jmolinari

I have a bluestar 30" drop in cooktop. I went with that because i didn't want to have to change the countertop after removing the old cooktop (and it was much less expensive than the rangetop). It's basically awesome. It's has enough power to use a wok (not as good as my turkey fryer outside, but infinitely more convenient), and boils pasta water so fast it's crazy. I will admit, it isn't easy to keep clean, but it's worth it. It was expensive, but this and an outside vented hood were my only splurges in our new house

Used Ducasse's method on a prime ribeye from Costco tonight. The method is good, and makes a nice steak, but good lord, the cleanup of the stove is going to be AWFUL. I don't think i'll use this method again!

I have it. The book is very good from what i've read, but wow does it need editing for grammar, spelling, and flow and repetitiveness. The content is excellent though, and should be owned by people interested in fermented charcuterie. There are some excerpts from the book here: http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/fermented-sau...er-cultures.htm

Forgot to mention. I've done a head to head taste test of pancetta cured in the fridge, and one in the curing chamber. they were equivalent. That's why pancetta stesa is a great beginner product. It doesn't require any special hardware.

ok, that sounds like the deal then. I decided to go with the flat pancetta for my first try and cut the recipe in half. That way if, for some reason, it goes bad, I only lost a 2.5 pound piece instead of a 5 pounder. With that curing salt it kinda puts my mind at ease anyway. ← Plus, if you're worried about hanging it, I've heard you could keep it on a flat rack in the refrigerator. The problem with that might be that it might dry out a bit, but I think this will work too. I've never tried this though. Does anybody else have experience with drying flat pancetta in the refrigerator? Good luck with your belly. ← It works fine in a regular fridge. I've commented on this before. Leave it in there 20-30 days on a rack. ← That's a long time--it doesn't dry out to much with all that surface area and such a long amount of time? ← It would be quite dry, but not over dry because of the high % of fat in it. Once the time is up, wrap it in a moist paper towel and put it in a zip bag for about 3-4 days to soften the exterior a bit.

ok, that sounds like the deal then. I decided to go with the flat pancetta for my first try and cut the recipe in half. That way if, for some reason, it goes bad, I only lost a 2.5 pound piece instead of a 5 pounder. With that curing salt it kinda puts my mind at ease anyway. ← Plus, if you're worried about hanging it, I've heard you could keep it on a flat rack in the refrigerator. The problem with that might be that it might dry out a bit, but I think this will work too. I've never tried this though. Does anybody else have experience with drying flat pancetta in the refrigerator? Good luck with your belly. ← It works fine in a regular fridge. I've commented on this before. Leave it in there 20-30 days on a rack.

the french toast from the January issue is CRAZY delicious. And i normally don't care much for french toast.

I like costco beef, and i've used their pork for my salumi. Only had a problem once where the shoulders i bought were quite possibly rotten from mishandling...but i returned them no problem.

Chris, when i make large stock amounts, i then reduce it to about a 5:1 ot 7:1, and freeze it in 4oz. tupperwares, then pop the disks out, and put them in a zip lock bag. You can store the equivalent of 20 quarts of stock in 10-15 disks. When needed you can cut off chunks while they're still frozen , or take out and put in fridge...

Oh yeah, another item...don't overfill your PC...mine had liquid to about 1" from the top, and i think it was a bit too high...i could tell the liquid was just about touching the pressure release valve. Next time i'll use, backs, necks and chicken feet, which should take up less space than quartered whole chickens, so hopefully i'll get more stock out of it.

I don't think i can go back to making stock the old way after this weekend and using a PC. Wow is all i can say. 1.5 hours using KennethT's method and i had a supremely tasty chicken stock, that was better than the one i make cooking in a pot for 12 hours. Then again, it could be because i used 2 whole chickens for 5 quarts of stock:) But can't beat the time factor Only major downside is that my yield was only about 5 quarts of stock..whereas normally i end up with about 20 quarts.

For those interested, there is a guy on Ebay who's made custom Kitchenaid grinder plates. 12.5mm/1/2". I haven't used his, but i also had some made for my KA grinder by a machinist friend, and i LOVE the texture/size for salame. It works awesomely in the KA grinder...very good definition. http://cgi.ebay.com/12-5mm-Kitchenaid-Food...1742.m153.l1262

oh yeha... Cameron..sorry:)

Chris, i think they mean the bradley stovetop smoker

I guess that's a pretty safe assumption, although i have no idea if it's true:)

For lardo, you want to make a brine with about 25-35% concentration of salt. Heat it up, and drop herbs and spices into it. (traditionally sage, rosemary, bay), making a sort of tea. I also add a touch of cure #2 for safety. Let this "tea" cool down, and soak your block of backfat in it for 2-3 months. Try to keep the fat submerged with a plate or something similar. That's it. That's how it's made in Arnad. If it comes out too salty (mine did, i used a 25% brine), soak it in cold tap water for about 24 hours for every KG of fat. Then take it out, dry, and let it rest in the fridge for a few days for the salt to resdistribute.

Chris, i've changed (mostly) from using back fat, to using pork belly for the fat component. Many italian recipes actually call for it instead of back fat. they call for back fat mostly when the fat is hand cut, so it's very distinct. I'm very happy with using pork belly.

I thought January was Winter for Chris in Oklahoma! ← That's true, but it sounds like it's been a warm one:)

True, but in old times the pig was butchered in winter, when it was cold outside, for this exact reason. It gave the meats time to cure/dry in the cold before summer arrived.

Glad you like the blog Shawn, thanks. Definitely try teh fermentation in an oven with the light on. You can put the salami in some large tupperware maybe..

It MAY be a fermentation issue, but shouldn't be. As Chris said, let them dry longer. If they still don't firm up, then either the fermentation wasn't long enough, or they case hardened. the case hardening seems veyr unlikely if you were at 70% humidity. The few days in the low 50s aren't a problem. I dry my salami at 52-55 / 65-70%rh. I haven't made the chorizo from Charcuterie, so i don't know what the final texture/feel should be. I tihnk as long as you had your salt and curing salt in there, it should be relatively safe to eat, if not pleasant because of the middle squishyness. I would let them dry a few more weeks, and Chris' suggestion of spraying with distilled water is probably a good one if they've hardened a little bit on the outside edge. the bactoferm / bacteria has a big impact on the texture as i understand it. The acidification helps hte meat releast its water. Maybe the temperature you had them at during fermentaiton wasn't high enough for the particular bacteria you used. Also if they were under a light, maybe only 1 side of the salame fermented well, and the underside did not. sorry for my rambling.

Have they been proven unsafe?

Kho is one of my favorite Viet dishes. I'm with Sqwertz, NM and Kecap Manis taste very different. I also like using chicken thighs, with lemongrass and chilis in my khos.

It seems that scales have gotten even cheaper. I see a number of htem on Ebay at 100 or 200g maximum, and 0.01g accuracy for like $11 shipped! Wow!

I also bought my scale on ebay...it is precise to 0.1g, and i think it cost me $7...it's great for curing stuff, and yeast as you say!