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Well since we are going through a new round of "revitalization" lets revitalize with some bacon and other assorted cured meat products. Charcuterie.. what the hell is it? Good question... lets check Wikipedia. Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. Charcuterie is part of the garde manger chef's repertoire. Originally intended as a way to preserve meats before the advent of refrigeration, they are prepared today for their flavors derived from the preservation processes. AHA!! So curing meat. This is what charcuterie is about. And its easier than you think. The last charcuterie thread had some great info from Pr0k, bisonbisonbison and other GWSers, but I think I should show you the best of what we saw. Duck Breast Prosciutto  Pancetta  Guanciale  Soppressata  What all these have in common is the fact that they are cured and preserved meat products. How does one cure some meat? You might ask? Well... thats the easy part actually. Curing bacon might be the best start for any person. The ingredients are readily available (except maybe the Cure #1, DQ Cure, Prague Powder all the same drat thing). So who's recipe should we follow for the first time. There are thousands out there... but then there is Ruhlman. And Ruhlman is GOD. We shall follow him. 5 lbs fresh pork belly 2 ounces (1/4 cup Morton or Diamond Crystal coarse kosher) salt 2 teaspoons pink curing salt #1 (I use this DQ Cure from Butcher-Packer, $2) 4 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper 4 bay leaves, crumbled 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 cup brown sugar or honey or maple syrup 5 cloves of garlic, smashed with the flat side of a chef's knife 2 tablespoons juniper berries, lightly crushed (optional) 5 to 10 sprigs fresh thyme (optional) Alright well that seems relatively simple stuff. You might be thinking "I have most of that poo poo right now in my pantry." and you would be right!... but how hard is that actual process? Let's see what Ruhlman says. quote:—Put your belly in the zip-top bag or on a sheet tray or in a plastic container. Rub the salt and spice mixture all over the belly. Close the bag or cover it with plastic wrap, and stick it in the refrigerator for seven days (get your hands in there and give the spices another good rubbing around midway through). Wait thats it? Rub it with poo poo and chuck it in the fridge? Then toss it in the oven? No smoking nothing? Yeah basically thats about it. You can add different flavors, do some Grade B Maple syrup instead of brown sugar, add some heat with different dried chilies. Smoke it low and slow until it hits the right temp. The world of bacon is your oyster. And I promise no store bought poo poo will ever compare. WHERE CAN I BUY THESE THINGS?!?! It seems it can be a little daunting sourcing the materials for this beautiful art form, so the following will be an ever growing list of where to purchase supplies Pink Salt http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=237_12&products_id=56 *NOTE: shipping may be a bit high, compare with Amazon before buying. http://www.amazon.com/D-Q-Curing-Salts-Pink-Salt/dp/B0050IM4MY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402408579&sr=8-2&keywords=pink+salt UPDATE LATE IN COMING: Whatever you do. DO NOT DO THIS! Human legs do not make good charcuterie. icehewk posted:Been aging this according to Ruhlman. It had some maggots on it near the bone but I cut all of that out as you can see. Is it all right?  Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Apr 28, 2016 |
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Sep 20, 2011 16:12
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Jose posted:http://www.weberbbq.co.uk/barbecues/charcoal/one-touch-original/ Since that is a grill you need to pay a lot of attention to it.Your best bet would be to buy a cheap smoker. Brinkmann makes a lot of cheap smokers that will do the trick. The problem with your grill is the heat source is right under the meat, meaning it will be hard to keep a constant temp of 200 degrees and keep enough smoke in there to flavor much. http://www.google.com/products/cata...ed=0CIUBEPMCMAE This guy will do you right and he is cheap as dirt. They also make an electric model that works wonders. Don;t let the BBQ purists fool you. Constant temp and smoke is the key. Electric is a hell of a lot simpler than charcoal. Ktb posted:I followed the last thread and I am really keen on making my own pancetta. However I live in the UK and can't seem to find curing salt anywhere. I asked a couple of butchers and they don't sell it. Googling "pink salt" just brings up a load of Jamie Oliver recommended himalayan posh salt. Am I right in thinking what I actually want is sodium nitrate? Information I have found indicates there is more than one type of "curing salt." Can any UK goons help point me in the right direction? It goes under a lot of names. It seems Prague Powder #1 (for quick cures of less than 2 weeks) is the name they like over there. edit: gently caress that here is the UK version of SausageMaker http://www.designasausage.com/pages/prods.asp?catid=2&subcatid=31 Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Sep 21, 2011 |
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Sep 21, 2011 15:16
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Gann Jerrod posted:How well does the bacon in the OP's recipe freeze? I'm very interested in doing this project, but I don't want to be stuck with 3 pounds of rotting bacon. I just vacuum seal mine. And you would be surprised how fast you eat pounds of bacon.  From the last thread.
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Sep 21, 2011 21:44
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You can at it raw if you want. If you like the texture go hog wild. It shouldn't kill you. I have eaten it thinly sliced raw plenty of times. It is sweeter and less salty than prosciutto and also very soft and creamy sliced super thin. That being said I prefer the texture of prosciutto and use it for raw applications most of the time. Keep in mind you are curing it with salt. The reason you can then hang it out in the middle of a room to dry without it becoming a roll of pork death is because bacteria cant grow on it, thats what the cure is for. So if bacteria cant grow on it when its sitting there drying, what makes you think it would be bad to eat it? There isn't anything bad on it. Also on the theme of raw, the bacon you make at home you cook to an internal temp of 150 degrees during either smoking or cooking in the oven. Thats actually fully cooked when you think about it. 150 degrees with a sear on the outside is a pork chop. But since it is low and slow and we stop at 150 the fat doesn't render out. So you can take homemade bacon and eat it "raw" as well since technically it isn't raw. The pink color you see in bacon is a result of the nitrites in the curing salt, let me show you a comparison.  This was my first bacon done with just normal salt. You see after the smoking process it is a gray, cooked color. That is what happens to bacon without nitrites.  This bacon was not smoked and actually cooked to a higher internal temp and looks completely raw. Go nitrates! Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Sep 28, 2011 |
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Sep 22, 2011 15:55
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Why not. Salting, smoking, preserving meat is all good in here. Gravlax away!
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Sep 22, 2011 19:44
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nice... can you go into a little more detail on how you built the functioning part of the smoker?
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Sep 22, 2011 22:30
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I smoke with these a lot http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Daniels-Wood-Smoking-Chips/dp/B0044L44G2 Smashed up Jack Daniels barrels... dunno why but i love the idea of JD smoked bacon and everything else. I also use the cherry wood, pear wood, apple wood and pecan wood from Western. http://www.amazon.com/Wood-28066-Western-Cherry-Smokin/dp/B000BO5CEE/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1317133430&sr=1-2 There is the Amazon link.
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Sep 27, 2011 15:24
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Okay mindphlux si correct, the bacon in the op is from pr0k and it is smoked. The sliced bacon i posted up top is unsmoked (brown skin vs yellow skin). If you cant smoke it you dont HAVE to is the point. Smoke is a flavor additive like what si in the cure. We had some discussion in the last thread when a goon went to a bacon classa dn they were doing tea and habanero and other wonderful flavors without smoke so you could taste the subtle flavors. All of this is valid. Nitrates... DO NOT BE AFRAID OF NITRATES!!! Nitrates are NOT bad for you. The .1 grams in an entire slab of bacon will not do anything to you. You get mroe than that when you eat a salad of dark leafy greens. So don't be fooled by the hysteria. Nitrates also inhibit the growth of Clostridium botulinum which causes botulism poisoning. Worry more about that then the minute amount of nitrates you will be ingesting with home cured products.
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Sep 28, 2011 15:44
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Sjurygg posted:You're gonna leave the rind on, and you're gonna chew on it like the human doggy treat it is after the bacon is fried. One of the best things about leaving the skin on, best texture ever.
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Oct 11, 2011 22:37
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TVarmy posted:What's a good place to find curing salts around the central NJ area? There's not really a Cabella's or anything like that near me, and our Walmarts have a fairly limited selection, not selling food or . Would Agway (farm supply store) carry it? They have mason jars and basic veterinary supplies. Look for a Butcher supply shop. They almost always have the cure. They may be hard to find but call around and check Google. Powdered Toast Man posted:Is it ok to post about purchased cured meat products in here (i.e. stuff you didn't make yourself)? I wanted to pimp this place, because they're so awesome: http://www.patakmeats.com/Patak_Meats/Welcome.html Post away, too bad those guys dont do mail order. Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Nov 1, 2011 |
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Nov 1, 2011 16:27
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Vlex posted:Holy crap, I am the last person on the internet you will catch sperging out about bacon but this is seriously awesome. Can something similar be done in an oven (yes yes I know it won't get smoky)? Yes you can cook the bacon in the oven, it is suggested by our Curing God anyway. Feel free to make oven bacon all day e'rryday
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Nov 2, 2011 15:29
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Mine are around 2 bucks a pound so your price is in the correct range. Better pork costs more, I lost my source for local pork so I'm going to try to find another one.
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Nov 5, 2011 23:23
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Happy Abobo posted:I'm not sure if I have the space to make these recipes work, but the thread did it; just ordered Charcuterie online. I'm definitely gonna try the duck breast prosciutto. I'm curious, though: how exactly is it safely edible? I assume you can't just tuck into a raw duck breast. Is it the heavy salting in the curing process? You have to understand raw meat isn't inherently dangerous. It's the microbes and little parasites the are in the raw meat. The salting process draws out the water and increases the salinity of the meat, making it inhospitable to microbes. The drying process further changes the meat. The nitrates in the cure will keep anaerobic bacteria out at this stage, most importantly the bacteria that creates botulinum toxin. After that it's perfectly safe to eat "raw" keeping in mind it's been changed by salt and air jest as much as it would have been by heat.
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Nov 10, 2011 15:32
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Oh poo poo rillettes... I totally just turned 3 lbs of pork belly into rillettes. Can't wait for them to finish melding into awesomeness and eat them next weekend. I also brined 6 lbs for confit... Yum yum yum.
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Nov 13, 2011 08:07
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Got 10 pounds of belly curing in the fridge. Hoping to smoke it in a week on time For thanksgiving.
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Nov 16, 2011 20:44
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swampface posted:I too have joined the fresh bacon revolution with 5 pounds curing in my fridge. Pancetta is pretty forgiving, its ideal humidity is 60% for a roll. That being said, drop a small dehumidifer down there in that corner, you can get them for 30 bucks and see if that makes a difference. If you can get it to closer to 60% you will have the bomb curing area. You are in the perfect range... i am jealous. vvvvv Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Nov 18, 2011 |
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Nov 17, 2011 18:19
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Alright across the pond goon... You must be awakened to what we in the states refer to as.... Barbecue. Begin with the rub 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup paprika 3 tablespoons salt 2 tablespoons black pepper 1 tablespoon cayenne 2 teaspoons dry mustard Rub this all over very liberally. Coat that bitch. It is best to let it sit overnight. The next morning fire up that smoke. You want the temp at 215, but 200 to 230 is fine. 215 is best. Smoke it for 1.5 hours per pound until internal temp is 190. This is all in F so convert to C at you leisure. When it is up to temp remove it from the smoker and place it on a big board. Let it cool for a little bit then rip it to shreds. What you have here is western Carolina BBQ pork. Since we are doing the west version we want a sweet tomato based BBQ sauce. You can make this while the pork is smoking. 1 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup ketchup 1/2 cup water 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes You mix this sauce in as you shred. You can leave some pork unsauced and put sauce on the table for people to add as they desire. You have now had western north Carolina BBQ. You can travel the rest of be USA and begin fighting over your favorite. I'm from Texas so this isn't anything like what we eat. Enjoy!
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Nov 19, 2011 19:38
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snailassault posted:Bacon question: what is the purpose of heating the bacon after its done curing? I made a batch of bacon last week, and were planning to cook them yesterday. I fried up a little slice of the bacon to check for saltiness, and what i had pretty much looked like and tasted like bacon. The last batch i made got heated up, and whilst nice, had more of a cooked flavour. I used a thermometer, and pulled it out a few degrees short becaus I was impatient. The un-heated bacon also looks and feels a lot more like the bacon I get in stores (Norway). I really prefer the "raw" product - am I doing something wrong, or is american bacon just different from the stuff I'm used to? Cooking the bacon to 150 will kill anything left from curing and extend it's shelf life. It's like the drying process for sausage an pancetta but uses heat instead. Using smoke also imparts additional flavor.
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Nov 21, 2011 04:54
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Mithra6 posted:Does that mean you can optionally dry bacon? Does this become bacon prociutto? Doesn't sound bad to me. It's called pancetta
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Nov 23, 2011 20:51
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Nowhere near the same fat in duck breast, it's also tiny compared to a 5 lbs slab of pork. Also why the cheesecloth. The relatively lean duck breast will dry faster on the outsde so you wrap it to make it dry more evenly.
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Nov 24, 2011 00:47
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Well I seem to have miscounted my recent bacon making episode. I have found another package that had fallen behind the bottom drawer of the curing fridge. This means it has been in the cure for a month. I rinsed it off and it still smells fine. Should I dare it?
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Dec 24, 2011 04:58
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Verloc posted:So after reading this thread I've now got a copy of Ruhlman's book sitting on my kindle and 10lbs of pork belly in basic cure sitting in my fridge. A couple questions: It should be fine. Its really the same if you are going to do slab pancetta. I like to do rosemary and black peppercorns on my pancetta, it tastes great with the pork. I have done some spicer rubs. I did a habanero ginger one but it was way to spicy for most people. I loved it. The world is your oyster man, if it would taste good in a sauce on pork it will taste good in a cure is my thought on things.
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Jan 5, 2012 23:22
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Garregus posted:tomorrow the pastrami comes out, 2 days later the corned beef. Or maybe the other way around I cannot remember. I blew through three breasts of the proscuitto in a week or two here, people loving love it. I think the cure needs pepper though, or maybe some citrus. I use white pepper for my duck. It adds an awesome flavor to the finished product. I have debated adding ginger powder as well as dried orange zest. Maybe next time.
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Jan 29, 2012 02:53
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mindphlux posted:my first 'dry cured' meat is dry curing. about 3lbs of berkshire pork belly came out of the cure yesterday, gave it a longgg rinse, wrapped it double in cheesecloth, and put it in my 'cheese/meat' cave - a converted 8 bottle countertop wine cellar. I have the temp at 62, and a hydrometer which says my conditions are between 62-80% humidity. I have a small ramekin of water sitting in there, and I mist into the cheese cave with a spritz bottle full of a starsan solution every day. My first slab pancetta was mind blowing. I need to find a better source of pork though. Time to find another farm! Although it will be easier if the wife and I get this 7 acres we are looking at. I will raise my own drat pigs.
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Jan 30, 2012 00:39
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Jose posted:How can I make pastrami? Its not very common in England and usually expensive when it can be bought PASTRAMI!! Buy a beef brisket (brisquet) it may be pricey in the UK, here in Texas its about 2 bucks a pound. Its the big slab of meat that comes from the lower breast of a cow and is very tough, but lots of fat on the top of it and throughout. You then corn this using Ruhlman's corned beef cure then smoke it after adding a metric fuckton of pepper. Here is Ruhlman's post on it http://ruhlman.com/2011/09/how-to-make-pastrami/
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Feb 14, 2012 16:43
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Dr. Video Games 0081 posted:I get most of my meat from farmers at the market, but it typically comes frozen. I'm guessing meat that's been frozen and then defrosted isn't ideal for curing though. Is that right? I've been interested in corning a beef tongue or a brisket for a while. It doesn't really matter if it's been frozen.
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Feb 15, 2012 01:54
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Leathery but not hard, but not squishy. it should be firm with a bit if give.
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Mar 12, 2012 02:00
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Kid posted:I have a baconmergency! Wow... I don't know. It won't keep as long since it wasn't heat treated or smoked. I think I might freeze it and fry as needed.
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Mar 18, 2012 22:56
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Jose posted:So I've stuck some brisket into Ruhlman's corned beef brine today. I'm using half the beef/water/salt. I assume this is safe. Thought I'd check. I massively overused the pickling spice though. I doubt I will care. Should be fine. Good luck with it. I love corned beef.
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Mar 22, 2012 01:04
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Jose posted:When my brisket has finished curing, should I still boil it for the 3 hours Ruhlman calls for? Seeing as how it only weighs around 2.2lbs instead of 5 in the recipe Yes, you still need the time to break down the connective tissues. Just because its smaller doesnt mean it requires less time for that to break down.
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Mar 22, 2012 22:13
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Casu Marzu posted:That happens a lot with meat. The internal temp will hit a plateau and seem to stay at the same temperature for a really loving long time. Then all of a sudden it will spike up. CASU IS ALIVE!!!
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Mar 26, 2012 17:12
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You should be fine, there wont be anything noticable but if you are worried just trim it up when it comes out of the boil.
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Mar 27, 2012 19:32
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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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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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Huge_Midget posted:So my friend and I bought a free range Berkshire hog from a friend of mine that raises them. There is currently 228 lbs of pornographically good pork in my deep freezer right now. Of the 36 lbs of belly we got, we are going to be making a lot of bacon. Can I get you for my Santa? If so please send all the bacon. TIA.
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Nov 15, 2012 17:32
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Frog Lip posted:My pork belly still had the skin on it (including a nipple), should I have taken that off? I leave the akin on the whole time, I love the taste of crunchy skin and the subcutaneous fat after frying. It's awesome.
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Jan 10, 2013 05:45
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200C is way too high. 200-225F is the right temp. You want it to slowly come up to temp like it would be if it were being smoked. Oven bacon will NEVER have that smoked flavor and will always kind of be more like ham or English rashers than American bacon. But you can really play with the flavors and get something fun going. IF you want to get a little smoke you can get an oven smoke box and tea smoke the bacon, I have done that and it gives it an interesting flavor. When doing it in the oven you need to make sure your oven is actually 200-225 degrees. Chuck a probe thermometer or an oven one in there to make sure, your oven might be off a bit. When you take it out it isnt going to look or feel liek store bought stuff. The fat wont be stringy and loose, it will still have a firm texture and look kind of glossy. You arent rendering anything during this process you are bringing it up to temp to be safe to store. After it hits the right internal temp you cool it, slice and fry low and slow, dont toss it over high heat and try to burn it like store stuff, put the heat on medium low and let the bacon slowly render its fat out and become crispy. It takes 30 minutes at least to cook home made thick cut bacon.
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Jan 24, 2013 23:25
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Petey posted:Wait, what is this? Because its been hard for me to find good pork belly too, even at the local whole foods or whatever. What do I ask for and how does it work? Pork loin can bought anywhere, just ask your grocer for a big rear end piece of it. It's used in Canadian Bacon. You can leave the cap of fat on it (I do) or take it off. It won't give you American bacon, but it will make some really tasty Canadian stuff. Also fat is the best part of bacon 
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Jan 31, 2013 15:17
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Petey posted:Wait, really? So as long as I'm going to fry it properly, I can just slice and fridge/freeze -> fry after the cure is done? Does it change anything? What's the point of Ruhlmann saying to cook in the oven in his recipe, then? Does it do anything for the bacteria? Cook it in the oven. There is no reason not too. Just follow the instructions for time and temp and make sure your oven is reaching the right temp. http://www.chow.com/recipes/30156-oven-smoked-bacon You can try this method to smoke indoors, just follow it well. Also dont throw away the skin, that person is a dumb.
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Feb 2, 2013 18:51
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My local grocer has started selling bulk pink salt. I bought a few pounds of it so if any goons can't find any let me know and I will ship a cup to you to get you started.
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Feb 9, 2013 19:22
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