jmolinari

how would Ztrim be used in carbonara? I can't quite picture the stuff, is it a paste, a gel what? How do you substitute melted butter with Ztrim, or solid butter with ztrim, or egg yolks with ztrim?

I've made lardo using the brining method...brined for 3 months. It is awesome. I believe i posted the details in the charcuterie thread. Take a look there. Basically it involves making a hot brine in which you steep your aromatics (sage, rosemary, juniper, bay leaf) and then let it cool. Soak the fat back in this for a time, eat. jason

yup, thanks Bruce. I too pulled out Thai Food last night, and started looking through it for stuff i can make..all your food looks so awesome. It is hard for me sometimes as my wife does not like spicy food.

i;ve used 60mm collagen and made salame, as well as 43mm collagen rounds. Both work very well.

I havn't used the MEK4, but when i spray my salame with mold solution i also get unenven coverage of mold...don't know why I tihnk your mold looks OK, from the top picture at least..what is the humidity in your chamber?

Dave, those aren't beef middles are they? If so those are some huge fat chunks!

don't buy from him ?

what about using the acutally belly, i think it is called the "plate" ?

i'm sure he means water bath. It would be unsafe for 4 hours at room temp.

Using a PID isntead of an on/off controller is super easy, and requires NO knowledge of circuits. Just get a PID that has ramping features. It'll let you set temperatures and times.

ron, looks awesome. So it is pretty much like you'd get at a good jewish deli?

nathan, as you said the table i posted may refer only to trichinosis, so i'll stick with the longer times, just for safety.

This remote thermo hygrometer could be very useful to monitor your curing chamber. I have a similar one made by oregon sci. and i paid much more. this one is $11! http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/NexxTech-Wi...roductDetail.do

Looks like a great setup Ronnie. I'm waiting another month or so until the weather is cooler here in Atlanta to use a setup i have similar to yours. Otherwise just based on ambient temp, i'll be above 80!

I would like it if it were irradiated..but i don't think it is.

Joe, that is correct freezing will kill trichinea. You can freeze at -5F for 20 days if less than 6" thick, and 30 days if 6-27" thick. Or at -10F for 10 days for 6" and 20 days for 6-27" Sometimes i don't have 10 days to freeze my pork chop. Trichinea is pretty much eradicated, but i'd rather be safe, and not have eggs exploding into parasites in my blood stream:) Here is the freezing chart from that same CFR 318. able 1--Required Period of Freezing at Temperature Indicated ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Temperature deg.F. Group 1 (Days) Group 2 (Days) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5......................... 20............................30 -10 .........................10............................20 -20 ...........................6............................12 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (i) Group 1 comprises product in separate pieces not exceeding 6 inches in thickness, or arranged on separate racks with the layers not exceeding 6 inches in depth, or stored in crates or boxes not exceeding 6 inches in depth, or stored as solidly frozen blocks not exceeding 6 inches in thickness. (ii) Group 2 comprises product in pieces, layers, or within containers, the thickness of which exceeds 6 inches but [[Page 240]] not 27 inches, and product in containers including tierces, barrels, kegs, and cartons having a thickness not exceeding 27 inches.

Ok, another reply to my own question. I've found a definitive answer. The information can be found in the CFR 318.10, which is here: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/9CF318.html look at section 10 for pork. i'm pasting the table for pork safe cooking temperature, as i thin this is very helpful in this thread, for anyone else curious. So now we have the poultry table and the pork table. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Minimum internal temperature -------------------------------------------------- Degrees Minimum time Degrees fahrenheit centigrade ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 120.................................. 49.0 21 hours. 122.................................. 50.0 9.5 hours. 124.................................. 51.1 4.5 hours. 126.................................. 52.2 2 hours. 128.................................. 53.4 1 hour. 130.................................. 54.5 30 minutes. 132.................................. 55.6 15 minutes. 134.................................. 56.7 6 minutes. 136.................................. 57.8 3 minutes. 138.................................. 58.9 2 minutes. 140.................................. 60.0 1 minute. 142.................................. 61.1 1 minute. 144.................................. 62.2 Instant. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've found this searching the FSIS. It is taken from a PDF for export requirements for New Zealand. the doc. can be found here: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Pol...ments/index.asp I assume, these hold true for US pork as well..and through these guidelines the FSIS is stating that the pork cooked at 133deg. F for 60 minutes is safe to eat? Note: New Zealand requires pork to be cooked to one of the following time/temperature combinations: 56° C for 60 minutes 57° C for 55 minutes 58° C for 50 minutes 59° C for 45 minutes 60° C for 40 minutes 61° C for 35 minutes 62° C for 30 minutes 63° C for 25 minutes 64° C for 22 minutes 65° C for 20 minutes 66° C for 17 minutes 67° C for 15 minutes 68° C for 13 minutes 69° C for 12 minutes

Way back in the thread, Nathan mentioned one could cook pork at 130 and eat it safely if held of 112 minutes. I see from the FDA poultry tables this is to sterilize the meat, in regards to salmonella. Pork on the other hand also MAY (unlikely) contain trichinea. I know this dies at 137, but is it like salmonella where it could be killed at a lower temp. over a longer time? Is there such a thing as the FDA table for chicken, but for pork? i'm searching the FSIS web page, but everything says to cook pork to 160!!! thanks jason

Dave, since you'll get to it before i do for sure, please let us know how it turns out.

Looks like butcher packer has a few different cultures now. there is the T-SPX or something like that, that sounds good. It is meant for mild tasting stuff. I might try that next times, see if i get more porky flavor instead of so much acidified flavor

I've used both the FRM52 and the LHP. I don't like hte flavor of the LHP.

It is short for methylcellulose. It is used as a thickening agent in the new gastronomy. I'm sure Bryan Z can give you more details.

Michael, are you sure bacon is cooked? If i buy, hypothetically, oscar meyer bacon, it sure doesn't seem cooked!

I always thought bacon was cold smoked, and that the botulism spores, which release the toxin, are very temperature resistant. Either way, i'd use pink salt when making bacon