Good deal on prosciutto for Costco members

nolaegghead

nolaegghead

http://m.costco.com/Del-Duca-Boneless-Prosciutto-by-Daniele.product.11222435.html

SGH

@nolaegghead
Is there a Costco close by in your neck of the woods? 

nolaegghead

Came out to around $5.50 lb.  Boneless aged around a year.  We're taking this to my brother's wedding in SA in a couple of weeks.  Bought another tonight.  No need to refrigerate these until you start carving on them.  Boneless.

nolaegghead

SGH said:

@nolaegghead
Is there a Costco close by in your neck of the woods? 

@SGH - yeah, but it's mail-order only.  I can buy one for you if you want.

$75 after a $20 instant rebate.  They are supposed to be >10 lbs.  This one was around 13.  Aged 7-15 months...til when it's ready to rock and roll.  Let me know.

SGH

nolaegghead said:

@SGH - yeah, but it's mail-order only.  

I had no idea that some of them where mail order only. But that's certainly better than what we have over here. We have none

NPHuskerFL

That's beyond "a good deal" Carey!

Darby_Crenshaw

nice deal.  i found some parma at Restaurant Depot that was $65 a leg.  stuff my wife willingly pays $19 a pound for at the deli.

my frigging green ham was $50 or so when i made my own country ham (basically, american prosciutto).

really made me wonder if it was worth it. 

i could just buy the parma and tell everyone i made it myself

fishlessman

need to buy one of those to see how it compares to their deli one which has a longer ingredient list, i usually buy the ends at 3.99 a pound in 1 inch slabs, thats pretty close in price for an upgrade

Darby_Crenshaw

true prosciutto shouldn't have anything but salt in the ingredient list.  other than the leg of pork, i mean

fishlessman

Darby_Crenshaw said:

true prosciutto shouldn't have anything but salt in the ingredient list.  other than the leg of pork, i mean

that daniele company makes two kinds of del duca proscuitto, its the american version sold at market basket. heres a pic of some i have for this weekends abt's, doesnt look as good as nolas   you can see its not the same product, its still good in a pinch and ground or diced small in tomato sauce

nolaegghead

Darby_Crenshaw said:

true prosciutto shouldn't have anything but salt in the ingredient list.  other than the leg of pork, i mean

Yeah that's the case here - pork, salt.  It's being guarded and I've been threatened by SWMBO not to open the package until we're in San Antonio.

Fortunately there's another on the way.

nolaegghead

A writer on Italian food, Bill Buford, describes talking to an old Italian butcher who says:

When I was young, there was one kind of prosciutto. It was made in the winter, by hand, and aged for two years. It was sweet when you smelled it. A profound perfume. Unmistakable. To age a prosciutto is a subtle business. If it's too warm, the aging process never begins. The meat spoils. If it's too dry, the meat is ruined. It needs to be damp but cool. The summer is too hot. In the winter—that's when you make salumi. Your prosciutto. Your soppressata. Your sausages.

Darby_Crenshaw

don't know if i ever posted my prosciutto

came out pretty good, but cheaper to buy it!

fishlessman

nola, when you get that proscuitto, the old italian market here makes a caprese sub, crunchy roll, caprese salad, roasted red peppers, and a half pound thinly sliced proscuitto,  makes a really good sub/submarine/hogie/or whatever you call them down there

SGH

fishlessman said:
 makes a really good sub/submarine/hogie/or whatever you call them down there

Brother fishless, we call them a po' boy down here. If a democrat happens to be in office, we call them a poor boy. Why? Can't afford to put much on them during those troubled times

fishlessman

SGH said:

fishlessman said:
 makes a really good sub/submarine/hogie/or whatever you call them down there

Brother fishless, we call them a po' boy. 
If a democrat happens to be in office we call them a poor boy. Why? Can't afford to put much on them during those troubled times

up here those would only be with fried seafood in a sub unless its fried haddock, swiss, and coleslaw, thats a nantucket rueben

SGH

fishlessman said:

thats a nantucket 

That's a mighty long word there my friend

fishlessman

SGH said:

fishlessman said:

thats a nantucket 

That's a mighty long word there my friend

and when you order it you have to use your best kennedy accent

nolaegghead

Jeff, you're the only person I'm aware of that has made prosciutto at home, although I'm not surprised.  How'd it taste?  

nolaegghead

fishlessman said:

nola, when you get that proscuitto, the old italian market here makes a caprese sub, crunchy roll, caprese salad, roasted red peppers, and a half pound thinly sliced proscuitto,  makes a really good sub/submarine/hogie/or whatever you call them down there

I'll definitely try it on a po'boy.  I'll even buy some Leidenheimer French bread.

We have quite a history of French and Italian heritage here in New Orleans.  It's reflected in the food and architecture.  One of the reasons I'll live nowhere else. 

DoubleEgger

nolaegghead said:

http://m.costco.com/Del-Duca-Boneless-Prosciutto-by-Daniele.product.11222435.html

I sure hope Daniele isn't a Christian. That would be embarrassing for you! 

Darby_Crenshaw

like prosciutto

hahaha

so.  here's the weird thing.  it was kinda like making beer, where you get to taste the ingredients and the results (and then see the changes that took place).  i remember with beer making the one small amount of some grain you used actually was something that you could specifically taste in the final bottle.

so when i tried the prosciutto, and it tasted like prosciutto, i didn't have much to work with, since i only added salt to the pork.

then i realized it was the aging i was tasting.  there's an impossible to describe flavor, but ever since, i have picked it up in country ham, aged beef, hams, etc to a certain degree.  any aged meat.

my prosciutto didn't dry as much as i wanted.  take a look at that fat! very thick.

my understanding was to leave the skin on, but i think those who do this regularly probably have a better feel for it and will trim it a bit if necessary so that the  flesh inside can dry as it should.  it took mine about 18 months to feel firm like prosciutto should.  and i could probably have gone longer.

did a country ham too, at the same time, which is essentially the same thing, but with a lot of sugar to counteract the salt, and not dried as much.  also smoked.

that has this aged flavor as well.

the difficult thing about this is when you do it at home without a net, you second guess everything.  just like the first time people age beef.  looking over your shoulder thinking "well, i know other people do this, but i dunno WTH i am doing...".  and then fast forward a few times and it is obvious.

but the first time through is all second guessing.

i was down in Georgia for a fest a couple years later, and grabbed a slice of country ham from the store.  ate it raw, and realized i had achieved the EXACT same thing with mine.  but having never had it before, it (meaning, mine, my own country ham) had been hard to parse at the time, flavor-wise.

i even managed to get what is a holy grail, white flecks throughout the meat.  i didn't know what that was, and everyone being panicky about badteria, etc, i flinched a bit.  i still served it (at easter), but the city ham was gnawed to the bone. country ham was left looking like a dr seuss centerpiece.  few touched it.  though those who did liked it (or so they said).

all in all, good experiments.  i do my city ham every year for easter, but the country ham and prosciutto is more of a gamble.  12 to 24 months, with a pricey ham leg (we have a semi-local slaughter house).  it's a bit of a longshot.

and then of course, what to do with 12 pounds of prosciutto when it is ready

bringing it to a party is a good idea.  up until you tell them you made it yourself and they say "how?"

no one likes the answer

nolaegghead

DoubleEgger said:

nolaegghead said:

http://m.costco.com/Del-Duca-Boneless-Prosciutto-by-Daniele.product.11222435.html

I sure hope Daniele isn't a Christian. That would be embarrassing for you! 

Well, it's a Hebrew name, the irony they make pork products fills me with joy.

nolaegghead

Beer and cured meats.

I'm joining a group of home brewers this weekend.  I've brewed before, but these guys are super cereal.

One fantasy I've had is building an environmental chamber where I can control temperature and humidity by dialing it in.  The reason I want it is for cheese and curing.  And that I live here in the gulf coast and don't have a cave.  I actually looked at a commercial freezer this morning on craigslist...might buy it.

milesvdustin

Home brewing is my other guilty pleasure. 

nolaegghead

Darby_Crenshaw

looks like bresaola?

good stuff.  made some of that too! one of the highest payback-to-expense ratios out there.

Spaightlabs

Saw a promotion for 4 year aged  acorn-fed Iberico Ham for $600 at Sam's Club.

Better be damn good ham.

nolaegghead

Darby_Crenshaw said:

looks like bresaola?

good stuff.  made some of that too! one of the highest payback-to-expense ratios out there.

Yep.  I made one too.  Promised myself to make another but not before I have my environmental chamber.  Too dry in my house.  Still, it was decent.  But I'm not going to continue to make anything if it's inferior to what I can buy.

HeavyG

He's really cutting those slices thin. I've been watching that for 15 minutes and he still has a lot of ham leg left.