Jump to content

Curing


Jonty
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 151
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Don't forget my smoker is available whenever you feel the need

Cheers Nick. Just did another batch of bacon, and some lincolnshire sausages using a Weschenfelder herb mix, they turned out really well. The next bacon I do will be smoked, I'll give you a shout. Also, I fancy having a go at that black treacle/maple cure bacon that Colin brought to the Cotswold bash, it was awesome. I need to tap him for recipe. Colin, are you listening?!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
  • 2 weeks later...

hi mate here goes

 

salami

 

you will need large natural casings in Italy we use the large parts of the pigs intestine but you can buy beef middle casings they are straight so the salami hangs and thick enough so they wont split ,

something about 50 or 60 mm diameter ,they need to be big as the salami will reduce in size by about 40 % when cured .

 

meat should be neck or leg meat the darker the better , you will need some of the hard back fat don't be tempted to put in any old fat as t will be to soft don't forget the fat will not cook out like in a sausage you will be eating it so its important to take all the **** soft fat of the meat and add back fat .

 

salt ,whole black peppercorns some red wine the ingredients are very simple some people add other herbs but this is a traditional salami and doesn't need anything added .

 

its hard to say the ratio of fat to meat after many years you can tell by looking at the meat once its minced . but this doesn't help someone who is making for the first time .

I would make a small batch and start with about 20 % fat to meat ratio . if its to fatty for your taste then you can reduce next time .

 

you need to soak your casings in water to remove the salt then leave them in a bowl with red wine for a couple of hours before your going to use them .

when ready to fill your casings its best to leave casings in wine and use them straight from there as when moist the are easier to fill .

 

keep all your meat and fat cold use straight from the fridge . mince with a coarse plate at least 6 mm dia holes this is important as the mince needs to be coarse as it will me to mushy if run thro a fine plate.

once minced you will nee to weigh it so you know how much salt to add , the weighing bit is important weigh it check you know exactly the weight .

 

if you mince has warmed its best to put back in fridge for a bit as this keeps the fat cool and makes it easier to work .

 

weigh your salt make sure its exact you will need 21 grams of salt per kilo of meat this may seem like a lot but this is going to cure it and a lot of the salt will come out in the drying process.

 

when your mince meat is done spread out on a work surface that is very clean a bit or granite is ideal ,spread out so its about 25 mm thick then you can add your salt and pepper corns .

sprinkle the salt evenly over the surface leave for about 10 mins then sprinkle whole peppercorns over the ratio is hard to explain again its not an exact science if you look at an area about the size of a dinner plate there should be about 20 peppercorns on this .

mix all this together with your hands ensuring that the salt is mixed well in .

 

stuff casings with the mix ensuring that you squeeze the mix in so there are no air pockets tie one end of the salami with butchers string squeeze the mix in until you have a long salami and all the mix is in the casing .

then use your hands the push the meat up towards the tied of end to compact the meat and remove any air when yo have a salami about 8 inches long twist the case as if you were making and sausage ,then repeat until you have a chain of salamis .

 

leave about 20 mm of case between each salami so you have a bit of skin to tie up .

cut the salamis to separate you should now have all your salmis separate with about 10 mm of spare skin each end .

 

tie off one end and again push meat towards the tied end ensuring no air gaps then tie off the other end on this end leave the string about 6 inches long as you can use this to hang your salami.

 

nearly there !

 

once all your salamis are tied you will need to ***** the outside of the skins so the moisture and salt can come out VERY IMPORTANT !

you can get a tool for this or use a cork with a few sewing needles pushed thro it .

the whole must be small but you need to make sure that the whole salami is done paying particular attention to the ends as when its hung most of the moisture will come out here .

tie the two strings together so you can hang the salamis in pairs you should know have two salami with about 12 inches of string between ,

 

put a stick a broom handle is best between something then hang the pairs of salamis over this to dry if you slide the string so that one salami is hanging above the other as its important that they have there own air and that they don't lay against each other and touch I think you can see this in the picture of the hanging salamis and sausage I posted .

 

they need to be hung in a cool place with some ventilation put some paper or card underneath as a lot of moisture will drip out .

 

leave for a couple of days then move to somewhere cool dark and dry with a bit of air flow don't allow the salamis to be in a direct wind but they need air leave and these will cure and dry .

 

check regularly and when you squeeze the salami and it doesn't compress they can be vac packed and put in fridge do not put in fridge without vac packing otherwise they will go to hard .

 

sorry its a bit long winded but try this and see how you get on

cheers rob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sourced a fridge for the cold smoker.... anyone got a fool proof guide to turn it into a smoker... had a good read about but so many different ways

Was thinking put the tray in the bottom and a few holes in the top for ventilation or open to advice

Edited by leeds chimp
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...