Curing and Cooking with Ruhlman & Polcyn's "Charcuterie" (Part 1)

[Pam R]

You cannot get kosher salt in Australia (at least, I've never seen it).

I sent an email to :

Solomon Kosher Butcher - Elsternwick

Ph 613 9532 8855

They assure me that they do sell kosher salt... at .50/kg

[jsolomon]

Solomon Kosher Butcher - Elsternwick

Ph 613 9532 8855

They assure me that they do sell kosher salt... at .50/kg

←

With a name like that, they'd better follow through!

[FoodMan]

The Bresaola is out of the cure and has been for a couple of days. Now it is drying. To prevent drying I rubbed a scant amount of olive oil on the meat and wrapped it with cheese cloth before tying with twine. I set up a make shift curing box involving a cardboard box in the coolest closet of the house. The thermometer clearly states an even 60 degrees. For humidity, I followed the book's advice and put a pot filled with heavily salted water in the box. The meat weighs 2lbs 12oz, so the target weight at the end of the cure is a little under 2 lbs.

Here is a picture of the meat right before it was wrapped, it has a nice dry feel to it and is quiet firm.

Fifi-

Of course the book has weights!

[FoodMan]

Christmas eve dinner this year is charcuterie centric. We will have, the "Marjoram Kielbasa", "Turkey sausage with tart cherries" and hopefully the "Roasted Duck Roulade".

I already made the sausages using my recently acquired manual meet grinder. The machine does require some elbow grease but over all works fine. I need the workout anyways. I made the Kilebasa first and since it was my first time doing this I hit some snags. Mainly I did not make sure all gristle is removed and I had a serious problem with the meat smearing. I had to stop midway and clean the machine and resume. Needless to say I was not taking pictures during this time . I will post pictures of the cooked sausage once it is cooked.

The Turkey-cherry sausage experience was much better since I made sure everything that is not meat or fat is out of the mix:

Yes, the sausage tastes as good as it looks. I used collagen casings because htey are very easy to work with and to store. They do not twist too well though so, tying with butcher twine is a good idea. I froze the sausages until Saturday's dinner.

I am planning on making the duck roulade soon, Michael will it stay in the fridge for a couple of days or should I wait to make it the night before?

[Michael Ruhlman]

Christmas eve dinner this year is charcuterie centric. We will have, the "Marjoram Kielbasa", "Turkey sausage with tart cherries" and hopefully the "Roasted Duck Roulade".

I am planning on making the duck roulade soon, Michael will it stay in the fridge for a couple of days or should I wait to make it the night before?

←

After it's cooled overnight, rewrap it well and it will be good for several days in the fridge.

Edited December 20, 2005 by Michael Ruhlman (log)

[FoodMan]

Christmas eve dinner this year is charcuterie centric. We will have, the "Marjoram Kielbasa", "Turkey sausage with tart cherries" and hopefully the "Roasted Duck Roulade".

I am planning on making the duck roulade soon, Michael will it stay in the fridge for a couple of days or should I wait to make it the night before?

←

After it's cooled overnight, rewrap it well and it will be good for several days in the fridge.

←

Oh, sorry for the confusion, I actually meant can I stuff it and keep it well wrapped uncooked in the fridge? I want to roast it and serve it on Saturday.

[jackal10]

"mortadella" from the book.

Not like any Mortadella I know, but definitely tasty and with a good texture.

Its come out white rather than pink, despite 3grams of Saltpetre.

There is a typo in the amounts - my scales think 1/2 cup of dried milk powder is 35gm not 70gm

Edited December 20, 2005 by jackal10 (log)

[FoodMan]

It definitly does look good but not like any Mortadella I have seen. Does the recipe call for saltpeter or Sodium Nitrate? Maybe that is why.

[Michael Ruhlman]

Christmas eve dinner this year is charcuterie centric. We will have, the "Marjoram Kielbasa", "Turkey sausage with tart cherries" and hopefully the "Roasted Duck Roulade".

I am planning on making the duck roulade soon, Michael will it stay in the fridge for a couple of days or should I wait to make it the night before?

←

After it's cooled overnight, rewrap it well and it will be good for several days in the fridge.

←

Oh, sorry for the confusion, I actually meant can I stuff it and keep it well wrapped uncooked in the fridge? I want to roast it and serve it on Saturday.

←

my mistake, was thinking galantine. I think you could make it thursday and keep it cold and well wrapped till saturday without compromising it.

[Michael Ruhlman]

"mortadella" from the book.

Not like any Mortadella I know, but definitely tasty and with a good texture.

Its come out white rather than pink, despite 3grams of Saltpetre.

There is a typo in the amounts - my scales think 1/2 cup of dried milk powder is 35gm not 70gm

←

Brian rescaled the milk powder and he gets 54 grams so it's in between! we're reevaluating if we need to make a fix. any of those quantities should not effect the sausage greatly. milk powder helps a sausage to retain moisture, bind it, and adds a little flavor.

sausage does look pale. pork used? looks like veal. right quantity of pink salt?

[jackal10]

Shoulder (and some belly) of gloucester old spot.

3gm of saltpetre

[peppyre]

Wow!! The images just make me want this book more. It is on my Christmas wish list and I hope someone pays attention to it.

Growing up in a family of butchers, (long since passed or out of the business) I have always wanted to make sausages, salami's, cured meats. My grandma made so much salami during her time at the butcher shop that she can't touch the stuff now.

Great stuff, I can't wait for more.

[Dave Weinstein]

Pictures to follow later...

Sichuan Bacon

1.25-1.75lbs Pork Belly

1.5 TBS Basic Cure

1 TBS Sichuan Peppercorns

1 TBS Lapsang Souchong Tea

Instructions

Apply the cure (I've taken to sprinkling .5 TBS in a glass pan, placing the meat skin side down over it, then adding the 1 TBS evenly to the meat side, but the pieces done that way are still curing) to the bacon.

Coat the meat side with peppercorns and tea leaves.

At this point, since I have a vacuum sealer, I put the meat into the bag, and after getting any leftover spice blend in as well, seal it, and start it curing.

Cure and roast as normal.

Notes

I'm still not sure if the cure amount is correct for pieces this size, but since it is a savory bacon, I'm not terribly worried if it is a little salty.

The first piece didn't last very long, I have two more batches in the fridge, one ready for roasting on Monday, the next ready next Thursday.

--Dave

[melkor]

So Michael, am I going to die when I eat the saucisson sec we made using duck instead of pork?

[FoodMan]

prepared the Duck rollade today and it is ready to be roasted for Xmas eve dinner.

I twas time consuming to remove the skin intact, but after 45 minutes of surgical knife work It came off all in one piece and with no holes in it. "scraping the fat off" the partially frozed skin was no easy feat either. It was more like cutting the fat off, and I did not get as much as I expected too.

My only concern is that when I tasted the filling using the quenelle method (wrap a small piece in plastic wrap and poach it), it tasted a little oversalted. I am hoping this will not be a problem tomorrow, maybe the large chunks of breast mixed in will offset the saltiness. Will report more later after trying everything.

Naked Duck

[Michael Ruhlman]

So Michael, am I going to die when I eat the saucisson sec we made using duck instead of pork?

←

as long as you cured it right and it dries thoroughly, shouldn't be a problem. As always, use your common sense when evaluating the finished product!

[Michael Ruhlman]

prepared the Duck rollade today and it is ready to be roasted for Xmas eve dinner.

←

Looks purdy! Nice job.

[melkor]

So Michael, am I going to die when I eat the saucisson sec we made using duck instead of pork?

←

as long as you cured it right and it dries thoroughly, shouldn't be a problem. As always, use your common sense when evaluating the finished product!

←

So nothing poultry specific to worry about, good I checked that out after making them.

If they start glowing in the dark, smelling like kim chi, or growing a beard I think I'll start to worry. This is the 3rd day they've been hanging and they are coming along nicely. I'm really enjoying working with this book, it's an excellent resource.

[theabroma]

I'm off to the bookstore, and then to my butcher's as soon as they re-open their doors.

Elie, how have you dealt w/the air drying issue? I remember using electric fans in Mexico, but we were in the mountains, and the air was dry ... so that doesn't count. That has been a problem for me for some time. Keep thinking West Texas may be the answer ....

Theabroma

[FoodMan]

Unfortunatly the Bresaola did not work out. A couple of days ago all was well, but today it has three kinds of mold, mostly the powdery harmless stuff, but also the shaggy and the green variety . I am thinking next time I will be drying it in the fridge instead.

[FoodMan]

All dishes worked out great fon Xmas eve. The roulade was a big success and not salty at all. It looks pretty damn impressive as well.

The other two recipes I made for that dinner were the Turkey-cherry sausage and the Marjoram Kielbasa. Both were hits (Too many things going on and a couple of them split due to my lack of attention), but especially the Kielbasa. That margoram taste really makes it special and distinctive. the top three are turkey, the rest are the Kielbasa.

[melkor]

Over the last two days we made the chicago style hot dogs.

here they are resting in the fridge overnight

Smoking in the rube goldberg cold smoker that uses 2/3s of a weber smoky mountain, a gas grill, and some dryer duct. A pasta drying rack and some duct tape is surprisingly effective as a place to hang 3 pounds of meat.

poaching after they came out of the smoker

I used mesquite lump mixed with hickory chunks to smoke them - the flavor was excellent but the dogs had a texture I wasn't fond of. In a bun they are fine but on their own they are too soft. I suspect the 5 minute paddling time incorporated too much air into the forcemeat - next time I think we'll stop after 2 minutes.

[FoodMan]

Melkor, that looks great! and I love your "smoker". Gives me a great idea how to create my own cold-smoker. So, thanks.

[melkor]

I had mixed success with the pastrami recipe in the book. The brine after 4 days hadn't fully cured the 5 pound brisket (flat only) that we used for the recipe. That wasn't clear until after steaming the smoked pastrami, although it was only one small section (maybe 1"x.5") - but since the instructions say to cure for 3 days I'm surprised that happened. Anyway, the cure is too sweet for my taste; before steaming the meat tastes seriously sweet - after steaming it's just a little sweet. Next time I'll keep the brown sugar and ditch the white sugar.

We only steamed enough of the meat for two sandwiches. This being the thinner end it's drier than I'd like. I started the smoker with the water tray full of ice - the smoker was able to hold 150*F for the first 3 hours of the smoke, after which it gradually rose to 225. The meat hit 150*F in about 10 hours and took on a very nice heavy smoke.

[Chris Amirault]

I've been making some sausages from Charcuterie over in the sausage cook-off, and they've been turning out great. Going to be starting some curing soon. What brands and on-line suppliers of saltpetre do people recommend?