Sunday, January 23, 2011
Salame Gentile
Monday, January 10, 2011
Salam d'la Duja
Piemonte is a region that is close to my heart in that that's where my Italian side of the family is from; my Dad, Nonna, Nonno, and Zii. I like finding cured meats from that area as a way to stay connected to my family. This salume is from the eastern area of Piemonte.
Salam d'la Duja was born out of the necessity to cure meats in an area where the humidity is generally too high, not allowing for proper drying and preservation. Because of the high humidity the salami are dried for just a short while and then buried in liquid lard inside a clay pot, called a Duja. They're kept here for anywhere from 3 months to a year. They stay soft and age in the lard becoming spicier as they age. I've actually never eaten one in Italy, I can't explain why not, so I'll really have no idea how mine compares to the real stuff.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Nasone and Cotechino Tasting
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Salame di Capra - Goat Salame Tasting Notes
The goat salame is ready! They smell amazing. I'm very pleased with how they turned out.
Take a look below for more details on how they tasted.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Salame di Mugnano
While I was back in Italy this past September I ate all kinds of great cured meats. The variety of different salami available is really mind boggling. I was at a standard grocery store near home, and picked up a couple different ones, including a Salame di Mugnano. One I hadn't had before. It had a fantastic smell, with a hint of smokiness. Upon eating it it was rich, and lightly smoked with just a little hint of heat.
As soon as I got home I started researching this particular salame. It was actually relatively easy finding out about it; a lean, large grain salame that's lightly smoked from Mugnano del Cardinale in Campania. Much harder was actually finding any information on the formula that might be used to make it. So I made up my own. This, I'm sure, is the first of many tries to get this right.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Violino di Capra - Goat Prosciutto
If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Prosciutto, while commonly associated with a pig leg, can really be made with anything. In this case; a goat leg. This is a a typical salume from Valchiavenna, just a few kilometers from Switzerland. Normally, this is made from the leg of a mountain goat. Unfortunately, mountain goats seem to be in short supply here in Atlanta, so I used what I could find.
The name of the product is pretty interesting. It's called a Violino di Capra, which translated to "goat violin". It has this name because the consumer is meant to hold the cured goat leg like a violin and slice it with a knife as if it we're a violin bow. You can see a good picture of that here. It's passed from diner to diner for each person to slice at will. I vividly remember eating this as a kid in Italy, and distinctly remember the really gamey, bracing flavor and the chewy tough meat. I've been looking forward to making it for a while. I've read that by tradition once the Violino is started, people cannot leave the table until the whole thing is finished! Recipes are guarded very jealously, passed on father to son, so it looks like I'll have to come up with my own recipe. Of course I'll share it here!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Cotechino 2010
It's that time of year again, when cotechino makes its yearly appearance, in preparation for the New Years feast! I've explained the story of cotechino a couple of times before, both in 2008 and 2009. This year I was fortunate enough to have some concia, or spice mixture, from a fellow Italian in San Francisco. He gets it from his uncle in Italy, and he kindly sent me a pack to try. Sorry, i don't know what's in it, but i think it's the usual spice suspects which you can see on previous years posts.
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