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Curing and Cooking with Ruhlman & Polcyn's "Charcuterie" (Part 5)


jmolinari

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qrn, i'm not really sure what you mean by "residual salt". I just go for a 30% brine solution.

When you eat it, if it is too salty, soak in cold water for 24 hours for every kg of lardo.

Serve sliced very thin on warm crusty bread with some black pepper.

Based on the weights, your the amount of salt% in the finished product would be around 13%. This is assuming that the 3 months would equate to "equilibrium"(the salt % in the brine and the meat would be the same).( 300g salt to 2300g of total weight).

The same as if you added 13% salt into a ground meat recipe.And Probably 4%more than a country ham.

I don't know if fat comes to "equilibrium" like meat does..And the very thin sliceing would make a difference as well.

If your product is ok at that level I will proceed , and report back.

I just wasn't sure if that was to much salt...Thanks for the help, Again!You are a great resource,and your blog is very interesting as well!...

Bud

I'm not sure if fat reaches equilibrium. But my version with 30% brine WAS too salty (not inedibly so, just too salty. It was still excellent on a piece of nice plain bread). I have to try soaking the chunk that is left in cold water overnight.

Glad you enjoy the blog.

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qrn, i'm not really sure what you mean by "residual salt". I just go for a 30% brine solution.

When you eat it, if it is too salty, soak in cold water for 24 hours for every kg of lardo.

Serve sliced very thin on warm crusty bread with some black pepper.

Based on the weights, your the amount of salt% in the finished product would be around 13%. This is assuming that the 3 months would equate to "equilibrium"(the salt % in the brine and the meat would be the same).( 300g salt to 2300g of total weight).

The same as if you added 13% salt into a ground meat recipe.And Probably 4%more than a country ham.

I don't know if fat comes to "equilibrium" like meat does..And the very thin sliceing would make a difference as well.

If your product is ok at that level I will proceed , and report back.

I just wasn't sure if that was to much salt...Thanks for the help, Again!You are a great resource,and your blog is very interesting as well!...

Bud

G

I'm not sure if fat reaches equilibrium. But my version with 30% brine WAS too salty (not inedibly so, just too salty. It was still excellent on a piece of nice plain bread). I have to try soaking the chunk that is left in cold water overnight.

Glad you enjoy the blog.

Great! Thanks for the comment. I just put some in the fridge to age.

I put the backfat in a container and filled it to cover with water, then poured the water out and weighed it..Added the weight of the backfat to the water and calculated the salt to be 9% of the total weight(including the salt that is added).It should end up at 9% residual.The finished brine was about 18%

I also added .a couple grams of pink salt because I was concerned about the garlic/botulism thing. (I did add the herbs and garlic)

So In three months or so I will see what happens...Thanks again for your help

Bud

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We made a 5X recipe, so about 8 hours (including all prep, cooking, stuffing, individual wrapping for the freezer, cleaning etc...). Relative to other sausages, stuffing was pretty intensive. One would be well advised to use the widest mouthed funnel practicable, we spent a fair amount of time just trying to cram all the stray bits of diced fat in the casings. Also, it's very important for the funnel to be quite high above the working space in order for the initial length of casing to be vertical (this prevents air bubbles).

Martin Mallet

<i>Poor but not starving student</i>

www.malletoyster.com

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The finished brine was about 18%

I also added .a couple grams of pink salt because I was concerned about the garlic/botulism thing. (I did add the herbs and garlic)

  So In three months or so I will see what happens...Thanks again for your help

Bud

That's funny... I have a slab of fatback that has been curing in the fridge for about a week now. I also modeled my recipe after Jason's, and went with a 25% brine after reading that he felt it was a little too salty at 30%. Not sure how much difference that will make (of if I would be able to tell the difference - I have never eaten lardo either) but...

I did not add any additional curing agents (cure #1 or #2), electing for a kosher salt only brine. I wasn't too worried about the herbs or garlic, as I would be stashing this in the back of the fridge to cure (I did add the herbs and garlic to the boiling brine, but it did not boil long enough to consider them sterilized). The salt percentage of the brine and cold temperature should be enough of a barrier to prevent botulism growth. At least, that was what I was thinking at the time.

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A hunk of Berkshire fatback. It wasn't as uniform in thickness as I would have liked.

gallery_58070_5627_136753.jpg

In the brine

gallery_58070_5627_12079.jpg

I used a couple of butter knives to weigh the fatback down to keep it submerged.

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I just found this thread. Great stuff!

Here are some pics of our charcuterie adventures.

Coppa di Testa:

gallery_58047_5582_58057.jpg

Testa served warm:

gallery_58047_5582_24229.jpg

Pancetta whole:

gallery_58047_5582_36774.jpg

and cut:

gallery_58047_5582_60042.jpg

Duck Prosciutto:

gallery_58047_5582_2901.jpg

and finally, the humble Italian Sausage:

gallery_58047_5582_35688.jpg

That is some BEAUTIFUL meat!

At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since. ‐ Salvador Dali

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gallery_39011_4031_15198.jpg

From Charcuterie:

Onion Confit

Caraway & Beer Mustard

Sage & Garlic Brined Pork Chops (pork chops bought from butcher right around the corner from Five Lakes Grill)

....BEST....PORK.....CHOPS....EVER!!!! The onion confit matches great with them.

Also served with sauteed red cabbage, ciabbatta bread, and sauvignon blanc

Expat Russ

Three Passions:

Food

Travel<=click to go to my travel website...

BBQ and BQ<=click to go to my blog about trying to balance great food and qualifying for the Boston Marathon

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The amount of dextrose will affect the ultimate tang, and pH. Different bacteria are supposed to taste different, but i haven't verified that yet. I have all 4 types now in my freezer, and i'm planning on doing a test soon.

There is a minimum amount listed in Bertolli's book to be safe. He lists this as 0.5% of the raw weight of the fat and meat.

I noticed that most people are using a bactoferm acidifier. I went the way of Sausage Maker. I haven't noticed any overly tanginess, but I have noticed strange measurements when trying to use Fermento. For instance, if I use the Fermento for Bertolli's Fennel Salami and used as instructed in the recipe, the flavor is good. Yet, if I would following the dosage recommended on the container, I think it would be incredibly sour.

I didn't break down and buy bactoferm when I placed a Butcher Packer order as I still have a lot of Fermento. However, I did buy some of the exterior mold/penicillium. Does anyone have a smaller, practical ratio for spraying a small amount of sausages?

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The amount of dextrose will affect the ultimate tang, and pH. Different bacteria are supposed to taste different, but i haven't verified that yet. I have all 4 types now in my freezer, and i'm planning on doing a test soon.

There is a minimum amount listed in Bertolli's book to be safe. He lists this as 0.5% of the raw weight of the fat and meat.

I noticed that most people are using a bactoferm acidifier. I went the way of Sausage Maker. I haven't noticed any overly tanginess, but I have noticed strange measurements when trying to use Fermento. For instance, if I use the Fermento for Bertolli's Fennel Salami and used as instructed in the recipe, the flavor is good. Yet, if I would following the dosage recommended on the container, I think it would be incredibly sour.

I didn't break down and buy bactoferm when I placed a Butcher Packer order as I still have a lot of Fermento. However, I did buy some of the exterior mold/penicillium. Does anyone have a smaller, practical ratio for spraying a small amount of sausages?

Bactoferm and Fermento

These US products aren't (seemingly) available to me here in England.

However, I learned (probably from this thread, way back) that they are entirely different.

And easily confused as being thought to be equivalent.

But they aren't.

Fermento is an inert flavouring product, that does little or nothing for food safety.

The quantity of Fermento to be used is simply a matter of strength of flavour.

The various Bactiferm offerings, by contrast, are live cultures.

F-RM, for example, has the function of feasting on sugars (like dextrose), and thus making lactic acid, thereby acidifying the dried sausage. (M-EK - for the exterior - doesn't acidify.)

Acidification to pH ~4 is one hurdle against c. botulinus.

Fermento has no equivalent acidification function.

I'd echo jmolinari's point that the amount of acidification produced by the (Bactoferm) culture should be more dependant on the amount of food (sugars) available, than on the amount of starter culture mixed in.

However in summary

-- Fermento is not a functional alternative to Bactoferm

-- Not all Bactoferm cultures provide the safeguard of acidification

Edited by dougal (log)

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch ... you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

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The amount of dextrose will affect the ultimate tang, and pH. Different bacteria are supposed to taste different, but i haven't verified that yet. I have all 4 types now in my freezer, and i'm planning on doing a test soon.

There is a minimum amount listed in Bertolli's book to be safe. He lists this as 0.5% of the raw weight of the fat and meat.

I noticed that most people are using a bactoferm acidifier. I went the way of Sausage Maker. I haven't noticed any overly tanginess, but I have noticed strange measurements when trying to use Fermento. For instance, if I use the Fermento for Bertolli's Fennel Salami and used as instructed in the recipe, the flavor is good. Yet, if I would following the dosage recommended on the container, I think it would be incredibly sour.

I didn't break down and buy bactoferm when I placed a Butcher Packer order as I still have a lot of Fermento. However, I did buy some of the exterior mold/penicillium. Does anyone have a smaller, practical ratio for spraying a small amount of sausages?

I'm sure somone else will confirm this, but I think Fermento is a flavoring, not a bacterial acidifier, like Bactoferm et al....

Bud

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What is a common acidifier in England?

Well, I'm about to be playing with some Acidophilus culture capsules from the local health potion shop, but sausagemaking.org sell what they call 'LS-25'.

At £6 ($11?) per 25g sachet.

I'm happy to experiment as long as there's a sensible amount of nitrate in there too.

If you are 'flying on one engine' then you'd better trust it!

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch ... you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

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You got a free link to your bacon article?

Took a bit of doing but here is a link to my article.

I had to register!! I'm waiting for my password to be sent before I can read it.

I could attach it as a PDF file but I'm not sure how that is done.

Calipoutine, did you ever get your password? Read the article?

Try the method?

Does it work, is it good, should I go to the effort to get a password myself?

Thanks

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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Hi folks!

I just wanted to let everyone know about an EG event that will be taking place in Providence on March 9th. I think the participants of this topic might find it of particular interest. I hope anyone in the New England area might consider attending. It should be a lot of fun and very informative. Details are below.

Cheers!

Steve

Providence Pig Breakdown Event.

Sunday, March 9.

10a-4p.

Chez Pascal, 960 Hope St, Providence, Rhode Island.

Your award-winning hosts:

Chef Matt Gennuso, Chez Pascal.

Chef Matt Jennings, Farmstead and La Laiterie.

Your obedient kitchen slaves:

Chris Amirault, Director, eG Forums, eGullet Society.

Steve LaBollita, eGullet Society member/pork fanatic.

Meet the pig. (140 pounds.)

Learn about the pig. (Blood Farm, Groton, Massachusetts.)

Cut up the pig. (Matt and Matt guide us.)

Eat the pig. (Lunch.)

Prepare the pig. (Such as: Bacon. Lop yuk. Pancetta. Prosciutto. Ham. Guanciale. Ribs. Sausage. Paté. Rillettes. Lardo. Head.)

Bring your knives if you want to use your knives.

Bring your apron if you want to wear your apron.

Wear comfortable non-slip shoes.

Expect to shave, fabricate, cut, trim, skin, grind, stuff, clean, learn.

Prepare to sign waivers on butcher paper with blood.

You'll get coffee and a light breakfast.

You'll get lunch: pig and sides.

You'll get technique, information, recipes.

You'll get practice.

You'll get right of first refusal for two diners to attend a charcuterie dinner at La Laiterie later this spring.

$75 pp.

First come, first served.

Fee includes contribution to the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters.

Full payment is required to hold a spot and is non-refundable.

Places are extremely limited.

This event does not represent the production process for foods at Chez Pascal, La Laiterie, or the Amirault or LaBollita households.

For more information, contact Chris Amirault at chrisamirault (eGullet Society PM system) or camirault@egstaff.org.

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II were anywhere near Providence I'd be there. Quite a lineup of talent and passion for the art of charcuterie for this event. Should fill up fast.

Below is the culmination of my own efforts after three months of inspiration from this forum.

gallery_57415_5574_64643.jpg

The bounty of nearby midwest farmsteads has been transformed into: (top row) guanciale, lardo, pancetta, coppa, bresaola, Genoa salami, smoked coppa

(bottom row) finnochiana, sauccison de Lyon, speck, prosciutto de magret

The slicer is an old General SM10A I effectively got for $25 in 1992 from a closing restaurant.

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Below is the culmination of my own efforts after three months of inspiration from this forum . . .

Damn! You could open a deli! That's a beautiful array of meatstuffs. Nice work!

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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(If I) were anywhere near Providence I'd be there.  Quite a lineup of talent and passion for the art of charcuterie for this event.  Should fill up fast.

Below is the culmination of my own efforts after three months of inspiration from this forum.

I am not far, and am seriously considering this...

And congrats on the wonderful spread!

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Hi Guys, just moved into a new house that has a large enough basement that I have been allowed by the Mrs. to peel off a section to use to make a quasi curing chamber. Our last home didn't have a basement and when I tried to use the staircase ala Chris A. I got the number to the local Holiday Inn in response from my wife!

The basement has a "storage room" that is unfinished that holds are the heating/cooling stuff. It has lots of exposed beams for hanging. What would I need to measure air temp/humidity etc? Any other equitment necessary?

We've done most of the smoked stuff and sausages from the book...I'd kind of like to graduate!

Thanks,

-Mike

-Mike & Andrea

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