Bombdog

I don't recall that i was so absolute. maybe just very cautionary. you can wipe down a moldy sausage with vinegar or brine. the danger is that some of those evil molds can penetrate the skin and get into the sausage, in which case throwing it out is prudent. but after washing them down, examine the casing to ensure it's intact and you've got all the mold. but once the mold has started, it's tough battle. ← Sorry about that. It does say "to be cautious" not take no chance.

Mark, I just checked my notes. I had a 5.5 lb bone in leg and cured it in the refrigerator for 14 days. Not sure about hang time for a boneless. Maybe Abra can give you her time. Mine was in for about 60 days.

Oh, nice. I'm getting ready to smoke on Monday or Tuesday. I've got a turkey breast, 2 HUGE bone in rib pork chops and 12 chicken breasts in brine as we speak. I'll see if I can squeeze in some salt for that smoking session. What did you put the salt in during the smoking?

I just turned to look at my cookbook section in the library here behind me when I read your post. The three books that stand out in there that I think I "go to" most are Simple Italian Cooking by Mario Italy al Dente by Biba Cagganio The Dean and Delucca Cookbook by David Rosengarten None are all encompassing, but are the ones I seem to pull out first.

Actually, I went back and read that part of the book as soon as I read that post. For fuzzy green mold Michael says take no chance and throw it out. I would rub down the remainder though. That's tough luck Chris....but you were half way expecting problems anyway, so don't get too down on yourself. The one you cut open really looks good...definition is great. Hmmm, I wonder what dry cured Coonhound will taste like if this happens again?

indeed Abra, congratulations! What a thrill! !

I second that as my new favorite way

On Batali's Saulmi web site they list a cured pork loin, called Lomo. Anyone know anything about this, or have any ideas? It has me thinking I'd like to try to do it.

Congrats Chris! Keeping my fingers crossed still. I'm feeling a bit of mold envy, as I have yet to have any develop on any of my products. Is it because I have so much salt on my water pan? Or maybe that my temperature is a bit lower? Susan, I made a pork sausage of my own recipe (up thread a bit) using the smoke fat back. If you can't find it let me know and I'll check my notes and can PM you the ingredients.

Richard I have a 5 qt bowl too, and it works, it just that 5 lbs is pretty much the max it can handle. I'm sure that the advantage Ron and I have over Susan is that we can wrap our big mitts around the top of the bowl and pretty much keep it all in there during the bind. I think Susan has a good idea, with the second bowl, if you have one. But I don't think it's essential.

Plus, they are very limiting. If you want to do anything larger than hog casing you are stuck doing it by hand.

Thanks everyone....Abra, your lamb looks 10X better than mine...wonderful! I haven't done anything but snack yet. I'm sure I'll come up with something special this weekend though. Weight issues? I'm running for an hour and a half a day on the treadmill just to keep this stuff from killing me! Richard, the KA grinder seems to work well for me. It's just that the KA stuffer is pretty weak. It'll do the job, but you really seem to have to work at it. Most of us here who have gotten into the sausage gig either have purchased a stuffer or are seriously considering it. I think Ron can give you some good advice there. Except for Mark and his marathon sausage making fest and a few other rare instances, I think most of us do 5 lb sessions.

Yeah....my invitation!

FINALLY Lamb proscuitto

Oh my! You have got to come over to this topic where a bunch of us have been curing and making sausages since the Ruhlman/Polcyn book came out late last year.

Susan, you did good and made all of us Charcuterie folks proud! Those sausages look fabulous!

... and the cold smoker... ← Oh. Let's not forget the meat slicer. ← Well, the ex fiance got me the Bradley for Christmas...but I definitely need a stuffer and I'll admit to starting the investigation of a slicer. I'd love to have Chris' Hobart...but counter space is just too rare for that option.

I've kept some pork sausages in the refrigerator about a week before grilling. I have a bunch in the freezer as we speak. I don't seem to have much of a problem figuring out storage, as everything seems to go pretty fast. That said, it's extremely gratifying to put a plate, like I posted earlier, in front of your guests and listen to them moan. Oh yeah...the peperone...I don't think it's too spicy at all...just perfect. Of all the dry cured products I've made, it seems to get the most compliments.

Since you asked, I had to go cut off a piece and really examine the flavor components. Tough job, I know. Anyone have any questions that would cause me to taste the peperone too? The answer is no sweetness that I can detect. I might be wrong here, but I think the main use of the sugar is for the fermentation process and there shouldn't be much in the way of residual sweetness if it is consumed.

Thanks for the props folks... I think Ron and Susan's pictures probably most acurately depict what we are striving for. Just my .02$ worth. Chris, glad to hear the peperone are doing good...I'm keeping my fingers crossed still. If it works you WON'T be disappointed. md...that plate of sausages you served yesterday looked awesome!

You'd think, with all my mistakes, I'd have a picture of one. I just looked though and can't find one. I think Susan posted one up thread of some chicken that crumbled on her. I did take this one yesterday of the charcuterie plate I put out before dinner. There is bresaola in the middle with some lemon, olive oil, ground pepper and shaved parmesan, and duck proscuito, tuscan salame, venison salame, and peperone around the outside.

Abra, I'm not sure if this will help. I looked through my pictures and only have one after paddling. This is my lamb sausage. Still not sure it will help you.

Especially if they are "overstuffed" or "sad" looking.... Yes, my jowls are indeed the same as your guanciale, I just didn't know how to spell it at the time I was posting.

That has me thinking about all we HAVE done. I'd be interested in seeing if we can compile a list of our projects. So far I have completed or have in progress: Herb brined smoked turkey breast Fennel cured salmon Bacon Pancetta Proscuito Lamb proscuito Pork jowls Sopressata Tuscan salame Venison salame Peperone Beef Jerky Duck breast proscuito Bresaola Pork, chicken, lamb and turkey sausages Cured and smoked pork loin Hungarian paprika sausage Polish sausage Linguica Duck and pork confit Smoked ham hocks Hey, they're only doing pork butts over there!

Susan, I think someone mentioned a while back that Bruce Aidel said to use the chicken fat. (not sure) The last time I made chicken sausages I used some skinless chicken breasts that were not going to get used for anything else around here so I just added fat back. I like the idea of using the chicken fat, but I've got to think that it will need to be nearly, if not completely, frozen to get it through the dies without smearing.