Something new

A couple of weeks ago I tried a great Calabrese and decided to see what I could do to make a product that in someways would be close to what I tried but have my own twist to it.

This is the product right after it was brought out of the fermentation chamber.  I stuffed them in 140mm casing (the size of bologna) and flattened them out for a few days in the fridge before putting them in the fermentation box.  They are now in the aging or maturation cooler where they will stay until they have lose 30% of their total weight which is now about three pounds each.  I also made some in smaller casings along with two and a half pounds of Genoa with extra garlic. 

Another waiting game....the hard part!

Scott

June note....these both turned out well.  It is really amazing the amount of heat (in the way of dried chili pepper) you can throw into the batch and just how mild it comes out when done.  I have yet to reach a point to where I think it is "spicy".  That demand another batch to experiment on this. 

As for the Genoa, the little extra bit of garlic was mild but nice.

Coppa

 

 

Here is a Coppa that I made in the past several weeks.  This is a particular cut off the shoulder and is pretty easy to see if you know what you are looking for when you look at a whole shoulder of the hog.

 

 

It was pretty simple to make and the results are pretty good.  It was salted and held in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few days to give the salt time to do it thing.  Then I spiced it with black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, ground fennel and a bit more salt.  Then I put it in a net to hold it together and it was hung in the cure box until it lost 30% of it's original weight.  That took about 4 weeks over, give or take a day or two.  The results are pretty good and really a bit salty but good non-the-less.

New Heat box

I have been using an old wooden box that I threw together years ago for a heating chamber.  It has served me well but is beginning to breakdown due to the moisture from both being used and being washed out.  So I have started on a new bigger, better unit. 

It looks a bit like a phone booth but that is intentional.  I want the heat to be consistent as well as the moisture so I am installing a heater in the bottom that has a small fan in it.  It will slowly circulate air and heat but the heat will "hopefully" be more consistent in the top half of the box.  That is also where I will measure the temperature for control.  Moisture will be provided by a small household humidifier that will be run on a humidistat.  The old box derived its heat from a 100 watt light bulb.  The humidity was from a water pan with an aquarium heater in it.  What?.....it worked! 

As you can see, there is a lot of work needed.  Insulation, power for an interior light, racks in the top for hanging, the outside skin and a door.  I will take a few more photo's as I go along but this thing needs to get done soon so keep checking back for more pictures in the near future.

Genoa week one update

Here is a picture of the development after the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Well on their way to perfection.  After weighing all of them, the loss is as expected and they seem to be progressing nicely. 

Cured Meats for Christmas

This past weekend, we produced a batch of Garlic heavy Genoa for Christmas gifts.  The batch started out at 12.5 lbs.  It made seven good sized salami's which should be done for Christmas.  I will probably cut these in half, vacuum seal them and send most of them out to family.

I just noticed today that a slight trace of white mold is starting to form on the casings which is exactly what  will help these become all that they can be.  This is the "beneficial" mold that helps slow moisture from escaping to quickly and prevents what is called "case hardening".  It will also protect the salumi from bad bacteria that may come into contact with it during the next several weeks of conditioning. 

Hoping you all have a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!

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.....