Curing and preserving meats

[Mallet]

You'll definitely want to check out "Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing" by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn (clickety). I will surely become a standard text in the near future.

I pulled out my bresaola today after 14 days of drying (fortunately the lady I buy my beef from at the market keeps her old orders around so I was able to get the original weight of the piece). The bresaola had lost between 30 and 40 percent of it's weight. When I unwrapped it, the outside was a very dark brown and had split slightly (comparable to this). There was some white substance starting around the ends, not fuzzy so I am not too concerned (it could have been crystallized salt for all I know). After washing it with red wine vinegar I sliced a piece off of the thinner end: the interior was a rich burgundy, with a small brown ring around the edges (about 5mm).

It tastes good. really good. Assuming I don't come down with some mysterious illness within the next 36 hours I will pronounce this first experiment a success! Right now I'm storing it in the fridge wrapped in parchment paper, as suggested in Charcuterie for dry-cured sausages. How long will it keep?

[coquus]

I still haven't found anything further out, perhaps the temperature got too high in my room as the furnace was on the fritz and the upstairs got to eighty, damn, I wish they made extra GE remotes for the indoor outdoor thermometer I bought, I can't seem to find any single remote units, but that's another day. I will probably wash the mold off with vinegar and water and re-seed with one of my healthy skins (much as you describe) on Monday since I am busy tomorrow, it seems like alot of scrubbing as the healthy mold was at one point very healthy. If anything other path is discovered in the meantime please don't be shy about posting it. Either way I'll let you know what happens. Jason, I just want to make myself clear that when I said I wished I did it your way, was providing I had any money available, I would make myself a more controlled drying area such as you have in your fridge? contraption.

[jmolinari]

Michael, the job of good molds, from what i understand, is to both keep away bad molds, as well as decrese the acidity of the salame as it cured (just slightly).

Adegiulio, for books, i recommed the new Charcuterie, and Cooking by Hand. Both great resources.

jason

[coquus]

as well as decrese the acidity of the salame as it cured (just slightly).

←

You meant to say increase acidity, right?

[JCD]

Happy Holidays everyone! Now that I can post I'm just SO jazzed. I've been lurking for a year! Becoming a member is my present to myself this year! Has anyone ever made their own salami? I have a recipe in an old Sunset cookbook and have wanted to try it, seems it would be a good gift. In the recipe, you actually cook the salami, formed and wrapped in cheescloth, at a low temp in the oven. You also use saltpeter to keep the meat a rosy color. Has anyone ever tried this or is there a thread you can direct me to? I'm a sucker for a nice fatty sopressata and both my husband and daughter are salami addicts.... in moderation.

[Mallet]

JCD, Although I haven't made salami yet, I can tell you that sopressata is usually dry-cured (i.e: raw). As the aging process in large part defines the flavor and texture of the product my guess is you're likely to be dissapointed with a recipe involving no aging and cooking, if you're in search of a "real" italian-style sausage.

My suggestion is to get yourself an early christmas present and buy yourself a book devoted to the subject. I've already found my brief foray into charcuterie immensely fun and rewarding. Now all I need is a meat grinder...

[coquus]

I think the kosher beef type of salami is usually cooked.