Charcuterie - Show us your work

lkapigian

Sea2Ski said:

lkapigian said:

What is that beautiful piece of work  @lkapigian

@Sea2Ski I converted my Linquica recipe to dry cured, this was a sample chub, most excellent , natural ferment, no culture used, looking forward to the Full salami.....

lkapigian

Sorry for the crappy pictures....but

Dried Linquica, amazing 



This was a fresh Calabrian Sausage I threw in the chamber, excellent 



Coppa 



Lonzino 



Platter Done ..whats her names birthday this week, celebrating early ( Gavin Newsome style) heading to Mexico Friday....may just stay this time around 

SciAggie

@lkapigian Looks incredible. Is the coppa from the SRF collar?
I’m about ready for another round of sausage. 

lkapigian

SciAggie said:

@lkapigian Looks incredible. Is the coppa from the SRF collar?
I’m about ready for another round of sausage. 

@Sciaggie yes sir , SRF ...give the linquica a go, I think you'll like it 

SciAggie

That’s my plan instead of Spanish Chorizo. 

shtgunal3

There’s some amazing looking grub on this thread. Do any of you take mail orders? 

kdink

@SciAggie, what size fan is needed for the wine fridge like 4.2?
Want to build a curing chamber, seem to have everything else on order

SciAggie

This is the fan I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009OWVUJ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm making no claim about it being the best. It is my uderstanding that you simply want to ensure that the air moves inside the chamber.

CTMike

So I have slowly been acquiring equipment to jump down this rabbit hole (20 qt Hobart mixer with grinder attachment, LEM 20 lb sausage stuffer, Inkbird temp and RH controller). 

Just picked up this fridge from a restaurant supply house auction:

I could use some input on humidifier/dehumidifier, reptile heater (if needed), and pH meter. 

I’ve been reading Ruhlman’s book from cover to cover. 

JohnInCarolina

@CTMike - nice pickup on that fridge.

SciAggie

@CTMike @lkapigian is the man to answer you best. 

This is the controller set I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N56KEU6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Humidifier:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C332MZY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Dehumidifier:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KF6Y19V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Fan:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009OWVUJ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Heater:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P7U259C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think the heater actually turned on this last week during Snowmaggedon. 

Nice score on the refrigerator. 

You might pick up some sanitizer. I have been using StarSan - because I have some. I use it with lacto fermentation too. 

https://www.amazon.com/Star-San-4C-YKNL-FWNT-San-16oz/dp/B0064O7Y64/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=star+san&qid=1613958084&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExSEdKU1k3TkRXMFVKJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTE1NTg4MzJLS0FOSzY5MEMwOCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzcyMzU4MlRGUkFYUE82UlM1MSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Have fun!

CTMike

So I've ordered everything listed above, went with the WiFi controllers so I can keep an eye on things without having to go down to the basement. Only thing I could still use a recommendation on is pH meter/probe.

Thanks all. 

SciAggie

@CTMike This meter by Apera is nice. Be sure to get the spear tip. 

https://www.amazon.com/Apera-Instruments-AI3711-Cloud-Based-Datalogger/dp/B07MWHT1GZ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=apera%2Bph%2Bmeter&qid=1613997068&sprefix=apera&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyNDBFUlpEUjFVMUhDJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjg2NDk1MzJHVUg0VUJZNUJUViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDM1MzMxMk8wMldWMlNENjk1NyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&th=1

FaceDance

SciAggie

That's a nice platter. I like all of it, lol...

CTMike

The final piece of equipment just showed up. Now I just need to order some casings, curing salt, Bactoferm, etc and decide what I am going to start with. I’m thinking Bresaola as it seems very straightforward. 

SciAggie

@CTMike Very cool. This is a fun distraction - and tasty. With all the expertise on this forum it becomes very simple. Most of what we do is just wait...

BSR

CTMike said:

So I have slowly been acquiring equipment to jump down this rabbit hole (20 qt Hobart mixer with grinder attachment, LEM 20 lb sausage stuffer, Inkbird temp and RH controller). 

Just picked up this fridge from a restaurant supply house auction:

I could use some input on humidifier/dehumidifier, reptile heater (if needed), and pH meter. 

I’ve been reading Ruhlman’s book from cover to cover. 

That thing is perfect and I'm in the market. Is this an online auction or did you go in person somewhere?

It will probably just make me impatient but I really want the glass door.

CTMike

BSR said:

CTMike said:

So I have slowly been acquiring equipment to jump down this rabbit hole (20 qt Hobart mixer with grinder attachment, LEM 20 lb sausage stuffer, Inkbird temp and RH controller). 

Just picked up this fridge from a restaurant supply house auction:

I could use some input on humidifier/dehumidifier, reptile heater (if needed), and pH meter. 

I’ve been reading Ruhlman’s book from cover to cover. 

That thing is perfect and I'm in the market. Is this an online auction or did you go in person somewhere?

It will probably just make me impatient but I really want the glass door.

There’s a restaurant liquidation company near me that auctions off equipment throughout southern New England - online auctions only. They had about 30 of these. 

PigBeanUs

SciAggie said:

I went down a big rabbit hole this morning looking for information about how nitrates and nitrites are reduced in the body. I thought I'd link the two articles I found most informative.
Food Chemistry of Nitrates, Nitrites, and Cured Meat

Nitrate Reduction to Nitrite, Nitric Oxide and Ammonia by Gut Bacteria under Physiological Conditions

I've decided I've been worrying too much about this issue.

You get more nitrates from eating a spinach salad than from a package of hot dogs

SciAggie

PigBeanUs said:

You get more nitrates from eating a spinach salad than from a package of hot dogs

Right? There is a lot of stuff out there that’s meant to scare you to death. The more one learns though - it’s as you say. But at the end of the day becoming informed is the point, eh?

CTMike

I didn’t realize how big this thing is, about 2 1/2’ tall with the piston down. Going to have to figure out where it’s going to live when not in use. 

CTMike

Stopped by a local meat packer/butcher to purchase some PP1 and PP2, he said “Oh well, we don’t sell that anymore.” I asked how they cured their house made soupy (local name for Sopressata), and he replied “Oh, that’s all nitrate free, we use celery salt.” I shook my head and walked away.

Foghorn

105 pounds of sausage made today. Red brats in the foreground.  Venison merguez back left.  Venison Italian back right. 

SciAggie

@Foghorn That’s getting it done. 

Sea2Ski

Well done!   That is a ton of work. But fun.  Great job! 

Foghorn

Thanks @SciAggie and @Sea2Ski.  It was a lot of fun. There were 3 of us doing the heavy lifting. The other two guys are hosses.  

Foghorn

Sample packs

Also, the red brats called for 42 oz of beer.  We figured a homemade Irish red was perfect   

CTMike

Put the new stuffer to work today. A friend graciously gave me 10 lbs of Berkshire back fat and wouldn’t take anything in return. 

Started the day by cubing up 2 Boston butts and a picnic shoulder. Put them in the freezer to get cool while everything else was prepped. 

Attached the #12 grinder attachment to the Hobart and went to town. 

The snack sticks were a box kit from Cabela’s with some cayenne added for a little kick. 

The Italian sausage followed Ruhlman’s recipe, did a test fry first and found it needed a little more heat and salt:

Had an issue with blowouts initially until we got the hang of things. Had the stuffer at its slowest speed and still had trouble keeping up. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it soon. 

Clean up is a PITA but all in all was a good day. 

SciAggie

That’s jumping right in - good for you!