Wow.. last night I tasted the second best charcuterie I've ever made ( Buttercup's proscuiotto leg being the best ).
This started as an 8lb pork loin, cut in half long ways ( since this was my first one, I didn't want to use it all in case it failed ).
I used my standard mix
6tbsp kosher salt
4tbsp brown sugar
1tsp cure #2 (long term cure with Nitrites and nitrates )
and a mix of spices fennel seed, garam masala, cumin, coriander, cayenne, black pepper, grains of paradise.
I rubbed the loin down with the spice mix, put it in a 100MM collagen casing, and put it in my unfinished basement bathroom to hang for almost a month. ( it's about 55-60Degree F in there, with about 20-30% humidity ).
My wife Amy, loved it... it turned out ridiculously good.
I took some over to my neighbors Walker and Pence, gave some to my buddy Paul at work.
I have about a pound left, which will hold us until the next one is done, sometime around April.
Looks great, Todd.
ReplyDeleteThanks Scott. Blogs like yours and Jason's Cured Meat Blogs really inspired me to try new things.. next up...Lonzino da Diavolo. ( I'll be visiting your site soon for some of that hot pepper.. although I'd put my home grown wild fennel seed up against anything I can buy.
ReplyDeletecheers!!
Nothing better than what you can make yourself. The hot pepper is a must.....fantastic stuff. As you saw I cured a Mangalitsa coppa with it.
ReplyDeleteHi. Really great blog Todd.
ReplyDeleteI have just a couple questions if you have time to answer.
I have started a pancetta and was going to hang in an upright storage cabinet (really like a very large gym room syle locker) in my basement. Temps seem pretty steady around 60 but the humidity seems a little lower than I would like (around 48). I was thinking I could just hang these in the cabinet and then add a dish at the bottom with the salt/water to promote a bit higher humidity, like closer to 60-65. Do you see any issues with this? I guess don’t know till you try.
Also I was looking for a post on your curing chamber, is that posted on your blog? I looked but couldn’t find. It seems it’s a more bare bones version of Jason’s based on a few things you’ve mentioned.
Thanks again,
Dave