Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I'm still here, and a glimpse into the next project!

Hey everybody just wanted to let you know i'm still around, even if not posting right now. I just moved and as you might imagine, my wife thinks unpacking boxes, hanging pictures and painting stuff should take precedence over curing meats! Sounds crazy to me too!

Anyhow, i'm planning my next post. It'll be cotechino, which is a cooked italian new years sausage. It's the salume that started it all!

Stay tuned please!
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15 comments:

  1. DavidDecember 10, 2008 at 5:52 PM

    Hello! I just found your site. I have been making fresh sausages for a while, but recently got interested in curing. I *just* finished making my first Pancetta and was planning to use part of it to make Cotechino.

    The site looks great. Thanks for the info.
    dmjnola

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  2. JasonmolinariDecember 11, 2008 at 7:32 AM

    Hi David! Glad you found my small blog, and thanks for the compliments.
    I've never heard of pancetta being used in cotechino..but i don't see why not:)
    I would love to hear your recipe for cotechino...i'm always searching for new/good ones.

    thanks!
    jason

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  3. AnonymousDecember 11, 2008 at 11:25 AM

    It's about time :P! I really appreciate the blog Jason as I have to do most of my curing vicariously through others right now.

    Thanks again,
    Jeff

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  4. JasonmolinariDecember 11, 2008 at 11:27 AM

    I know Jeff! Moving sucks.

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  5. DavidDecember 11, 2008 at 2:28 PM

    Jason,

    I have never made Cotehino before. The only recipe I have for it is from Bruce Aidell's book. It calls for pork, back fat, boiled pork skin, and pancetta. I'll dig it up for you.

    David

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  6. DavidDecember 11, 2008 at 2:46 PM

    Jason,

    As I said earlier, I am new to curing. I am hoping that you can answer a question for me. I have read Charcuterie by Ruhlman. When curing he recommends storing the meat at 60 F and ~70 RH, but does not give a range around that target. I done some searching on the internet and cannot find a source with a recommended min-max for temperature. I assume that colder is fine but extends drying time. What I want to know is what about warmer than 60 degrees? In the winter I keep my house at 68-70. Could I hang sausage to dry in my kitchen at those temps? Any insight or source that you could direct me to would be most appreciated.

    David

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  7. JasonmolinariDecember 11, 2008 at 3:11 PM

    David, no. 68-70 would be too high, and not only that your kitchen wouldn't be anywhere near 60-70% RH.

    I even think 60 deg. is on the high side. I like to stay somewhere around 52-55 deg. and 65-75% RH.

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  8. DavidDecember 13, 2008 at 3:55 PM

    Thanks for the info. Wish I had the cash for one of these:

    http://cellarprocoolingsystems.com/cooling-units/cellarpro-cooling-units.cfm?body=detail&id=116

    That ought to do it, huh?

    David

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  9. JasonmolinariDecember 14, 2008 at 12:45 PM

    David, it should, but i don't see how it controls humidity...i would look into that..

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  10. AnonymousDecember 20, 2008 at 3:17 PM

    Jason,
    do you have a conversion between instacure #1 and #2?

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  11. JasonmolinariDecember 20, 2008 at 3:31 PM

    There is no conversion between cure #1 and #2. They are not interchangeabble. They contain different ingredients.

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  12. penny & ryanDecember 20, 2008 at 9:10 PM

    Dude! So bizarre! I was surfing the 'net looking for caviar tastings, and stumbled across some postings on the eGullet boards...and lo and behold, there's a jmolinari there! So I followed the link...and found your blog! Too weird! Hope all is well...drop us a line sometime! rwelch8@gmail.com
    laters!
    penny & ryan

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  13. AnonymousDecember 24, 2008 at 11:22 AM

    The cellar cooling unit above says adjustable humidity, which means it needs a water source.

    Failing that Costco has a nice unit for just under $50.

    Ruhlman has some good additional comments on Charcuterie here: http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2008/12/big-pig-update.html#comments

    I'll be starting the dry cure on my 3rd and 4th proscuittos just after Xmas (when the 2nd frige becomes the cure box). I've also 20 lbs of belly and 5 lbs of fat back in the freezer and an eye of round for a dry cured beef, bresola (sp?).

    I'll also be picking up 2-3 whole fresh shoulders or hams and a 20 lb block of chuck for dry cured sausages this week, well the chuck will be mid January. It won't all get made at once, but I hope to have 80 lbs of various meats hanging in the basement by the end of January. We do still buy bacon, but we haven't bought sausage, proscitto, or pancetta in a couple of years.

    Ruhlman and Polcyn have been muttering in their whisky about Charcuterie II, still in hard-cover print with over 50,000 sold.

    I also post as charcuteire (intentional mis-spelling as I could get that as a domain name.)

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  14. JasonmolinariDecember 24, 2008 at 1:31 PM

    NTSC, sounds like you have a busy few weeks coming up!

    Would you share your prosciutto recipe?

    thanks!

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  15. AnonymousFebruary 11, 2009 at 2:06 AM

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