The Weekend Project

It has been a while since I have made any meat products and the weather is still a bit warm and dry to get me in the mood for that, but there is always things to do. Thus this past weekends project, cheese!
Cheese is easy to do with a few of the right ingredients, some basic kitchen equipment and an afternoon of commitment and care.  I always keep some starter and rennet on hand and usually make cheese several times a year but have not done so this year until this past weekend.

I was able to get my hands on some raw organic cows milk that is from cows that only eat grass hay and also some raw goats milk to try a new cheddar type cheese that I have been thinking about.  Due to this being made from raw un-pasteurized milk, I will age this for at least three months before we crack into it.  Also, this cheese will need that much time to mature and develop the flavor profile I am hoping for.  If it works the way I have planned, aging for longer would be more appropriate but patients has never been my strong suit! 

I will report on the experiment when the time comes.  That should be sometime around Thanksgiving.. Until then it will be pampered by flipping, rubbing and cleaning of the surface when and if necessary to do my part to give it what it will need to become something much enjoyed.  I will be rubbing the surface with salt for the first few days to protect it and to impart flavor leaving it at room temperature to form a "rind" of sorts on the outside prior to putting it in the cooler.  My cooler is not the fridge....it is my meat hanging cooler that stays at 55 degrees and at 80% RH.  A normal refrigerator will not do this without modification, just so you know.

This project was inspired by a visit to the Manwaring Cheese Factory in Rigby, Idaho a few days before.  We purchased some cheese there and looked briefly at their operation.  The cheese we sampled was very good and we were met by the owner with a warm welcome.  On their website, you can purchase their products.  The website is manwaringcheese.com and it is a very small family operation.  They do not ship during the warm months of the year so right now the shipping program is not operational.  They will ship as soon as the weather cools so the product will not be ruined due to the heat.

Scott

Hot August days and nights

As I have said in an earlier post, I don't make any cured meats in the summer time due to the heat and the low humidity.  It is very difficult to control the moisture more than the temperature because here in Utah, our normal humidity is about 13 to 25% everyday.  This makes it very difficult to maintain the 70% needed for proper curing.

Fresh sausage is a different story.  There is not many things better than a fresh made batch of sausages pressed out into 38mm casings and thrown on the grill....heaven.  One of the better books I have came across for many recipes for fresh sausages is Home Sausage Making by Peery & Reavis.  It covers basic equipment, handling, safety and techniques for making sausage with 100 well written recipes.  I recently purchased another copy of this book for a friend that is just getting into the swing of making his own sausages and will be delivering the book to him on a visit to Montana in a few days.  He is traveling down from Calgary to see friends that we will be visiting with at the same time.

I have over 100 pounds of pork in the freezer right now.  Deer season is in a couple of weeks here and my younger son and I will be participating as we normally do.  I'm kinda hoping he gets one and I get a few good walks in the out doors.  That way he can also have all the "dirty work" associated with harvesting an animal and I just reap the benefits....it's someone else's turn for this, I've had my time.

It would be nice to have some venison to make some summer sausage from, we'll see what happens by the end of the month.  Hopefully by then, this hot weather will start to subside and we will be able to enjoy a long Indian Summer for a change.

Later.....