jmolinari

thanks Chris...seemed crazy, but it was late last night when i finally read the pastrami recipe and didn't think about it until this morning. Are you guys sticking closely to the 171 deg. smoker temp?

If i remember the brine for pastrami calls for 2.25kg of salt in 500g of water...how exactly is 2.25kg of salt supposed to dissolve in 500g of water? Am i mis-remembering?

Has anyone made cold smoked salmon ? The parametric table on 3-210 shows salmon to be smoked for 24hrs. The example recipe on 3-212 says to smoke it for 4 hours.... Was a "2" left off in the example recipe?

the MC bacon calls for Fermento? Peculiar.

No sir, haven't. I've never made smoked bacon, i've made smoked pancetta, which is cured, smoked, then dry cured so the distribution probably happens later. Do you think some of the improvement is also because of the moisture loss in those 10 days which would concentrate the flavors before smoking the belly? I haven't gotten to the salumi section (only skimmed it) in MC, as i'm sort of reading it "novel" like...i've finished volume 1 i'm up to "baking" in Volume 2.

Got it. Guess i haven't given it much thought as to be 100% honest i no longer refer to Charcuterie as there are too many errors and safety problems presented by that book.

I followed the recipe very closely, and next time I'd up the pepper for the base recipe and probably try some of my usual variations, especially when my rosemary plant gets going in earnest. But, as I said, this is the best I've ever made, and I've made a boatload of bacon, let me tell you. In particular, the cure was far better distributed throughout the bacon than ever before. This was first notable when I cooked it and discovered that I was getting none of the edge darkening that has happened often in the past -- which I now attribute to inadequate distribution of sugar. Great recipe, great result. Chris, why are you so surprised that a longer time in the cure will distribute the ingredients better?

actually i bought my last batch from eBay. They're not as thick but they 1/2 the price. I've used a couple for sous vide and showed no issues. they're rated for boiling/micro same as foodsaver.

i think we need to find a bulk supplier for foodsaver bags!

What is it good for? I guess it's good if you follow a recipe formulated to use Tenderquick. I thikn there are web pages that detail the % of the contents, but it's not on the package.

Morton's Tenderquick is not a substitute for Cure #1 or #2. It contains an unspecified amount of nitrates, nitrites and sugar as well as salt.

i wouldn't. In instacure the nitrite is bound to the salt so the distribution stays even throughout the bag. If you just put the 2 chemicals together you're likely to have stratification or improper distribution. Spend the $10 and mail order it.

thanks Nathan, that makes sense.

Question regarding the pasteurization of meats. Repeatedly in volume 1 the authors detail the the inside of whole cuts of meat are sterile unless they've been jaccarded. The discussion of salmonella on chicken details that there are 2 "varieties" one that is fecal based and one that invades the ovaries and then the eggs. Based on this, one would be led to believe that the inside of a chicken breast is sterile like other solid muscles. If that is the case, why does the whole chicken breast have to be brought to temperature and held for pasteurization rather than just the surface, as one would be able to do for beef? The case is made that it's because chicken is often sold whole with skin on which would carry the majority of the risk, but that would still only affect the surface of the chicken breasts, would it not?

Don't throw the shells from 12 eggs all at once. Or the peels from like 12 carrots. Bad things happen.

After casing, before putting htem in the fermentation box/area

Chris, i believe you're searching for sodium tripoly phosphate....i assume the goal of this (haven't looked at what recipe you're trying to make) is to maintain juicyness. You can likely substitute (in appropriate amounts) STPP with Amesphos, which is a mix of different phosphates and it comes in a usable amount (1 lb for like $11) from The Ingredient Store.

It's frozen. Yah, i got that:) i meant what keeps it from collapsing while pulling the vacuum, and pulling the air out of the jar isntead of it staying in the gel structure

So just blending it in a blender entraps enough air into the puree that when you vac it it expands? What keeps the structure from collapsing once it expands under vacuum? Seems crazy and delicious!

Go to Dinho market in ATL Chinatown. They carry Pixian toban jian. It's in a clear flat plastic pack with red chinese letters. On the barely legible writing on the back it says something on the order of "chili paste with broad beans" or something to that effect. It's normally in the semi refrigerated section near the vegetables.

ok, sounds reasonable. Was just wondering where it came from

How do you reach that assumption?

hrm, i don't know why people are saying the pre-peeled stuff is less strong, i don't really think it is. The pre-peeled garlic i get is bulk packed at an asian grocery. I'm not sure if they peel it there or get it peeled, but maybe it's fresher than the stuff from California available at most groceries? Anyhow, i have no problem using it. I'm busy and if i can save 3 minutes off dinner, without a degrade in quality, i'm all for it. I'd also have no problems buying the prochopped mirepoix if i needed it and didn't have time to make it. I'm not sure why so many people on Egullet appear to be against paying for convenience, selectively. I'd rather see someone buy pre-chopped mirepoix than buy a frozen dinner or a box of mac and cheese, wouldn't you?

Of course i should correct myself, and say the reference fry of that type (shoestring if that's what that type is called).

What is hilarious to me is the hypocrisy of a number of these posts where people say "McDonalds is the scourge of the earth and is barely food, but i eat it sometimes because some things are tasty" Anyone who doesn't admit McDonalds' fries, when hot and well seasoned aren't the reference fry, is lying to themselves.