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Ode to Our Cured Meat Expert...

Mighty_Quinn
Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
edited August 2012 in EggHead Forum
A few weeks ago stike posted his bresaola and lamb ham and it got my wheels turning. Today was the day to pull the beef from the cure and tie and hang for three weeks to dry. Recipe isfrom 'Charcuterie'. Here is the progress so far... Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos I'll update when ready and sliced in a few weeks.
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Comments

  • paqman
    paqman Posts: 4,660
    What is it?

    Stike was an inspiration.  I never heard of Charcuterie (the book) before seeing Stike's posts and without him I would never have attempted home curing.

    So far, I made Canadian bacon.  I found out that my butcher receives pork bellies on a daily basis; next step will be bacon.


    ____________________
    Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage. •Niccolo Machiavelli
  • paqman
    paqman Posts: 4,660
    Keep us posted on your progress!

    ____________________
    Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage. •Niccolo Machiavelli
  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
    Eye of round cured with salts/sugar strong herbs and juniper berries.....its a traditional northern Italian cured meat.
  • bigphil
    bigphil Posts: 1,390
    @Mighty_Quinn how long does it all take ?

    @paqman whats the exact name of the book if you don't mind 
    Large Big Green Egg , XL Big Green Egg . BBQ Guru, Weber Kettle, Weber Q grill for road trips.
  • paqman
    paqman Posts: 4,660
    edited August 2012
    @bigphil

    Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Hardcover)
    Brian Polcyn, Michael Ruhlman

    ____________________
    Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage. •Niccolo Machiavelli
  • bigphil
    bigphil Posts: 1,390
    @paqman thanks found it on my nook  =D>
    Large Big Green Egg , XL Big Green Egg . BBQ Guru, Weber Kettle, Weber Q grill for road trips.
  • AleBrewer
    AleBrewer Posts: 555
    Charcuterie is a great book....and so is Ruhlman and Polcyn's latest book "Salumi"

    Hoping to get some time in the fall to make some cured meats.
  • Tjcoley
    Tjcoley Posts: 3,551
    Ruhlman's latest book, 'Twenty' is also a great read. Boils down everything you need to know to elevate your cooking into twenty categories. I especially enjoyed the chapter on salt.
    __________________________________________
    It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.
    - Camp Hill, PA
  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
    bigphil said:
    @Mighty_Quinn how long does it all take ?

    @paqman whats the exact name of the book if you don't mind 

    5 weeks...2 in the cure and 3 drying. I have a feeling it'll be ready before 3 weeks though because my humidity levels are way lower than the recommended 60-70%.
  • AleBrewer
    AleBrewer Posts: 555
    Tjcoley said:
    Ruhlman's latest book, 'Twenty' is also a great read. Boils down everything you need to know to elevate your cooking into twenty categories. I especially enjoyed the chapter on salt.
    Thanks.....I have added this to my Amazon wish list
  • paqman
    paqman Posts: 4,660
    AleBrewer said:


    Tjcoley said:

    Ruhlman's latest book, 'Twenty' is also a great read. Boils down everything you need to know to elevate your cooking into twenty categories. I especially enjoyed the chapter on salt.

    Thanks.....I have added this to my Amazon wish list


    Same here

    ____________________
    Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage. •Niccolo Machiavelli
  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
    Finally...time to update this "project" of mine. I took the bresaola down from hanging to dry a couple weeks ago me didn't have an immediate use for any so I sealed it up in the food saver. Total hanging time was 2 1/2 weeks, a few days shy of the 3 weeks called for on the recipe. Here it is all done, and sliced as thin as I could get it on my cheapish slicer. Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos I ended up using some of on pizzas tonight.....will post those after this..good stuff!
  • Tjcoley
    Tjcoley Posts: 3,551
    Very nice!  
    __________________________________________
    It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.
    - Camp Hill, PA
  • Did you wrap it in cheese cloth and add wine to the marinating process?
  • That looks really awesome btw!
  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
    Thanks Dante....no wine in this....it's a dry cure--curing salt, sugar, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, juniper berries, and then after the curing period, it hangs to dry with no cheesecloth wrapping it.
  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
    Serve it with a little olive oil & cracked black pepper...it will melt in your mouth. I will be doing one again in a few weeks. It is one of the best things I have ever cured..and very easy to do...Congrats it looks great...i know Jeff would be pleased...
  • vidalia1 said:
    Serve it with a little olive oil & cracked black pepper...it will melt in your mouth. I will be doing one again in a few weeks. It is one of the best things I have ever cured..and very easy to do...Congrats it looks great...i know Jeff would be pleased...
    somewhere in the great North East, @Stike is smiling. I got the book and this will be my first cure. Can't wait
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    I got the book for my birthday this weekend can't wait to try some of it out.
  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
    Thanks @vidalia1....you're right, it is so good with olive oil and a twist of fresh cracked pepper...I add a little squeeze of lemon juice too...so good with good olives and a hunk of baguette. The key to having it melt in your mouth is paper thin slices ala prosciutto. Do it CT!...it is high reward with minimal cost and effort.
  • Thanks @vidalia1....you're right, it is so good with olive oil and a twist of fresh cracked pepper...I add a little squeeze of lemon juice too...so good with good olives and a hunk of baguette. The key to having it melt in your mouth is paper thin slices ala prosciutto. Do it CT!...it is high reward with minimal cost and effort.
    I'm on it. Where do you buy your salts?
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
    With Stike's sage advise and the Rulman book I have done pancetta, bresaola, brats, beef hot dogs, bacon, duck prosciutto, summer sausage & Canadian bacon...as well as dry aging my own steaks...all have been spot on and huge hits with family & friends...I never thought I would have meat hanging in my basement...Thanks Jeff wherever you are...  :+))
  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
    edited October 2012
    +1 vidalia (well -hot dogs, summer sausage, and dry aging...still to come)
  • Outlaw77
    Outlaw77 Posts: 71
    edited October 2012
    @Mighty_Quinn looks great! @The_Cen-Tex_Smoker the last batch of salts I got was also from where @Mighty_Quinn got it but FWIW I recently found the pink salt in my Academy Sports for <$2. It was in a standard size spice container made by Fiesta.
  • Outlaw77 said:
    @Mighty Quinn looks great! @The Cen-Tex Smoker the last batch of salts I got was also from where @Mighty Quinn got it but FWIW I recently found the pink salt in my Academy Sports for <$2. It was in a standard size spice container made by Fiesta.
    Thanks Outlaw. I have to run over to Academy this week anyway (they are a customer of mine)


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • What kind of setup do you have for the drying process? My parents have a cold room but have no idea if the humidity and temperature is ideal for curing meats. I wish my house had a cold room.
  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
    I have a small crawl space accessed in my basement that's dark, 65 degrees year round and probably anywhere from 15-50 percent humidity....nowhere near the recommend 65-70%. I just figure things dry quicker than the recipe calls for...in this case it was ready in 2 1/2 weeks instead of 3. I did have a concern that the outside would dry too quickly and the inside not really at all, but that wasn't the case one bit...Maybe with larger pieces of meat that would come into play. All I do is drive a small nail partway into the joists in the space and hang from there..
  • Ha ha I have the same tiny crawl space which I believed was completely useless but now you are telling me I can cure meats down there! Incredible. I will have to give this a try.

    Funny, I went to a restaurant just a month ago and had their Bresaola salad. 6 or 7 super thin slices on a bed of arugala, a few shavings of parmesan (probably not PR) and a splash of light vinegarette. It was delicious but it was 9 bucks.
  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
    Nice....I served some in a similar way with the arugula salad, but with a twist....served over a pizza. Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos The bresaola was shaved thin and put on the pizza raw after the pie cooked...under the arugula, you can see bits of it sticking out the ends of the salad.