|
Well since we are going through a new round of "revitalization" lets revitalize with some bacon and other assorted cured meat products. Charcuterie.. what the hell is it? Good question... lets check Wikipedia. Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. Charcuterie is part of the garde manger chef's repertoire. Originally intended as a way to preserve meats before the advent of refrigeration, they are prepared today for their flavors derived from the preservation processes. AHA!! So curing meat. This is what charcuterie is about. And its easier than you think. The last charcuterie thread had some great info from Pr0k, bisonbisonbison and other GWSers, but I think I should show you the best of what we saw. Duck Breast Prosciutto  Pancetta  Guanciale  Soppressata  What all these have in common is the fact that they are cured and preserved meat products. How does one cure some meat? You might ask? Well... thats the easy part actually. Curing bacon might be the best start for any person. The ingredients are readily available (except maybe the Cure #1, DQ Cure, Prague Powder all the same drat thing). So who's recipe should we follow for the first time. There are thousands out there... but then there is Ruhlman. And Ruhlman is GOD. We shall follow him. 5 lbs fresh pork belly 2 ounces (1/4 cup Morton or Diamond Crystal coarse kosher) salt 2 teaspoons pink curing salt #1 (I use this DQ Cure from Butcher-Packer, $2) 4 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper 4 bay leaves, crumbled 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 cup brown sugar or honey or maple syrup 5 cloves of garlic, smashed with the flat side of a chef's knife 2 tablespoons juniper berries, lightly crushed (optional) 5 to 10 sprigs fresh thyme (optional) Alright well that seems relatively simple stuff. You might be thinking "I have most of that poo poo right now in my pantry." and you would be right!... but how hard is that actual process? Let's see what Ruhlman says. quote:—Put your belly in the zip-top bag or on a sheet tray or in a plastic container. Rub the salt and spice mixture all over the belly. Close the bag or cover it with plastic wrap, and stick it in the refrigerator for seven days (get your hands in there and give the spices another good rubbing around midway through). Wait thats it? Rub it with poo poo and chuck it in the fridge? Then toss it in the oven? No smoking nothing? Yeah basically thats about it. You can add different flavors, do some Grade B Maple syrup instead of brown sugar, add some heat with different dried chilies. Smoke it low and slow until it hits the right temp. The world of bacon is your oyster. And I promise no store bought poo poo will ever compare. WHERE CAN I BUY THESE THINGS?!?! It seems it can be a little daunting sourcing the materials for this beautiful art form, so the following will be an ever growing list of where to purchase supplies Pink Salt http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=237_12&products_id=56 *NOTE: shipping may be a bit high, compare with Amazon before buying. http://www.amazon.com/D-Q-Curing-Salts-Pink-Salt/dp/B0050IM4MY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402408579&sr=8-2&keywords=pink+salt UPDATE LATE IN COMING: Whatever you do. DO NOT DO THIS! Human legs do not make good charcuterie. icehewk posted:Been aging this according to Ruhlman. It had some maggots on it near the bone but I cut all of that out as you can see. Is it all right?  Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Apr 28, 2016 |
#
?
Sep 20, 2011 16:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 16, 2024 15:25 |
|
|
This book is totally worth it if you have even the slightest interest in this subject. My most recent bacon was curry bacon - make up a standard cure and mix in your favorite curry mix. I was a lazy rear end in a top hat and used a store bought, but it was still delicious. When I live somewhere that isn't Arizona, I'm going to try my hand at prosciutto or jamon. If you can't find pastured pork local to you, you can do a lot worse than http://snakeriverfarms.com/ - nice kurobouta pork. I got whole belly through a local restaurant that made an order from a distributor and only paid like $40 after all was said and done. Salami is no more difficult or time consuming than regular sausage (which is pretty time consuming if you don't have the greatest equipment, but whatever). You grind, mix in an active culture you can get from http://www.butcher-packer.com/, put it in the casings, then hang it up in ~80 degrees for 24 hours to jumpstart the PH drop. Then, just let'em dry. If you want the nice white coating, you can get another culture and dip them in there before starting your cure, but mine occurred naturally, just not as thick. I like turtles fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Sep 20, 2011 |
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2011 17:17
|
|
|
http://www.weberbbq.co.uk/barbecues/charcoal/one-touch-original/ So I have something similar to this, I want to make bacon and maybe more. I probably have to order specific woods for flavour online so assume standard coals etc. What kind of thermometer and how much effort do I need to put into paying attention to this?
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2011 02:26
|
|
|
I followed the last thread and I am really keen on making my own pancetta. However I live in the UK and can't seem to find curing salt anywhere. I asked a couple of butchers and they don't sell it. Googling "pink salt" just brings up a load of Jamie Oliver recommended himalayan posh salt. Am I right in thinking what I actually want is sodium nitrate? Information I have found indicates there is more than one type of "curing salt." Can any UK goons help point me in the right direction?
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2011 15:12
|
|
|
Jose posted:http://www.weberbbq.co.uk/barbecues/charcoal/one-touch-original/ Since that is a grill you need to pay a lot of attention to it.Your best bet would be to buy a cheap smoker. Brinkmann makes a lot of cheap smokers that will do the trick. The problem with your grill is the heat source is right under the meat, meaning it will be hard to keep a constant temp of 200 degrees and keep enough smoke in there to flavor much. http://www.google.com/products/cata...ed=0CIUBEPMCMAE This guy will do you right and he is cheap as dirt. They also make an electric model that works wonders. Don;t let the BBQ purists fool you. Constant temp and smoke is the key. Electric is a hell of a lot simpler than charcoal. Ktb posted:I followed the last thread and I am really keen on making my own pancetta. However I live in the UK and can't seem to find curing salt anywhere. I asked a couple of butchers and they don't sell it. Googling "pink salt" just brings up a load of Jamie Oliver recommended himalayan posh salt. Am I right in thinking what I actually want is sodium nitrate? Information I have found indicates there is more than one type of "curing salt." Can any UK goons help point me in the right direction? It goes under a lot of names. It seems Prague Powder #1 (for quick cures of less than 2 weeks) is the name they like over there. edit: gently caress that here is the UK version of SausageMaker http://www.designasausage.com/pages/prods.asp?catid=2&subcatid=31 Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Sep 21, 2011 |
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2011 15:16
|
|
|
drat, curing your own meat, much less making your own sausage seems to be a dying art in domestic establishments. There used to be a restaurant close by that made a great snappy sausage, and a really tasty milk sausage with roasted potatoes. Unfortunately, it has since closed down. Google drat you, I don't want to make milk sausage gravy, I want to make my own milk sausage. Can anyone recommend me a decent recipe?
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2011 17:36
|
|
|
kinmik posted:drat, curing your own meat, much less making your own sausage seems to be a dying art in domestic establishments. There used to be a restaurant close by that made a great snappy sausage, and a really tasty milk sausage with roasted potatoes. Unfortunately, it has since closed down. It certainly seems to be making a comeback. Here in California, there's practically a renaissance going on, and I'd bet you it'll move slowly across the country due to the cheapness of the raw materials in relation to just how much you can sell them for.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2011 19:58
|
|
|
How well does the bacon in the OP's recipe freeze? I'm very interested in doing this project, but I don't want to be stuck with 3 pounds of rotting bacon.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2011 21:10
|
|
|
Gann Jerrod posted:How well does the bacon in the OP's recipe freeze? I'm very interested in doing this project, but I don't want to be stuck with 3 pounds of rotting bacon. I have some cured lardons leftover from a batch I did in July in the fridge that are still edible. Some of the refrigerated slices started to get a bit of mold though. It freezes fairly well though as long as it's stored properly. I generally store the slices tightly wrapped in press-n-seal and put inside a freezer ziploc.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2011 21:41
|
|
|
Gann Jerrod posted:How well does the bacon in the OP's recipe freeze? I'm very interested in doing this project, but I don't want to be stuck with 3 pounds of rotting bacon. I just vacuum seal mine. And you would be surprised how fast you eat pounds of bacon.  From the last thread.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2011 21:44
|
|
|
YES! Excellent timing with this thread. I have been wanting to pull the trigger on "Charcuterie" by Ruhlman for some time now. Seeing this plus the Amazon price of  was enough for me.Looking forward to the meat miracles. As soon as I have something worth posting I will be back with pics. Ruhlman.... 
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2011 22:24
|
|
|
I have a question for all you charcuterie aficionados: is it common for someone to try prosciutto or pancetta and not like it uncooked? I bought some of both... but couldn't get past the texture. The taste turned me a bit off as well. I fried both up in a skillet and they were phenomenal, but I was unable to eat either of them raw and actually enjoy it. I had several friends who enjoyed it uncooked... but most of them still preferred it fried up. Is this common?
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 02:29
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:I have a question for all you charcuterie aficionados: is it common for someone to try prosciutto or pancetta and not like it uncooked? I might be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to eat raw pancetta. It'd be like eating raw bacon.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 05:48
|
|
|
AriTheDog posted:I might be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to eat raw pancetta. It'd be like eating raw bacon. That's what I thought it tasted like, too. I thought Prosciutto tasted somewhat like raw bacon as well. I've read in many, many places that people eat Pancetta raw. It's cured so that it's supposed to be safe to be eaten raw... which is strange, because some companies that produce Pancetta put a label on it that says 'not to be consumed uncooked'
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 10:03
|
|
|
Errant Gin Monks posted:
Thanks so much! I didn't want to just get something when I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for. I had visions of us ending up in ER from eating poorly cured bacon.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 11:40
|
|
|
You can at it raw if you want. If you like the texture go hog wild. It shouldn't kill you. I have eaten it thinly sliced raw plenty of times. It is sweeter and less salty than prosciutto and also very soft and creamy sliced super thin. That being said I prefer the texture of prosciutto and use it for raw applications most of the time. Keep in mind you are curing it with salt. The reason you can then hang it out in the middle of a room to dry without it becoming a roll of pork death is because bacteria cant grow on it, thats what the cure is for. So if bacteria cant grow on it when its sitting there drying, what makes you think it would be bad to eat it? There isn't anything bad on it. Also on the theme of raw, the bacon you make at home you cook to an internal temp of 150 degrees during either smoking or cooking in the oven. Thats actually fully cooked when you think about it. 150 degrees with a sear on the outside is a pork chop. But since it is low and slow and we stop at 150 the fat doesn't render out. So you can take homemade bacon and eat it "raw" as well since technically it isn't raw. The pink color you see in bacon is a result of the nitrites in the curing salt, let me show you a comparison.  This was my first bacon done with just normal salt. You see after the smoking process it is a gray, cooked color. That is what happens to bacon without nitrites.  This bacon was not smoked and actually cooked to a higher internal temp and looks completely raw. Go nitrates! Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Sep 28, 2011 |
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 15:55
|
|
|
Going to convince my parents to get a smoker with me. I assume electric are easier because you just set the temperature and then it burns whatever you're smoking with?
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 17:36
|
|
|
Can we talk about smoked / dried fish in here too or does that not really count since you don't (or at least I don't) cook it after preparation?
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 18:13
|
|
|
I vote yes, since you're doing to fish basically what you're doing to pork/beef, namely covering in salt/otherwise dehydrating until all the bad stuff dies.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 18:35
|
|
|
Why not. Salting, smoking, preserving meat is all good in here. Gravlax away!
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 19:44
|
|
|
Errant Gin Monks posted:Why not. Salting, smoking, preserving meat is all good in here. Gravlax away! Cool, thanks. I posted this in my DIY thread regarding my country life and the GWS smoker thread back in the day, but I like to think this is appropriate for this thread too. I'm taking pictures from about 3-4 different smoking sessions so please don't get upset because the meat quantity keeps changing. About a year ago I made a smoker out of cast iron pipe fittings and some leftover fireplace bricks.  The chamber has a little grate in it that holds the fire up off the cap on the bottom, and allows air to flow. The grate is just some 1/8th steel wire I bent into a spiral with a handle at the bottom so I can knock it around. Bolts that I put through the chamber wall keep the grate up off the bottom. Sorry the image is janky, it's hard to get a good picture of a dark tube in a dark shop. The grate was meant to be temporary, but it works so well I didn't want to gently caress with it.  The smoker body is just fireplace ring brick. I put wood over the top to keep the smoke in.  I tend to freeze my fillets first. From what I understand, the damage that the cells undergo when frozen help the water to escape and the curing chemicals in.  I cure my salmon in a simple brown sugar / pickling salt mixture for at least 24 hours. The liquid at the bottom of the jar is what leeches out of the fish.  Pellicle forms after cleaning off the salt and drying in the fridge, again over 24 hours.  Action shot 1. I like this picture, it looks like a little smoke hose.  Action shot 2.  Smoked up.  After it's smoked, sometimes I will just cut the skin off and leave it in the fridge and eat it with bagels and cream cheese. Or, if I want to keep it a little longer (hah, like it sticks around for long) I cut it into little strips and dehydrate it like jerky. I just use a floor fan and put it in my basement overnight.  So how hot does the chamber get? I honestly have no idea, but it's cold enough that I can do cheese in it with no problem. Always turns out really well, even if it is just supermarket cheddar.  So far I have done sockeye salmon, steelhead trout, farmed salmon (it was given to me for an experiment, it wasn't bad but I would never buy it for that purpose) and cheddar cheese. I've tried a brine cure, which worked well but was a massive pain. Dry curing seems to work much better. Makes sense, since you're trying to remove water, not marinate the flesh.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 22:10
|
|
|
nice... can you go into a little more detail on how you built the functioning part of the smoker?
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 22:30
|
|
|
So where is the fire in this contraption?
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 22:30
|
|
|
The body is made of a 3x10 (maybe 3x12? can't remember exactly) pipe nipple, so it's just some 3" pipe that's been threaded on each end. To that I attached a 3" cap for the bottom, a T fitting that has a reducing outlet at 1" on the side, a 3" plug for the top, and a 1x4 nipple + bushing for the smoke outlet and to keep it from falling out of the gap in the fireplace brick. The V groove in the brick is pretty good at holding this short length of pipe in place, fortunately. I drilled a total of four holes in the chamber, three for the bolts to hold the grate, and one small one to put in a little tube for the air supply. The air supply is just a hose from an adjustable aquarium air pump, the inlet is between the cap and the grate near the bottom of the chamber. So air gets forced in the bottom and up through the wood chunks in the chamber and out into the main smoker. You can see the little blue tube here:  I use the propane torch to start the charcoal. The fire is usually just a little bit of lump charcoal or a single briquette that sits on top of the grate. I prefer the lump, it's much easier to light a few small bits of that than a single briquette. I dump the wood chunks on top of the charcoal, and every 45 minutes or so I open up the plug on top of the chamber, knock down the wood (tends to stick to the chamber wall and doesn't fall down, as it forms a little dome above the fire), and add some more chunks. In this picture I am using chips/dust sized bits of wood, they don't work quite so well, they tend to clog more, but this is what I had left when I did it this day. Small chunks the size of a coin tend to work the best as the smoke and air circulates better. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2011 22:55
|
|
|
Those pictures of the soppressata and duck breast prosciutto in the OP look awfully familiar  .If anyone wants to see my photo tutorials for those and also for peperone, they are up on my blog. The link is in my profile. Peperone, soppressata and pancetta are from April 2011, and duck breast prosciutto I actually just got around to posting about earlier this week. I'm totally with the OP on vacuum sealing stuff for long-term storage. The dried sausages kept really well that way. Now that it's cooled down and my basement closet is back to perfect meat-curing temperature, my next project is the bresaola from Ruhlman's book. I'm also just getting ready to start another batch of the soppressata because it was such a hit with friends, family, and boss. Can't wait until the closet is filled like this again. (Well, it should look a little better since I have proper meat hooks now.):  
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2011 16:42
|
|
|
I am curious, I am in the DC area too and was wondering how you determined your basement had the right level of humidity. Much to my wife's chagrin I plan on hanging some meat but not really certain if it is safe. My thought is if I can do it and she can taste the outcome she will not be so adverse to the idea.MsJoelBoxer posted:Now that it's cooled down and my basement closet is back to perfect meat-curing temperature, my next project is the bresaola from Ruhlman's book. I'm also just getting ready to start another batch of the soppressata because it was such a hit with friends, family, and boss.
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2011 18:24
|
|
|
morrisirrom posted:I am curious, I am in the DC area too and was wondering how you determined your basement had the right level of humidity. Much to my wife's chagrin I plan on hanging some meat but not really certain if it is safe. My thought is if I can do it and she can taste the outcome she will not be so adverse to the idea. I bought a small hygrometer/thermometer that I hung inside the closet. The temperature inside the closet with no lights hovers around 65 degrees and the humidity is around 60-65%. When I have something hanging in there, I usually leave a shallow tub of salt water in the bottom to increase the humidity if necessary. As long as it's dark, cool, and slightly humid, you'll be in fine shape. It's important to use the right curing salts for meats that dry longer (like the soppressata or peperone) because they keep things like botulism away. Also for cased sausages, make sure you check your links every few days for any mold growth on the outside. I got a few tiny spots of white mold during the drying phase for the peperone and they were easily wiped away with a paper towel dipped in salt water. I'd advise starting with the duck prosciutto or pancetta. They're both easy projects with short drying periods, so you'll have a finished product to win her over with quickly.  Good luck!edit: Here's the hygrometer I have http://www.amazon.com/Acu-Rite-Indoor-Humidity-Monitor/dp/B0013BKDO8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316802169&sr=8-1 MsJoelBoxer fucked around with this message at 19:25 on Sep 23, 2011 |
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2011 19:22
|
|
|
a note to those looking for smokers : I have this http://www.google.com/products/cata...ed=0CM4BEPMCMAc and it is magic. it runs a bit hot during the summer (220-230), but electric is amazing - I can leave stuff on it for 8 hours and not even think about it, aside from throwing woodchips on if I have spare time. I have a few ranco temperature controllers that I could wire up to better regulate the temperature, but I'm lazy, and it gets the job done right out of the box. It also doubles as a grill, but the electric element is a bit weak for anything that needs searing hot heat, so I mostly just smoke with it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2011 22:43
|
|
|
Thanks mindphlux, will almost certainly be able to get my parents to either buy one or split the cost with me. I can't wait for home made loving everything in a smoker. For those who smoke in the UK, do you have a good source of different woods for smoking?
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2011 03:15
|
|
|
I smoke with these a lot http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Daniels-Wood-Smoking-Chips/dp/B0044L44G2 Smashed up Jack Daniels barrels... dunno why but i love the idea of JD smoked bacon and everything else. I also use the cherry wood, pear wood, apple wood and pecan wood from Western. http://www.amazon.com/Wood-28066-Western-Cherry-Smokin/dp/B000BO5CEE/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1317133430&sr=1-2 There is the Amazon link.
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2011 15:24
|
|
|
mindphlux posted:a note to those looking for smokers : I highly recommend this product: http://www.amazenproducts.com/  The A-MAZE-N Smoker. It slowly burns through the "maze" of pellets or sawdust, whichever you prefer (it's easy to make sawdust out of pellets as well...soak, fluff, dry) and in turn produces just the right amount of smoke, and not very much heat. You fill the sucker up, put it inside your smoker, light the end, and you get a solid 8 hours of smoke every time. They claim 11 hours, but I live in a pretty windy area, so I think that contributes to the quicker burn speed. It's far and away the best method for cold smoking, short of building a smokehouse. Edit: Shh... I use Traeger pellets instead of buying them from the mailorder site. They work perfectly, and I can pick them up at Ace Hardware or Academy Sports. PainBreak fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Sep 28, 2011 |
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2011 00:43
|
|
|
I keep pronouncing "charcuterie" as "chartreuse;" is the correct pronunciation more like "shar-koot-er-ee"?
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2011 01:35
|
|
|
Okay, I just want to get this completely clear; that bacon from the first post and from the thread originator is not smoked. I don't need a smoker to make that amazing-looking bacon. That is what you are telling me? How much can I expect to pay for pork belly per lb?
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2011 04:41
|
|
|
Nadine Hauklund posted:Okay, I just want to get this completely clear; that bacon from the first post and from the thread originator is not smoked. I don't need a smoker to make that amazing-looking bacon. That is what you are telling me? How much can I expect to pay for pork belly per lb? no way, that's definitely smoked. here are some before (well, in my homemade cure) and after glory shots of my most recent bacon effort though -   I started with about 3lbs 8oz, and finished with 3lbs 7 - the cure accounts for the minimal weight loss. I paid 3.69/lb for heritage berkshire pork belly - absolute top quality. You can find it for half the price (and half the quality) at cheap asian/hispanic marts. still, $3.69/lb for finished bacon is a steal. mindphlux fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Sep 28, 2011 |
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2011 05:17
|
|
|
So the gorgeous bacon above in your post is smoked. But smoking isn't required to make bacon, is that correct? Thank you for the pork belly cost information. That's one roadblock smashed.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2011 05:24
|
|
|
Nadine Hauklund posted:So the gorgeous bacon above in your post is smoked. But smoking isn't required to make bacon, is that correct? naw, of course not. you just gotta cure pork belly. brits and canadians will tell you bacon doesn't even have to be pork belly, but don't listen to them, they're completely wrong. if this is your first time making bacon though, and you can't hot smoke it to finish, I'd really recommend at least using nitrates/pink salt. I like so called 'uncured' (no nitrate) bacon well enough, but only when it's smoked. unsmoked and unnitrated bacon begins to lose its claim on bacon-ness, in my opinion - the nitrates do tons for hammy, bacony flavor - but the smoke does as well. take both of them out, and you're just missing something - just my gut feeling.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2011 05:34
|
|
|
Silly question, difference between jerky and bacon? I assume it's just the cut of meat, because it sounds like it's made in much the same way.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2011 06:56
|
|
|
I love cured meats. However, I am concerned about nitrates. What are some good nitrate-free options? What about prosciutto?
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2011 10:01
|
|
|
MsJoelBoxer posted:Those pictures of the soppressata and duck breast prosciutto in the OP look awfully familiar I really want to make my own sausages some time, though I plan to use a smoker, which I don't have (yet). Really want to make andouille, since I can't find it here in finland. BTW that post and avatar combo makes me wonder what those sausages are made of.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2011 10:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 16, 2024 15:25 |
|
|
AIIAZNSK8ER posted:Silly question, difference between jerky and bacon? I assume it's just the cut of meat, because it sounds like it's made in much the same way. Nope, completely different ways. Bacon is cured and then usually smoked, jerky is dehydrated.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2011 15:44
|
|
