Charcuterie - Show us your work

lkapigian

BigGreenKev said:

Have to say this is an amazing thread.  About to start on my first pancetta.

awesome ...........several ways to go there Tesa, Arrotolata Steccata , any can be taken to just the cured "cook to consume" or lower the water activity to a point where can be eaten UnCooked ........ cant wait to see the results 

BigGreenKev

lkapigian said:

BigGreenKev said:

Have to say this is an amazing thread.  About to start on my first pancetta.

awesome ...........several ways to go there Tesa, Arrotolata Steccata , any can be taken to just the cured "cook to consume" or lower the water activity to a point where can be eaten UnCooked ........ cant wait to see the results 

Starting off with Umai bag method so I can use a regular fridge.  I've had good results with their dry aged bags

CTMike

The bresaola is about finished in the cure, so I finally got around to converting that fridge I bought to a curing chamber. 

Went with the Inkbird WiFi temperature and humidity controllers. It seems to be settling in nicely at 60 F and 65% RH. The hysteresis on the controller is set wide enough so that the various components won’t fight each other.

Just have to add the computer fan for air movement, and stuff some insulation in the hole I cut for the cords. 

SciAggie

That’s nice!

nolaegghead

beautiful setup, Mike

CTMike

First victim in to the chamber. Followed the dry-aged bresaola recipe from Two Guys & a Cooler, but following Ruhlman’s directions for drying as I don’t have a proper sized collagen casing that Two Guys calls for.

lkapigian

CTMike said:

First victim in to the chamber. Followed the dry-aged bresaola recipe from Two Guys & a Cooler, but following Ruhlman’s directions for drying as I don’t have a proper sized collagen casing that Two Guys calls for.

looks sweet!.

CTMike

Checked the weight on the Bresaola today, was 1.01 kg, right at 65% weight loss. Wiped down the mold with some white vinegar, and then rinsed and dried.

Sliced off a couple pieces for taste testing for the wife and I, adding a couple drops of EVOO and lemon juice. Very good.

The rest was vacuum sealed and in to the walk-in for a couple weeks to allow the moisture to equalize throughout. Will definitely be doing this again.

lkapigian

Bravo @CTMike

CTMike

lkapigian said:

Bravo @CTMike

Thanks. Someone over on Reddit thinks the mold is not a beneficial strain. Thoughts?

nolaegghead

CTMike said:

lkapigian said:

Bravo @CTMike

Thanks. Someone over on Reddit thinks the mold is not a beneficial strain. Thoughts?

Some molds are, some aren't.  That's like saying bacteria is bad.

lkapigian

nolaegghead said:

CTMike said:

lkapigian said:

Bravo @CTMike

Thanks. Someone over on Reddit thinks the mold is not a beneficial strain. Thoughts?

Some molds are, some aren't.  That's like saying bacteria is bad.

For sure. White mold AKA Penicillium nalgiovense what you want, even some green molds give it that funky cheesyness ..shy away from black mold 

nolaegghead

lkapigian said:

nolaegghead said:

CTMike said:

lkapigian said:

Bravo @CTMike

Thanks. Someone over on Reddit thinks the mold is not a beneficial strain. Thoughts?

Some molds are, some aren't.  That's like saying bacteria is bad.

For sure. White mold AKA Penicillium nalgiovense what you want, even some green molds give it that funky cheesyness ..shy away from black mold 

right, many molds protect themselves (and their food) by killing competitors.  The penicillin kills some bacteria, protects our food from it.  And was a breakthrough in medicine.

The story behind penicillin goes like this:

"Often described as a careless lab technician, Fleming returned from a two-week vacation to find that a mold had developed on an accidentally contaminated staphylococcus culture plate. Upon examination of the mold, he noticed that the culture prevented the growth of staphylococci."

CTMike

So can I take your comments to mean that this particular white mold is nothing to worry about?

nolaegghead

I got white mold on my bresaola too.  I didn't worry about it, rinsed it off with some distilled vinegar.

CTMike

nolaegghead said:

I got white mold on my bresaola too.  I didn't worry about it, rinsed it off with some distilled vinegar.

Thanks - how long should I let it equalize?

lkapigian

CTMike said:

So can I take your comments to mean that this particular white mold is nothing to worry about?

White mold is nothing to worry about 

nolaegghead

CTMike said:

nolaegghead said:

I got white mold on my bresaola too.  I didn't worry about it, rinsed it off with some distilled vinegar.

Thanks - how long should I let it equalize?

Optional, but from my understanding, you want to decrease the case hardening by letting some interior moisture work it's way back to the surface where the drying occurs.  I guess you could look at it as just keeping it wrapped, but I see no issue on waiting to eat it.

CTMike

nolaegghead said:

CTMike said:

nolaegghead said:

I got white mold on my bresaola too.  I didn't worry about it, rinsed it off with some distilled vinegar.

Thanks - how long should I let it equalize?

Optional, but from my understanding, you want to decrease the case hardening by letting some interior moisture work it's way back to the surface where the drying occurs.  I guess you could look at it as just keeping it wrapped, but I see no issue on waiting to eat it.

Mostly I’m waiting to see if we die in the next couple days from sampling it today. 😎

nolaegghead

Lol

SciAggie

@CTMike That looks beautiful my friend. I know, I was hesitant about eating moldy meat too. I didn't die.

nolaegghead

I eat the rind on brie, I'm a crazy person (but still alive for some reason).

SciAggie

nolaegghead said:

I eat the rind on brie, I'm a crazy person (but still alive for some reason).

I’m with you. I like the funk of the rind. I really like taleggio washed rind cheese.  

CTMike

Took the bresaola out of the vacuum bag today, obviously no one died last week. 

Hacked off a couple slices, couple drops of EVOO and lemon juice - amazing flavor. 

lkapigian

CTMike said:

Took the bresaola out of the vacuum bag today, obviously no one died last week. 

Hacked off a couple slices, couple drops of EVOO and lemon juice - amazing flavor. 

Bombdiggity

SciAggie

@CTMike That looks delicious!

CTMike

Broke out the Berkel and sliced the bresaola paper thin. Added fresh arugula, some EVOO, 12 y/o balsamic, shaved Parmigiana Reggiano, and fresh cracked black pepper. 

Amazingly good. 

Berkel 818

Gratuitous sliced meat porn

lkapigian

CTMike said:

Broke out the Berkel and sliced the bresaola paper thin. Added fresh arugula, some EVOO, 12 y/o balsamic, shaved Parmigiana Reggiano, and fresh cracked black pepper. 

Amazingly good. 

Berkel 818

Gratuitous sliced meat porn

The way it should be and melt in your mouth 

nolaegghead

That's what I'm talking about!

nolaegghead

A little off-topic, but look up bo tai chanh.  It's a great spin on carpaccio.