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pim01 posted:That looks amazing! Since it's tenderloin, it would be the same as a spanish lomo? Please tell me you won't fry it up, like I saw someone do to a nice serrano the other day God no, that is getting eaten as is. Thinly sliced of course. I think I'd punch someone if I saw them frying up something like lonzino or serrano.
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Apr 10, 2012 01:05
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Happy Abobo posted:Do some types of meat take brining better than others? I'm starting to worry my palate is blown out or something: I recently tried Ruhlman's corned beef recipe, but used a hunk of pork shoulder instead because I happened to have it on hand. It spent almost 5 days in the brine, then got boiled until tender. Despite soaking in the brine for that long, the meat ended up being pretty bland and I actually need to salt each serving for it to taste good, and the typical corned beef flavour is barely there; almost none of the aroma or flavour from the brining spices came through I followed his guide mostly as well, although cut the salt since I had less water and ended up using far more pickling spice than listed. The beef wasn't salty in the slightest after boiling and mostly tasted of cloves and nothing else
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Apr 10, 2012 12:12
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Scott Bakula posted:I followed his guide mostly as well, although cut the salt since I had less water and ended up using far more pickling spice than listed. The beef wasn't salty in the slightest after boiling and mostly tasted of cloves and nothing else Ahh, well that's good to know. I've always wondered how the meat would stay seasoned if it's boiled for 3 straight hours. I think next time, I'll just roast it at a low temp after the brine and see if the flavours come through more.
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Apr 10, 2012 22:35
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Forgot to post pics of bacon awesomeness! Brined and packed up. Four recipes: Sweet (maple syrup), sweet 'n spicy, savoury, nitrite free.  10 days later and after being smoked  And sliced up into vac packs for the freezer (thank god for a friend with a meat slicer). I've got a lot of bacon now.  IMHO, A solid 7 out of 10 - awesome for a first attempt. Total cost for a 12lb belly? About $50 in the end. Edit: whoa, large images. Fixed.
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Apr 12, 2012 15:27
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Quick question do you also adjust hanging times if you are using much less protein than a recipe calls for?
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Apr 12, 2012 17:10
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morrisirrom posted:Quick question do you also adjust hanging times if you are using much less protein than a recipe calls for? Not sure if that was aimed at me/my bacon pics, but I'll answer. Generally not. The chemical/curing reaction starts from the outside and works it's way inwards to the middle, so if the thickness of the protein is the same from before (the full piece) and after (your smaller piece), it'll take the same amount of time to cure regardless. The exception would be if you've got such a small piece that the distance to the middle of the protein is now smaller than expected, then the answer is "yes, reduce the hanging time" (by how much is something I can't answer). My example is the 4 port belly sections I did for bacon were cut from a single belly. Curing time (and smoking/cooking time) was exactly the same as before.
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Apr 12, 2012 19:33
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Dammit, now I have to make more food. This is so awesome, and I have belly curing in the fridge now. Cannot wait to try it when it's done!
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Apr 13, 2012 01:19
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Rangpur posted:No, and... I don't think so? My best guess is that something about trying to keep it right at 200 degrees fucks up whatever regulating mechanism it uses to maintain the heat. Turning it up to 250 stabilized things, and it finished up fast after that, only a few degrees over 150. The oven/smoker has a bad thermometer- they pretty much all do. Get a second probe thermometer and stick the probe through a radish, cork, potato piece or something else and sit it as close to the meat as you can get. That will give you a much better read on the temperature and you'll be able to adjust accordingly. There are a lot out there in the 20-30$ range, they all have about the same weaknesses. They go bad after a while, the probes short out, and they need to be checked for accuracy once a year or so.
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Apr 13, 2012 21:13
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How much curing salt do you typically use? I realize it's going to vary depending on the size of the meat but some kind of rough estimate. Some of us are possibly going in together on curing salt (since it is incredibly hard to find in Korea) and the smallest container we've found is 4 kg. I probably wouldn't be making any more than two pounds of something at a time, since I only have a toaster oven to work with. Bacon, that lonzino, duck pancetta, corned beef, and pastrami are all on my list of things to do.
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Apr 19, 2012 08:09
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The stuff I bought came with instructions of 25g per 1kg of meat. I've tended to use a little more than that though for no real reason other than being lazy when measuring it out
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Apr 19, 2012 10:49
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Thanks, that gives me a good idea what to do.
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Apr 19, 2012 13:58
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Its 0.4-0.6% nitrite if that helps any more
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Apr 19, 2012 14:22
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I made a small test piece of gravlax, and drat is it good.  ~2:3 ratio salt to sugar for the cure, with some cracked coriander seeds. put half the cure in your container sprinkle some akvavit (I've got some Aalborg Jubilaeums which is flavoured with coriander and dill) cover the fish with the rest of the cure, cover that with a big heap of fresh dill. cover it all, put some weight on top to help squeeze the water out, then into the fridge for a day or three. (1.5 for me because it's a pretty small, thin filet).
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Apr 19, 2012 23:09
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I'm just finishing up the cure on some tocino (made with basically the GWS wiki recipe here: http://www.goonswithspoons.com/Tocino) , is the deal with the salt/sugar/fat/juice slurry that's left over coating the cured meat the same as in the instructions for the bacon in the OP? That is, can I just rinse off the meat under some water to get all that stuff off before I grill it?
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Apr 23, 2012 04:49
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Carl Killer Miller posted:I'm just finishing up the cure on some tocino (made with basically the GWS wiki recipe here: http://www.goonswithspoons.com/Tocino) , is the deal with the salt/sugar/fat/juice slurry that's left over coating the cured meat the same as in the instructions for the bacon in the OP? That is, can I just rinse off the meat under some water to get all that stuff off before I grill it? I think you are supposed to thin it with some water and grill it with that goop as the marinade. But I dont know for sure. edit: Nevermind. Reading the wiki article yes just wash that poo poo off and dry the meat.
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Apr 23, 2012 17:43
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Okay, I've tracked down curing salt but I have a concern. It's really, really humid here, all the time. There is no dry place in my apartment. What can I do if I want to hang something to cure, like a lonzino? Will it still work if it's humid? Is airflow necessary or could I stick it in a sealed box with a pile of rice to soak up the moisture?
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Apr 26, 2012 03:15
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Grand Fromage posted:Okay, I've tracked down curing salt but I have a concern. It's really, really humid here, all the time. There is no dry place in my apartment. What can I do if I want to hang something to cure, like a lonzino? Will it still work if it's humid? Is airflow necessary or could I stick it in a sealed box with a pile of rice to soak up the moisture? I picked up a wine cooler with adjustable temperature. I put a dish full of salt in the bottom and took all of the racks out besides the top one. Works pretty drat good so far.
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Apr 26, 2012 20:17
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Grand Fromage posted:Okay, I've tracked down curing salt but I have a concern. It's really, really humid here, all the time. There is no dry place in my apartment. What can I do if I want to hang something to cure, like a lonzino? Will it still work if it's humid? Is airflow necessary or could I stick it in a sealed box with a pile of rice to soak up the moisture? You should pick up a hygrometer and get some numbers. Most people have the problem that their environment is too dry. You actually want to dry in a more humid environment than you might think, otherwise stuff dries out too much on the outside and traps in the rest of the moisture.
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Apr 26, 2012 22:00
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Ok, that gravlax picture got to me and I grabbed a hunk of salmon to try it. Since you don't actually cook the salmon, do I have to get salmon that's been pre-frozen, or will the curing process remove that necessity?
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Apr 28, 2012 16:48
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Happy Abobo posted:Ok, that gravlax picture got to me and I grabbed a hunk of salmon to try it. Since you don't actually cook the salmon, do I have to get salmon that's been pre-frozen, or will the curing process remove that necessity? To be honest, that photo is what prompted me to finally cure and smoke some salmon. Jealousy is a great motivator. 2 days curing, 1 day pellicle-ing, and now it's cold smoking. Should be ready at about 8PM. Edit: Fuuuuuuuuck. Never underestimate the Texas sun. I made really awesome hot smoked salmon, instead of what I wanted. Oh well, lemons into lemonade, looks like I'll be having soft scrambled eggs with cream cheese, smoked salmon, and capers for breakfast tomorrow. PainBreak fucked around with this message at 22:56 on Apr 29, 2012 |
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Apr 29, 2012 20:07
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Did you use a tray of ice water? I've heard that can help. I'm going to try the salmon next week. I'm about to go pick up 15 lbs of pork belly, unfortunately it's frozen. I'm only going to thaw it once obviously, and only half is going to go to bacon. What should I use the rest for (besides some pancetta, already on the list)?
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Apr 30, 2012 16:51
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GigaFool posted:Did you use a tray of ice water? I've heard that can help. I'm going to try the salmon next week. Kellers confit pork belly is godly. http://leitesculinaria.com/34750/writings-confit-of-pork-belly.html Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 19:16 on Apr 30, 2012 |
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Apr 30, 2012 19:13
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I was inspired by this thread to order Ruhlman and Poleyn's book and have been enjoying homemade bacon, prosciutto and rillettes ever since. Bacon with Rub  Finished bacon  Duck salting overnight  Duck breasts hanging  Finished duck prosciutto  Blending the duck rillettes  Fresh duck rillettes  Not pictured: The awesome looking duck confit that I made, which eventually turned in to these rillettes based on the Ruhlman basica confit to rillettes recipe. I failed in my attempt at making salted salmon. From what I've found out talking to other enthusiasts is that I left the fish in the salt/brine for too long. The meat got very chewy and hard. Still pretty though.  I also have been using the natural pickle recipe to great success. If you have any interest in charcuterie then pickling is a natural next step. Prepping peppers for pickling  Pickles ready for brining  They dont last long  Support your local butcher! 
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May 6, 2012 04:41
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I'm super-keen on trying to make the OP's bacon since all the locally available bacon is disgusting. I'm having some difficulty in tracking down curing salt but have recruited a friend who is some kind of food-magazine hotshot to assist. Meanwhile I'm on my second small batch of beef biltong which I have managed to gently caress up by not allowing it to shed enough water during the initial cure. I just came back from rinsing it in vinegar and am kind of re-curing it to try and shed some more moisture before hanging it out again. It's going to be pretty unique-tasting, that's for sure.
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May 8, 2012 09:25
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Butcher-packer is the place to go for curing salt, like listed in the OP. It's super cheap and arrives quick. I just finished by first thing, the same bacon attempt as everybody. I just have some crappy iPhone pictures but I figured I'd post them. The pork belly:  The finished product:  It definitely beat out any store-bought bacon I've ever had. If you're thinking about doing this, just do it, the results are great. And it's nice to get away from the computer for a while without having to doing something that makes you healthier...
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May 9, 2012 03:50
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I retried Ruhlman's corned beef recipe, but this time, substituted a slow, covered roast for the boiling step. The difference is night and day: the flavours come out like crazy and it's not bland at all. The only problem is that it's actually way too salty. I'll try a few less days in the brine next time, but I think I've got a good thing going, here.
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May 12, 2012 15:41
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How long did you roast it for? Maybe boiling it for 30 minutes or so and then roasting it the rest of the way is the best method?
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May 12, 2012 17:17
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A bit over 2 hours at 300, but it was a small hunk of meat. I'm dividing up my raw beef so I can make little test batches until I find a method I like. The next test is going into the brine for 2 days, then maybe a lower, slower roast.
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May 12, 2012 19:06
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I rarely eat pork, but made Gordon Ramsay's pressed pork belly last week after being enthralled by his video on it. I didn't enjoy it much, but all the guests who eat pork regularly absolutely loved it. I did really enjoy working with the belly, so I started looking for other recipes and ended up here. I have the Charcuterie book and already found many things that I'll try soon. I really like the idea of keeping a duck in brine before roasting it, so that one will definitely get made. I haven't found any pink salt in the Netherlands, but I read there is something called colorozosalt (???) which has 0.6% nitrites only, but if you use ten times as much as pink salt and no regular salt it works out fine according to some other guy who already made dozens of batches. Going to look for that and ziplock bags today.
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May 21, 2012 10:51
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BioTech posted:I haven't found any pink salt in the Netherlands, but I read there is something called colorozosalt (???) which has 0.6% nitrites only, but if you use ten times as much as pink salt and no regular salt it works out fine according to some other guy who already made dozens of batches. Going to look for that and ziplock bags today. The recipe most people in this thread are using starts with 6% sodium nitrite (and 94% salt) which is then "diluted" 9:1 with pure salt. The basic cure mix from Michael Ruhlman is: 450g pure salt 50g preserving salt (6% nitrites) 225g sugar I guess you can just use 500g of the 0.6% salt instead (+ 225g sugar) and it'll be pretty close. It's not super exact anyway, so a few percent off should be a problem. Just wanted to chime in to the thread as well and thank the OP - I started making bacon a few months ago and it has changed my life. What I don't understand is how it can be so much better and yet so easy to make. Why can't you buy this stuff?? Cirian fucked around with this message at 07:31 on May 24, 2012 |
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May 24, 2012 03:57
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Wait 6% nitrates or nitrites? I thought pink cure salt #1/prague powder was ~6% sodium nitrite not sodium nitrate. I think people mix these up a lot in this thread and it is confusing the heck outta me. Especially as Cure Salt #2 does has sodium nitrate AND sodium nitrite. My understanding (and please correct me if I'm wrong) is that Cure Salt #2 is used for cures that will be hanging for a long time so the sodium nitrate will eventually turn into sodium nitrite or something. To confuse me further the cure salt #1 I just received says it should not be used for hanging cures, is this true or do they just mean long hanging cures? Xarb fucked around with this message at 06:19 on May 24, 2012 |
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May 24, 2012 06:16
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Xarb posted:Wait 6% nitrates or nitrites? Whoops, my bad. Nitrates are the hanging ones, nitrites are the quick cures (edited my post to fix misinformation). Nitrates slowly cure things that are for air drying, and you don't get that kind of "extended release" from just nitrites (which is why you can't use them for hanging cures).
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May 24, 2012 07:30
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Ok that makes sense, but then I read this duck proscuitto recipe: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3438423&pagenumber=3#post397329192 and Ruhlman's Pancetta: http://ruhlman.com/2009/06/home-cured-pancetta/ and they don't mention using Cure #2. Is it implied that those recipes use cure#2? I really need to buy his book ASAP, I assume this is all explained in it?
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May 24, 2012 07:54
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Xarb posted:Ruhlman's Pancetta: That's definitely nitrite based, since his "basic cure" is nitrite based. Since it's only hanging for a week that's a short curing time (vs, say, months). I assume the same is true for the duck prosciutto.
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May 24, 2012 12:22
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So just to elaborate on my bacon adventures, this is a picture of my second batch: I got a 3.5kg de-rinded belly from Costco (sue me) and used a recipe based on Ruhlman's Charcuterie that is in the OP. This was my second batch, so I felt I could play around with it a bit. I got rid of the garlic which really wasn't doing it for me last time around and changed the spices a bit. The final recipe was:
While I was careful with the amount of basic cure I just sort of whacked in the other parts of the cure since it's less important. After seven days in the fridge in a ziplock bag, the bacon was smoke baked in a kettle barbecue until it hit 65 degrees C (which took about an hour an a half). I would've liked to hot smoke it over several hours but my balcony is tiny and a small barbecue is all I can use. This bacon has been absolutely stunning - the only thing I'd change is add a bit more pepper to balance out the sugar a bit more.
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May 25, 2012 13:40
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How'd you slice it so evenly? Looks amazing.
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May 26, 2012 23:49
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Chemmy posted:How'd you slice it so evenly? Looks amazing. One of my girlfriend's more alarming skills is incredibly precise knifework. She also has a set of global knives to go with it.
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May 27, 2012 04:33
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Marry her.
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May 27, 2012 16:10
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Cirian posted:One of my girlfriend's more alarming skills is incredibly precise knifework. She also has a set of global knives to go with it. Just the tip can take on a whole new meaning with those skills.
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May 28, 2012 08:37
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I finished my first batch of bacon and it is amazing. I misread the Fahrenheit as Celsius when I put everything in the oven, but caught it after a few minutes so it didn't make much of a difference. Definitely gonna make another batch soon.
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May 30, 2012 07:44
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