A little while ago I was roaming the isles at my local Asian grocery store, and in the pork section i noticed some thinly cut, very round steaks labeled "pork steak". It was really heavily marbled, and I thought to myself, "wow, that looks like a coppa steak....i wonder if I can get the whole piece that these steaks were cut from". I went up to the meat counter and asked if this part was the neck or collar of the pig. He told me it was (although I'm not certain he understood my question), and he said he had a whole one.
You might remember my issue with procuring coppa muscles, having to buy whole shoulders and carving out the coppa from them, in the hope that the butcher hadn't mangled it. Amazingly, what i was able to buy as "pork steak" seemed to be a whole coppa, and on top of that, it was nicely trimmed into the correct shape for me! I couldn't wait to cure it.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Coppa - Whole
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Hey, look what I found!!
One of the main problems with the Kitchenaid grinder is the proprietary grinder plates that go with it (standalone grinders use standard plates that come in a billion sizes). There are really only 2 sizes...."fine" and "very fine". The "fine" grinder grinder plate is 1/4", which is pretty good for many salami, the "very fine" is not particularly useful except for a few things. So I had a friend in a machine shop make me a larger 7/16" plate (someone on ebay makes them, take a look there, they're a great deal at $15 a piece). It works really well, but it's a just a HAIR too big. The other day I checked out Ebay to see if anyone had made any other custom plates, and imagine my surprise when I ran into a Kitchenaid "coarse" grinder plate, which didn't look like my "coarse" grinder plate!
It appears that at some point, quite a few years ago, Kitchenaid decided that for home use, a 1/4" coarse plate would be more useful than the one they had back then in the kit, a 3/8" one. I would agree that 1/4" is more useful for stuff like burger...but 3/8" i think would be nice to have for salame. I got it for a bargain $12!
Here is the plate I just got in the mail. I think it'll be a perfect size for many salami...excited to use it.
My advice to all those with a KA grinder is to keep an eye open at thrift stores, flea markets or Ebay for an old style "coarse" Kitchenaid grinder plate.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Guanciale - Finally ready
After 2 months in the curing chamber, starting at 54 deg. F and 75% RH and dropping to 54 F and 65% RH after the 1st month, the guanciale is finally ready. It has a nice firmness and nice aroma.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
I've been a slacker!
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, June 16, 2010
Lardo D'Arnad - Tasting
After almost 90 long days the lardo is done. There really wasn't much to it; no need to control temperature, humidity or anything else really. Just waiting. So the waiting is over, and it's time to eat!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Guanciale - Off to the chamber.
The guanciale has been curing in salt for about 3.5 weeks, so it was time for it to go into the drying chamber. I gave it a quick rinse, strung it, and hung it in the chamber, which is currently at 55 deg. F and about 70-75% RH.
I'll give it at least a month in there.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Guanciale
I've made guanciale before, so i'm not going to go into too many details about its awesomeness. It's basically like pancetta, except different. The fat on a jowl is very different to regular fat. It has a rather odd texture to it, it almost has a "crunch" to it. It's much richer than pancetta too.
Thanks to Jimmy at Eatitatlanta blog, I found myself in possession of a jowl from my favorite pork place of all, Caw Caw Creek.
