Curing and Cooking with Ruhlman & Polcyn's "Charcuterie" (Part 6)

[OliverB]

I promised a picture or two, let's see if this works with links to images on my blog:

Pork belly and mess in place - savory on the left, sweet on the right:

Packed and ready to cure in the fridge for 7 days:

Here's the bacon, fresh from the smoker (BGE):

And here is some of it nice and crispy - and very juicy on the inside - with some left over pasta, scrambled egg and tomatoes. A nice Saturday brunch:

It turned out great, I'm really amazed by this somewhat goofy looking Big Green Egg. Made Pizza, tri-tip, pork loin on it since, all turned out wonderfully. Posts to come, but they'd be off topic here.

More detailed description and lots more pix on my blog, but these are the essence of the adventure.

Edited November 3, 2009 by OliverB (log)

[rooftop1000]

Having just picked up a package of this Cure for wild game or domestic meat....

http://www.lemproducts.com/product/169/Cure_Ham_Curing_Kits

I wanted to let everyone know that they carry this at Gander Mtn a chain of Hunting Fishing Outdoor etc Stores. They had Grinders, Stuffers, assorted Casings and different flavored and unflavored Cures. Just another option.

Bacon coming up....

tracey

Edited November 8, 2009 by rooftop1000 (log)

[Chris Hennes]

A few years ago ronnie_suburban made the peperone (1,2) using pork, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried the recipe as written, with lean beef. Ruhlman indicates that this should be a very lean sausage, and the recipe has no added fat and instructs you to remove all the fat from the beef before using it. Anyone with results to report on this front? Also, the recipe indicates the use of lamb or hog casings, but I most of the peperone I have had elsewhere is in larger casings, hog middles I think. Any thoughts on this?

[Chris Amirault]

I made it with hog casings and lean beef, following the Ruhlman recipe pretty closely. It was fantastic.

[Spivy]

The wealth of knowledge in this thread and the other one is amazing. I just finished the Charuterie book and am diving in to trying it out next week. Duck Porscuitto is my first foray into the art of Charcuterie.

[vice]

On 22 November 2009 - 11:16 AM, Chris Hennes said:

A few years ago ronnie_suburban made the peperone (1,2) using pork, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried the recipe as written, with lean beef. Ruhlman indicates that this should be a very lean sausage, and the recipe has no added fat and instructs you to remove all the fat from the beef before using it. Anyone with results to report on this front? Also, the recipe indicates the use of lamb or hog casings, but I most of the peperone I have had elsewhere is in larger casings, hog middles I think. Any thoughts on this?

I started a batch on Sunday and just transferred them last night from fermenting chamber to curing chamber, so I can comment in a couple weeks. I used beef chuck, keeping the fat, and 42-45 mm hog casings. It will certainly be fattier than Ruhlman intended, but everything else was as written.

[Chris Hennes]

Thanks, gentlemen. I'm going ahead and making it exactly as written, complete with using a very lean, well trimmed round. I'm using a spicy smoked Spanish paprika: what kind did you guys go with?

Spivy, the Duck Prosciutto is an excellent place to start! Welcome to the world of charcuterie!!

[Mallet]

I'd like to try curing a Canada Goose breast. Canada Geese are much leaner than domestic ducks (nearly no fat), and the meat is much darker- almost like beef. I'm not sure that that the duck prosciutto recipe would be appropriate, perhaps a bresaola cure would be better?

[Chris Amirault]

If you have enough product to experiment, I'd start with that duck ham recipe myself -- or run a few concurrently. Document, please!

[sjemac]

I'd like to try curing a Canada Goose breast. Canada Geese are much leaner than domestic ducks (nearly no fat), and the meat is much darker- almost like beef. I'm not sure that that the duck prosciutto recipe would be appropriate, perhaps a bresaola cure would be better?

I did it with Ruhlman's duck prosciutto recipe. Final product was pretty good but the next time I did it I would dry it longer and use some more robust seasonings to stand up to the meatier flavor of Canada Goose.

Finished after cure.

With accompaniments.

Edited December 10, 2009 by sjemac (log)

[sygyzy]

A Whole Foods opened up here a few months ago. It's a really big deal because traditionally we can't get any good ingredients. Well, surprise surprise, they cannot get pork belly. I am not the only one that's asked her. They told me plenty of people request it but they are unable to get it. I am talking about pork belly here, not the heart of a Unicorn.

[Chris Amirault]

I've had some success at WF working with the Meat Team Leaders (their title, not mine), who have more leeway with corporate than they have had in the past, and you should be able to buy bellies as an additional item on whatever invoice the local store places up the chain.

That will mean, however, that you'll have to live with some issues. You'll be buying the product from whomever supplies their pork (Niman and Coleman here), and that means accepting their terms: skin on or off, size of delivery box, and so on. In addition, the team leaders have to wait until specialty orders can be filled, which can take time, up to six weeks for me. When it arrives, you may well have to accept responsibility for purchasing the entire box of bellies. That's usually been three full bellies of ~15 lbs each, and I've had to pay ~$3/lb: that's close to $150 per box.

I've addressed these issues by creating "pork belly futures" (which you can do here on eG Forums; PM me if you're interested) that folks buy into ahead of time; when the box arrives, I distribute the bellies to the partners and myself.

Ultimately, I gave up and started getting excellent skin-on New Hampshire pork from an area Asian grocer, who gets it every Thursday for his pork-fiending customers. But there's no reason that Whole Foods can't do it.

[Chris Hennes]

Peperone (pp. 185–186)

I finished the peperone from the book last week, and after a week vacuum-sealed in the fridge it's ready to go—it is fantastic. I ended up using a spicy smoked Spanish paprika, which is the dominant flavor in the sausage. I used a very lean bottom round which I then meticulously trimmed of surface fat before grinding: my guess is that the fat content here is under 5%. While I was initially suspicious of this, Polcyn and Ruhlman have never been shy about including fat, so I figured maybe they had a reason. I think this was a good choice, in particular because I wanted to use the peperone on pizza, and high-fat salume on pizza tend to make it greasy. I don't find myself missing the fat here at all, even when eaten plain. Really, marvelous stuff, maybe my favorite recipe so far from the book. I don't think I'd change a thing.

I cured this for 11 days in my wine-fridge curing chamber. I did not add water to the salt pan this time: the humidity kept a reasonably constant 77% during the whole process, using just salt to absorb some of the moisture. The temperature stayed between 55°F and 60°F.

And sliced: note how little fat there is.

And finally, the peperone in its natural environment

[Chris Amirault]

Looks great. And you're right about the fat: a lean, tangy peperone is a revelation, isn't it?

You happy with the bottom round? I had used chuck before, and also had great results.

[vice]

Article in the times about 'nduja today, an item not covered in Charcuterie. Has anyone taken a stab at it themselves?

[jmolinari]

I will also look up my italian charcuterie books to see if i can find anything if you guys want.

[vice]

Thanks, Jason. It looks like Laurence has a good bit of info up on his trials, but the more the better.

[ray goud]

I just made my first full-size pate de campagne from this book (adding prunes as a garnish) and it came out excellently, though I will reduce the amount of cinnamon and cloves for the next one.

Ray

[Qwerty]

I'm sorry if this has been asked before, so please forgive me, it's just hard to go through this many pages and try to get an answer to my questions.

I soon will be attempting to make sausage at home for the first time. I'm not a sausage making amatuer, I am a professional cook, so I've done it before, just not extensively and never at home.

Anyways, I currently live in New England and am thinking of aging my sausages in the cellar. I don't think it will be a problem, the cellar is chilly (though not cold cold). I'm not sure what the humidity is, but it's a little moist but not too bad. I THINK it should be perfect.

What about storage of dried cured sausage after aging? I have a foodsaver, and was thinking just simply to vac. save it and keep it in the fridge. I figure the risk of botulism is slim to nil (since I'll be using nitrate). Is that an effective storage process? Any edvice from others who have tried it? I plan on making a couple of different types of dried sausage, maybe 10 lbs each, so I'll have quite a bit.

What about fresh sausage? I have a great boudin blanc recipe from one of my old jobs. Is it OK to freeze fresh sausage? When should I freeze it? After stuffing and poaching? Or should I just vaccuum pack the raw farce and store it in the freezer? Store it stuffed and raw without poaching?

Anyways, thanks in advance for the help. Again, sorry if this type of stuff has been gone over, but I can't effectively wade through 14+ pages of info.

[Chris Hennes]

I store my dry-cured items vacuum-sealed and in either the freezer or the fridge, depending on how soon I plan on using it. It keeps very well, of course. With fresh I usually vacuum and freeze uncooked, but have done cooked as well: both work very well. Sausage keeps better than just about anything else. In fact, I find that with dry-cured sausage vacuum-sealing and refrigerating for a week is actually beneficial to both the flavor and the texture. The moisture balances out throughout the sausage, I think.

Also, I should point out that we have developed an index of the original Charcuterie topic, available here, so you should check that out before considering wading through the whole thing.

[dougal]

... the cellar is chilly (though not cold cold). I'm not sure what the humidity is, but it's a little moist but not too bad. I THINK it should be perfect.

... sorry if this type of stuff has been gone over, but I can't effectively wade through 14+ pages of info.

Its well worth getting yourself a cheap digital thermometer + 'hygrometer' (humidity meter) with max/min recording on both parameters.

Its much more accurate than guesswork.

And these can be VERY cheap, as long as you don't mind going to the thing to read it. (Remote readout comes more expensive!)

A couple of seconds (literally) on eBay found this one, costing less than $6. Delivered! http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-Temperature-Humidity-Meter-Thermometer-193_W0QQitemZ230312188398QQ

...

Also, I should point out that we have developed an index of the original Charcuterie topic, available here, so you should check that out before considering wading through the whole thing.

Chris, don't scare the poor fellow!

Its the 14 pages of THIS thread he's worried about, not the 100+ of the other one!

[jmolinari]

I looked through my italian books, and couldn't find any info on nduja, other than what we already know...

[Qwerty]

thanks for the responses guys.

The index was very helpful....thanks again. Its a lot of information to wade through.

So, is it bad to just hang my sausages in the basement? Do I really NEED a wine cooler or mini fridge with a controller, etc. to do this? I've always thought I would just set them up on the rafters or something and let nature go to work...assuming the temp/humidity is relatively stable and within range.

It should still work, right? Anyone ever just hang the stuff?

[Chris Hennes]

The short answer: hang away. The long answer: Cellars and Chambers for Curing and Aging. You may also be interested in Green Mold on Dry-Cured Sausages?! Chris Amirault and my visit to the Calabria Pork Store in NYC was very instructive in this regard, with tons of salume just hanging from the rafters in the lobby of the store.

[jmolinari]

Chris Amirault and my visit to the Calabria Pork Store in NYC was very instructive in this regard, with tons of salume just hanging from the rafters in the lobby of the store.

But those were already dried/cured...