As is blatantly obvious by the lack of posting here on Curedmeats, i've been slacking in my duties. That doesn't mean i don't have anything in my fridge that i'm eating, I do, but nothing has been notable enough to blog about. It's just been re-making the standards like coppa and pancetta.
I'm taking a trip back home to Italy shortly where i'll have a chance to indulge in all the delicious cured meats, which will hopefully be of inspiration when i get back.
I do know that the 1st project when I return is going to be Nduja. The Calabrian ultra-hot, soft, spreadable salame that's been all the rage lately. I have a piece from Spilinga, Calabria where Nduja originates, which my parents brought me from Italy, which is amazing, I can see what all the hub-bub is about. I've also tried a few locally (US) made ones, and have been left less than impressed, in fact, I thought some were downright bad, including some BIG name ones which I won't mention.
If you're interested in giving Nduja a try, check out Scott's store @ Sausage Debauchery. That's where my Calabrian chilis came from, and what i'll be using for mine.
So, hang tight with me until I return, reinvigorated and rejuvenated from the Homeland!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
I've been a slacker!
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16 comments:
Happy Travels! Any chance you have a suitcase I could fit in?
Yes, on the way there....but on return you're on you're own, the suitcases will be filled with goodies :)
which recipe do you intend on trying?
Not sure yet. Probably something very simple, pork, salt, peppers, starter, and that's probably it.... just as a baseline.
i have to agree with being less then impressed with the domestic versions of nduja. fortunate enough to have parents from calabria i grew up eating the stuff straight from italy. i suspect that the domestic versions are lacking in fat content and also type of fat used. hopefully soon a decent version will be made state side.
There are numerous problems, not the least of which everyone seems to think it's a pate' coarseness....
The issues are more related to the texture. I only passed mine through the large die of KA grinder once. Texture seems ok. As far as the fat content, I use straight jowl, which is plenty fatty. Mine's been drying for 5 months and still plenty spreadable. Of course, I will refine my recipe after my research trip to Italy next month, which will include 4 days of eating N'Duja in Calabria.
Jason, How about a whole prosciutto this fall. Big time committment but I think you should tackel the king of cured meats.
Eric, that's not a bad idea. Maybe i'll start with a front leg prosciutto so it isn't so huge
i think to the two biggest issues with execution of this salami is fat content and its actually a finely ground sausage not a course one.
Feed readers make posting frequency irrelevant. My favorite blogs post infrequently, makes their content more savored.
looks freakin awesome! Just pulled some guanciale out myself. Spicy and sweet coppa, spanish and italian style of culatello, tuscan salmi, felino and a sopressata. Also, just pulled a spanish style chorizo riojana. tasty! Keep up the artisan mission.
try culatello if you dont want to do something quite so big. The heart of the prosciutto. We tried not only the boned out thigh, but individual muscles as well...top round, knuckle and sirloin. Quick turnaround cure and age at optimum humidity and temp.
cuisinier: if you want to/ can do a pictorial of harvesting a culatello from a leg, like i did for a coppa, i would love that, and i would post it for everyone to learn.
I don't know how to get the culatello muscle out of the prosciutto...
Would you consider some proper capitalization?
would you consider not reading my blog?
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