Out of the curing chamber. Tuscan Salami, Sopressata, and Coppa. Working on some other salamis for Thanksgiving including some Spanish Chorizo. .
i'd never used a rich person gas grill until a few years ago and about burned down the world used to having to crank all settings all the way up, wait half an hour, and get a middling sear
A client of my dad's gave him their old gas grill like 10 years back with a searing burner and it was the first time I've ever used one. Its so awesome. We never use the actual grill part
Lots of info can be found online but gist is that meat cures correctly roughly in between 50-60 degrees and 65-80% humidity. If that is say your basement then things can be hung there but I can’t so I have a wine fridge that I have a humidifier in and an instrument that measures humidity and kicks the humidifier on and off as needed. Once meat loses at least 30% weight loss its safe to eat although I generally prefer closer to 40% for texture. A small salami can take 2-3 weeks to reach this, a large leg of prociutto can take 1-2 years. I get my recipes mainly from Ruhlman’s Charcuterie and Salumi books, but theres lots of good info online in facebook groups and blogs. If you get into it, do some reasearch first bc there certainly is risk of bad bacteria and fungus and hurting yourself if you mess up, but if you follow the rules, use the right curing salts, and know when to throw something away everything is fine. Added a pic of the chamber:
I love this. How does it smell when you open the chamber? I ask because we put in a wine cellar that stays at 55 degrees and 70% humidity so it would be perfect for curing. However, I don’t want to make the basement smell like meat all winter.
Why would you not want it smelling like that, sounds like heaven to me. Should help your hand go to the right wine with your nose guiding you.
If you use a bacteria starter (which isn’t required, but many recipes use it) for salami it can smell pretty strong for a couple days while the fermentation is reving up. Not necessarily a bad smell, just strongly like fermented meat. Could be off putting to some. Think of like a long aged steak taste in smell form but much stronger. After a couple days it slows down and just has a light smell. Probably would be barely noticeablein in a large space like a wine cellar as its hardly noticeable in a wine fridge. Bacteria starter is only used for salami though, if doing whole muscle like a coppa or prosciutto, the smell is almost nothing, just like cut prosciutto from the store smells or like a really clean hog casing. Airflow key as well so you’d have to put a fan in there to get a little air circulation, but yeah, just hang up the meat and let nature take its course. Would recommend starting with whole muscle if you’re interested as its easier and safer than doing salamis. Almost everyone starts with a duck breast prosciutto or bressaola so I’d say go for one of those. Definitely a lot of trial and error but its a super fun hobby.
Man I thought I was something making my own beef jerky. PJP3 is putting me to shame with these meat skills.
Did a little take on Julia Child's beef bourguignon a week ago. Turned out incredibly well Spoiler Adapted from this: https://cafedelites.com/beef-bourguignon/ Also went back and made one of my favorite dishes this past weekend. Korean beef bowl. -- Top sirloin sliced thin and marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, bosc pear (combined in food processor) -- Bed of roasted cauliflower rice -- Quickly sear the steak off and top with sesame seeds when completed. -- Garnished this time with mixed greens, kimchi, roasted carrots/brussel sprouts, and scallions. -- Squeeze some fresh lime juice over it all Often good to add a poached egg, but didn't have the time for that.
What's everyone's go-to recipe site? I need some new ideas. Couple of mine: Food52 https://omnivorescookbook.com - Asian centric
Anyone make their own pizza? Thinking about getting a pizza steel for Christmas. I live in an apartment so I need to cook in my normal oven. Any thoughts on a good one or a different method?
Make my own pizza all the time. I’ve got a stone. Mine isn’t anything special. Like a $25 one from World Market. Turns out great every time Spoiler https://www.worldmarket.com/categor...MI1J-2s5LD3gIVxrjACh29hACyEAQYAiABEgLY1_D_BwE May look into getting a larger one at some point
Yeah. Sauce and dough from scratch. Lately I've gone with the cold fermentation process for pizza dough and it's worked out well. It's allowed for a little extra flavor to develop and to get some small bubbles in and around the crush. I've generally followed this recipe for the dough. I'll make a big batch and let it sit in the fridge 3-5 days before portioning it out. Take whatever I need for that day and then wrap the remaining portions in saran wrap and put in a zip loc bag and put in the freezer. I've used both regular bread flour and AP flour since 00 flour is harder to come by and generally more expensive. https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/09/cold-fermented-fontina-parmigiano-and-oregano.html
Welcome to the club. My preferred dough recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/03/jim-laheys-no-knead-pizza-dough-recipe.html I experiment a lot with sauces and toppings, but my favorite sauce recipe is to hand crush a 28 oz can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, add a little olive oil, sea salt, and a bunch of whole fresh basil. Cover and refrigerate overnight, fish out the basil and you’re good to go. Sometimes I add crushed garlic. Sometimes I also cook the sauce before refrigerating because my wife claims she likes it better, but I prefer uncooked and just tell her I cooked it. She hasn’t caught on. I have this steel in the .375 inch thickness, other brands are available but I am very happy with its performance and can recommend it:
i bought a bag of fresh cranberries on a whim - does anyone have any recommendations on their favorite way to use these?
Braised pork tamale bowl. So damn good Braised pork shoulder in enchilada sauce, poblano peppers, and red bell peppers with garlic and chipotle peppers. Serve over creamy polenta with black beans, corn, avocado/tomato salsa, cilantro, lime, and freshly made charred tomatillo salsa Talk about packing flavor into every bite
Put into a sauce pan with some OJ, zest, a pinch of salt, a dash of balsamic, and some minced garlic. Reduce over low until thick and sweet, mix with mayo, use for turkey sandwiches. After typing that out, adding in some jalapeno would work too. Going to do that this year.