The Violino di Capra is ready! It didn't take that long to dry. I forgot to write down when it went into the curing chamber, but I estimate it it's been about 40 days. Not long, but it's a very lean meat, and not very thick, so I'm not surprised it didn't take long.
The leg is very dry and almost stiff as a board! I don't know how much weight it lost, since I forgot to write that down too! 
Sliced the leg looks beautiful. A rich crimson/dark red/purple color. The slices are chewy and extremely rich and gamey. This isn't for the feignt of heart! It has a spicyness that hits you in the back of the throat.
The aroma is definite goat. Really good.
Overall i'm very pleased. I'm not really sure if there is anything I'd do differently. It's pretty much like I remember it in Italy!
19 comments:
wow! can't wait to taste when we come to visit!m
looks good.. seems like it turned out just about like my lamb proscuitto.. which people love.
kudos!
Certainly less meaty than a lamb prosciutto, and much gamier. I must have gotten the leg of a skinny goat:)
Aaahhhhrrrggg! And I just sold our 8 goats! Ahh well, I have one left. Can't wait for it to grow
Your blog is a great inspiration to me!
Cheers
Peter
Definitely recommend making this Peter!
Dear Jason,
Hi my name is Derek Norton, and I regularly follow your blog. This post about the goat prosciutto finally made something click... You might be interested in the cooking club I am in. It is called Les Marmitons (here is the international site: http://www.lesmarmitons.org ), and here is some additional information:
We are a group of foodies who share the pleasure of cooking and eating and we would like to share our story with you by inviting you to our next event. Les Marmitons is a group of 800 chefs across North America. Our events usually include chefs from local restaurants who share their cooking secrets with us for an evening. In return, our members visit the restaurant and share experiences with friends and family. We are like a “hell’s Kitchen”, where “hell” is replaced by fun, camaraderie and wine.
Our next cooking event is on February 22 at 6:30 pm at the Atlanta Culinary Institute at Perimeter and we would be happy to have you to join us for one evening of cooking and friendship all of the above joyously accompanied by various wines.
If you have any questions, or would like to be added to the invite, feel free to email me (derek dot norton at gmail dot com) at any time.
Cheers,
Derek
Hey Jason. Looks sweet. I've got a venison leg curing this way. How do you feel about mold forming on something like this? Let it grow? Scrub it off? Wrap it in cheesecloth? What about sealing it off with lard at some point (like standard pig prosciutto) to keep it from drying too much too quickly? Thanks!
Nick, i don't have much of an opinion either way...as long as it's nice white mold it should be fine, but personally i would wipe it with vinegar/water.
Sealing with lard could be interesting, but again, no comment either way, as i don't have enough experience with this particular salume....i know that traditionally it isn't done.
Thanks Derek. That sounds interesting. I emailed you.
As a goat maaaa, I can't help but imagine my kid's leg hanging there (gah!), but I'm not against goat meat generally...for others ;) We did our first pig slaughter this year (I've lived in southern Italy for nearly eight years, but this was our first year of owning a pig) so lots of things curing as I type.
Do you know how old the goat was that you got? Sorry if it's in the original violino post as I haven't clicked there yet...have you been to the Punk Domestics site btw? Lots of curing stuff there as well :)
No idea on teh age of the goat. I imagine not that old, given the leg was quite small!
I have seen Punk Domestics. Neat stuff
I did deer leg (violin de cervo), but I cold smoke it before I put it in the curing chamber. It was amazing.
Jason, what do you think about cold smoking before placing in curing chamber. I do that to make sure that meat is not going to spoil.
I think cold smoking it is a great idea. If your meat is fully cured and properly dried i wouldn't worry about spoilage. The cold smoking would give it good flavor.
Thanks Jason,
Flavor was awesome (same as you described with little hint of smokiness).
My next project is Jamon Iberico, do you have any suggestions? Should I use Cure #2 or go with salt only?
From a safety perspective i would def. use cure #2.
You are the king of salumi
1
Hi Jason,
Great stuff, have a few projects underway - inspired by you!
We are lucky enough to have access to alot of wild animal in New Zealand.
I went out a 'harvested' 3 wild alpine goats recently. I now have quite a few legs with various recipes curing in chamber, based on your meat to ingredient ratios! Exciting stuff!
I made my own 'prague powder"
Question, I had Sodium Nitrite when I made the cure mix and used the appropriate percentage
However, shipping of Sodium Nitrate was delayed.
I was thinking of sprinkling the Nitrate onto the legs, for a day or two before the 15ish days of curing are complete.
Do you think this will work?
Thanks heaps for your passionate information.
Tom in NZ
Haas, Sprinkling nitrate directly won't work most likely. It's going to literally be a pinch of nitrate. Way too small to apply directly.
With whole muscles you should be fine with cure 1 and salt. You don't really have as much risk as with ground products and an anaerobic environment in the salame.
Gosh, i'm craving on it!
i'm a lamb person, i guess i would love this very much!
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