_Quinn

Bresaola?

stike

@mustgrill: ideally you want something not very linty.  there's a lot of cheap cotton string with stray fibers, almopst furry.  you don't want that.  some twine smells oily, from the rinsing.  not really oil, but hard to describe. if you have ever smelled twine, you'll know what i mean.  some cotton can smell like that.  true kitchen twine is cleaner, doesn't have the stray fibers. still, it should be cheap

@fish, MQ: eye round.  bresaola

fishlessman

would that make good chipped beef if you dried it again or would that be problematic now

Mighty_Quinn

What environment are you hanging to cure/dry in stike? In your house somewhere?

stike

chipped beef? NFW.

@MQ, hang it in the basement.

for a couple thousand years we haven't had temp or humidity controlled environments.  so i don't worry too much.  gives it 'terroir' )

prosciutto and a country ham


pancetta

fishlessman

chipped beef? NFW.......... )

stike

you want i should cut up that prosciutto into cubes for your mac n cheese?

Mighty_Quinn

I thought you would say something like that...my fear is that my environment here in Colorado is way too dry in terms of relative humidity to pull anything like that off. I may be way off base there, maybe you have an idea if it is possible to be too dry for the process.

I used to be involved in capicola and soppressata making with an older Italian gentleman, but that was back in PA years ago, and he would hang everything in an old stone cellar that seemed perfect for it.

stike

humidity and temps are more about style than safety.  i already hijacked the thread.  ...but a dry environment just means you need to pay attention to how fast the exterior dries.  don't want a dry exterior and too-soft middle. or do the curing at a different time of year.

there's a kentucky country-ham producer who throws the doors of the barn open to the elements, or shuts them.  but not much more than that.  temps and humidity rise and fall and influence the final product.

Mighty_Quinn

Thanks stike.....this is something I am going to persue in the coming months. There is a small producer in Denver...Il Mondo Vecchio. www.mondovecchio.net. I'll approach them and see how they handle it, although, I suspect they are curing in a closed/controlled environment.

stike

they probably are, because they sell it, and want to sell a consistent product.

it's not entirely necessary, fwiw.  not bad to do it, and i'd do it if i had a controlled environment.  but this is farmhouse stuff.  no little italian dude a hundred years ago with a freshly slaughtered steer and a ton of meat to deal with got too hung up on 55% rel. humidity at 65 degrees

basements are good, if you have one.  wine room too

Mighty_Quinn

Our basement is finished, but fortunately we have a 4.5' tall crawlspace that would work. Next up...buy Ruhlman's book.