tristar

A more scientific explanation of the process is here: Processing Techniques for Meat Products

From The University of Georgia

I am sorry to disagree but no fats that are included in sausage will actually hold them together, this will only happen in a 100% meat sausage (no binders added), by the action of the proteins in the meat, these will be solubilised by the action of salt and when stirred vigorously whilst being kept cold by the addition of shaved or crushed ice, will form a protein matrix around the fats and in effect trap them. The protein matrix will also trap any liquids, making the sausages both flavourful, moist and well textured. I make all my sausages without the benefit of pork fat. I find nothing better than chicken cooked in its own fat, and go out of my way to buy broiling fowl for their added fat and flavour to make my chicken sausages. Regards, Richard

Just to put he last post into perspective. Fresh pineapple contains an enzyme called Bromelain, which helps in digestion. Bromelain dissolves protein, therefore the pineapple should be boiled or canned to deactivate the Bromelain before adding into milk, custards, or gelatin moulds to prevent them from curdling. Bromelain is a natural meat and poultry tenderiser and an anti-inflammatory enzyme. It reduces the risk of blood clots thereby lowering the risk for heart attack and stroke. The peripheral application of this enzyme helps reduce tissue swelling and inflammation associated with arthritis, sprains and strains. If you are sensitive to Bromelain and if you consume pineapple, skin irritation and allergic dermatitis can occur. Pineapple is high in soluble fiber, which helps in controlling blood cholesterol. It is also a good source of ferulic acid, a plant chemical which helps to prevent the formation of cancer causing substances in the body. So those with an allergy should avoid pineapple, the rest of us should just enjoy the benefits! Regards, Richard

In Indonesia it is quite common for the pineapple to be washed with heavily salted water or sprinkled with a little fine salt, give it a try it really brings out the sweetness of the pineapple! Regards, Richard

Hi Abra, This is also available in Indonesia and is called 'Tape Ketan Hitam' translated as 'Fermented Black Sticky Rice'. It can also be produced with white rice but I have never tried that one so cannot comment on the flavour. I cannot help with the name of the rice as it is just called Ketan in Indonesian and I have never see it translated to mean other than 'sticky rice' For more information just 'Google' it! Strangely enough, the Muslim Indonesians will quite happily eat and drink this dessert although it can contain up tp 10% alcohol! Regards, Richard

Thanks Felice and Ptipois, I will try to locate a Picard shop close to my travel route and give them a visit, I have been to Picards website and they do sell 'Magret de Moulard' but apparently not in every store! Thanks for the help! Regards, Richard

Hi Dave V. and Dave W, The Lomo and the Country Pate both look excellent, making my mouth water just looking at them! Regards, Richard

Hi PCL, Don't miss one of the greatest additions to the Ayam Goreng, which is Ati Ampela a small bundle of delight which is the chicken liver, heart and gizzard, trussed in the chicken intestines, seasoned in a marinade and then deep fried, served with Nasi Uduk, rice cooked in coconut milk and sprinkled with crispy fried shallots or thinly sliced omelette (technically Betawi food and not Sundanese!), lalap, tahu goreng and sambal, making me dribble over the keyboard just thinking about it this should be accompanied by a small bowl of Sayur Asam, a delicious sour vegetable soup, varies from mild to scorchingly hot depending on who makes it. Try some Oncom, a fermented paste of either soy bean waste or peanut, which in it natural state is covered with a delightful orange mould, can be crushed and stirfried, or my favourite, just deepfried, and eaten with the fingers after dipping into sambal goreng. Don't forget Pepes either which is a steamed creation wrapped in a banana leaf, may be filled with fish stuffed with herbs, or mashed tahu mixed with spices and chillis. I am luck enough to spend half my time in Indonesia and would eat Sundanese food every day, it is absolutely delightful, not as sweet as Javanese, nor as rich and spicy as Padang, but when you are hungry, but have to work after your meal there is in my opinion nothing nicer than Sundanese. Regards, Richard

Hi All, In approximately 4 weeks time I will have 18 hours in Paris between flights from Africa to Asia, I would like to buy Magret de Moularde, frozen so that I can take them back to Indonesia, I will be carrying a small Ice Box for the purpose but have no idea where to buy them, I will be staying for the day near the CDG airport and can easily get a train to Paris. I have been to Paris a number of times before but cannot recollect seeing a market anywhere! Best Regards, Richard

The Great Cornish Pasty Debate is nicely summarised in Wikipedia: diced steak, potato, onion, swede (rutabaga). Start with everything raw. No pudding end in living memory I'm afraid. I did say that they were traditionally made that way, I think there is sufficient anecdotal evidence to support that claim, I did not say that they were made in that fashion now, nor that they have been for some time!. As for them being the spiritual cousins of Pastele, I think there is strong evidence to suggest that they may in actual fact be the spiritual mother of Pastele. Pastie Ireland Pasty Cornwall Pastele Portugal and Spain All connected by the Celtic Peoples who populated the Eastern Atlantic coast of Europe Pastel Indonesia Pastele Puerto Rico Pasteles Brazil Pastelles Trinidad All connected by the early Portugese and Spanish explorers and traders. I would find it hard to believe that there is not some connection between all of these considering that the first documented evidence of the pasty is from the 12th century, and that they are all filled cooked pies or pastries. I realise that the Puerto Rican version is wrapped in mashed plantain, the Trinidadian version is wrapped in cornmeal, It is not unusual I would suggest for different areas around the world to modify an item in both cooking style and ingredients to suit their locally available produce and facilities. Regards, Richard

In Indonesia, Pastel is a half moon form of pastry crust pie filled with a sweet mixture of chicken, potato, peas and spices, or glass noodles and julienned carrots, and then deep fried. In England the famous Cornish Pastie is an identically shaped pastry crust pie, but slightly larger, traditionally filled with mashed potato, diced carrot, peas and minced meats at one end and a sweet preserve of fruit at the other, they were originally eaten by Cornish tin miners centuries ago, who because of their dirty working conditions held the Pastie to eat by the curled up crust along the rounded edge of the pie, after eating the pastie the soiled crust would be discarded. I wonder how many other variations there are around the world of this dish? Regards, Richard

Hi All, Maybe for the purists here, I should just call it smoke cured brisket! I know how some people get upset when they feel the word bacon is being stolen from the pig! I have not eaten any pork for ten years , but I used to, and there is still something about the smell of a piece of bacon frying in the pan in the morning which gets my salivary glands working overtime! Not eating pork I had to find something to replace it with, I had in the past purchased commercial beef bacon, but here in Indonesia it is incredibly expensive, when it is available! So after reading on sausagemaking.org about some of the forum members making their own bacon, I decided to have a go myself with beef. I realise that the commercial versions use beef plate, but that seems to be impossible to obtain here so I looked for the closest layering of beef and fat which was similar to pork belly. Brisket! I bought a commercial dry cure with smoke powder and rubbed up some brisket and stored in the fridge. 7 days later delicious Brisket Bacon! This is different from the American style bacon as it is not hot smoked and partially cooked, this is more akin to British Bacon which is only cold smoked! It is a little tougher than real bacon, but the taste and more especially the cooking aroma is mouthwatering! and it still makes a good sandwich! Regards, Richard ← Last week just before returning to Africa, I took the remains of my Brisket Bacon which by this time had been sitting uncovered in the fridge for 4 weeks, sliced it and packed it to take away with me. The 4 weeks drying had darkened the meat as would be expected but it had also firmed it up such that it was very easy to slice thinly. I sampled a couple of rashers and it seemed to have improved with age, being seemingly more tender, of course this could just be an effect of the thinner rasher. This morning I decide to open the presliced rashers and found to my suprise that on the end of the rasher was some "Bloom", white and dry, not furry or colourful I hasten to add. The rashers were cooked and were just as delicious as before. My question is, "What exactly is the Bloom?" I am assuming it is a type of fungal growth, but am not sure. I certainly isn't salty to the taste at all! Regards, Richard

Hi Edsel, As these were my first adventures into the world of curing and drying I did dry the lamb "Pancetta" in the fridge. However I am very tempted to try some dry cured meats in the ambient conditions here in Jakarta, I am sure that they would develop a character of their own, as long as I can hold the bad bacteria at bay! There is a local dried meat called deng-deng which is beef, cured with palm sugar and coriander and that is dried in the sun, there are also a number of soy products, such as tempeh and oncom which are fermented at elevated temperatures for a few days, the oncom is actually very interesting as it blooms into a very bright orange colour and has a mushroomy flavour! I am thinking along the lines of preparing a peperone style sausage and innoculating it with the oncom mould and seeing where it takes me! I think I trust my senses to keep me free from harm, there should be plenty of oxygen available to prevent botulinum bacteria from multiplying, and any other spoilage should be sensed by smell or taste. Anyway where would we be if nobody took any risks? This will all have to wait a few weeks as I am currently in Central West Africa far from the comfort of my kitchen at home! If the experiment takes place it will be documented and posted in eGullet so just keep your fingers crossed! Best Regards, Richard

Well here is the finished product, slightly herby, sweet and peppery, fats are smooth and the meat is very tender, not a disapointment in any way! Thanks again for the inspiration Michael. Best Regards from a steamy Jakarta, Richard

Hi Doc-G, So as long as we have a cured product it is ok to dry at elevated temperatures? and just out of curiosity what would you consider to be room temperature? I ask this because I live in the tropics. This seems to contradict what I have read to be the norm that the salami should be held cold. Would the Australian government website you quoted have any more information on this? I will admit that it makes sense to me but I have no specialised food hygiene, or biological training! But being an engineer like to know and understand the process that my food is going through when I am producing it. Regards, Richard ← Hi Tristar, Youve raised an important point. We live in Adelaide, Australia which is described as having a 'Mediterranean' climate. That is hot dry summers and relatively cold dry (wetter than summer of course) winters. We also generally restrict out smallgoods making to the winter months. Therefore, room temperature to us is around 12-18 degrees centigrade during the day and perhaps as low as 6-10 degrees centigrade at night. I would assume that living in the tropics will present it's own challenges to curing at 'room temperature'. I'm not quite sure how to help you there. I would assume that your room temperature may be just perfect for the initial 24 hour cure to activate the starter culture. The maturation process however will be an interesting prospect for you as you will have to maintain a lower temp and humidity for longer periods of time. As for how to go about, someone else will have to help you here. There are some pretty clever people on this board! I'm sure someone will think of something! Cheers, Doc-G btw from memory the website I previously mentioned does have a fair amount of information on food safety for meat manufacturing. ← Thanks Doc, I think until I find definitive information I will just keep using the old fridge! But I may just leave a test sample out and see if it spoils and how long it takes to do so. Regards Richard

Hi Doc-G, So as long as we have a cured product it is ok to dry at elevated temperatures? and just out of curiosity what would you consider to be room temperature? I ask this because I live in the tropics. This seems to contradict what I have read to be the norm that the salami should be held cold. Would the Australian government website you quoted have any more information on this? I will admit that it makes sense to me but I have no specialised food hygiene, or biological training! But being an engineer like to know and understand the process that my food is going through when I am producing it. Regards, Richard

Hi All, Just a quick update on my latest projects, Beef Chorizo and Peperone, I made them last week and stuffed them into sheep casings. My old fridge is on its warmest setting and has maintained an average of 6 -7 degrees Centrigrade, the RH was initially 75% and fell after 2 days to 55% when I added a tray of saturated salt solution to raise it back up to 60-65%. As you can see the definition of the Chorizo is not what you would normally expect but these were made with Brisket without any special effort on my part to select the hardest fats from the meat, as an experiment I think it worked reasonably well! The Peperone were dry after 7 days, but I will leave the Chorizo for another day or two as the fat seems to be slowing down the drying process. I love this hobby don't you? Regards from a hot and humid Jakarta, Richard

That looks delicious Richard! I have some trepidation in attempting the european style sausages, as I believe they require a greater degree of difficulty to perfect them. Good on you! ← Hi Thomasevan, I just followed the instructions in the book but halved the quantities as I cannot deal with a larger load in my mixer! If I can do it, anybody can I know that in the book it stresses temperature control during the emulsification process, but I have to work in a kitchen with 28-32 degree centigrade ambient conditions, and still had no problems with forming the emulsion. This process is so good I have started to use a slightly modified version for my regular sausages, the definition on them has improved so much it is just incredible! I am sure you will have success if you give it a try, the results are well worth it. Regards, Richard

Hi All, Maybe for the purists here, I should just call it smoke cured brisket! I know how some people get upset when they feel the word bacon is being stolen from the pig! I have not eaten any pork for ten years , but I used to, and there is still something about the smell of a piece of bacon frying in the pan in the morning which gets my salivary glands working overtime! Not eating pork I had to find something to replace it with, I had in the past purchased commercial beef bacon, but here in Indonesia it is incredibly expensive, when it is available! So after reading on sausagemaking.org about some of the forum members making their own bacon, I decided to have a go myself with beef. I realise that the commercial versions use beef plate, but that seems to be impossible to obtain here so I looked for the closest layering of beef and fat which was similar to pork belly. Brisket! I bought a commercial dry cure with smoke powder and rubbed up some brisket and stored in the fridge. 7 days later delicious Brisket Bacon! This is different from the American style bacon as it is not hot smoked and partially cooked, this is more akin to British Bacon which is only cold smoked! It is a little tougher than real bacon, but the taste and more especially the cooking aroma is mouthwatering! and it still makes a good sandwich! Regards, Richard

Another version of my Kielbasa from further upthread, this time with the mustard seeds left out but with the addition of a garnish of Brisket Bacon. managed to control the temperature better this time and the result, no cavities in the sausage! My apologies if this all seems like simple stuff to you more experienced guys but for me it is still magical! Regards, Richard

It's just that we carry out our innoculation at elevated temperatures for an extended period of time, I would have assumed that as our ph decreased and our cured sausages dry they would become more resistant to bacterial growth rather than less. Michael himself says in the book that humidity control is more important than temperature control I believe. I was just curious about how important temperature control is, as I said in my original post the locally dried meats are dried in the sun, and in South Africa Biltong is dried without the benefits of refrigeration! ← Richard, I think you are over-interpreting the single sentence in Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie book (P 175) "Humidity is the critical factor and the one most difficult to control." It is critical, but I understand that is even more important that the temperature be "cool", certainly much cooler than your 30C (86F) ambient. Just how cool isn't terribly critical (as long as it is cool). Exactly how humid *is* critical. My understanding is cheerfully simplistic. Things aren't 'cured' (preserved) until the curing is finished. I think your understanding of the different functions of the curing components may be a little off. The acidification (from the incubated culture) and the Prague Powder (Nitrate and Nitrite) is about (taste and colour considerations apart) protecting primarily against Botulism. Not *all* the other possible nasty wee beasties that can 'spoil' the meat. Most of the others can be dealt with by raising the concentration of salt in the meat. Much of the raising of the salt concentration is done by water removal, drying. *After* enough water has been removed, what remains is too salty for the majority of moulds and bacteria. So the meat is preserved. Yet it remains somewhat soft and very slightly moist. But *until* enough water has gone, during the days, weeks or months of curing (pepperoni, salami or whole hams) - you need to look after it. Not least by keeping it cool. The brief excursion to "warm" temperatures for culture incubation is a necessary evil of that process (although there are other ways of acidifying salami). Warmth encourages all sorts of stuff to flourish - which is why you wouldn't eat it until its dried enough, to be salty enough to kill them off. I think the comparison with Biltong is plain false. That ends up as a *very* dry product. Brittle. Would you want salami that dry? Biltong is a *dried* as opposed to an *air-cured* product. Different process. Different result. Its best not to divert this particular thread by discussing the 'how' of practical climate control! ← Thanks for that Dougal, Your point about Biltong is quite correct, I hadn't thought about that, the same applies to the locally produced meats here in Indonesia. But I think I have to read more about this as the curing seems to me to be done at the initial stages, and there after the process is just drying isn't it? I have to find information which goes deeper into the science of this process rather than just the craft! I guess thats the problem with being an Engineer, I really have to understand the process before I am happy with it. Best Regards, Richard

Hi Foodman, Don't give up just yet, seal the pepperone into ziploc bags and just leave them for a while, they will equalise! I have heard of some people who seal into the ziplocks, freeze them, then thaw, which is supposed to speed up the process, but haven't tried it myself. I cannot really see from the Photograph which size casings you used, but sheep casings will facilitate easier drying in your conditions as well. Best Regards from a hot and humid Jakarta, Richard

Okay, and how does that make UVC different from a harsh chemical? Anyway, with some normal construction plastic drop cloth, some PVC, and duct-tape, you could make yourself a reasonable enclosure (there are many variations on this theme), but it wouldn't hold up to a bunch of traffic. And for your question, tristar, temperature is very important. That's why refrigeration was such a revolution. The better you can control the temperature, the better things will turn out. ← It's just that we carry out our innoculation at elevated temperatures for an extended period of time, I would have assumed that as our ph decreased and our cured sausages dry they would become more resistant to bacterial growth rather than less. Michael himself says in the book that humidity control is more important than temperature control I believe. I was just curious about how important temperature control is, as I said in my original post the locally dried meats are dried in the sun, and in South Africa Biltong is dried without the benefits of refrigeration! Best Regards, Richard

My take on Pancetta from 'Charcuterie' using a loin and breast of lamb, substituted Rosemary and rainbow peppercorns in the recipe. What else to call it but Lambcetta! I will let you know how it turns out after drying! Regards, Richard