All my life I've been a "meat eater" you could say. Been more adventitious in trying new foods ever since I got married over a year ago now. Ranging from Kangaru at WVRST in Toronto to simply trying locally raised fresh Lamb at my local farmer's market.
How does this relate to Charcuterie you may ask? Simply going to the grocery store & bringing a cut of meat home, there's not much you can do aside from cooking it. Here's what many people forget however, you can transform it into Charcuterie.
What is Charcuterie?
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Charcuterie is the branch of cookingdevoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, suasage, terrines, galantines, ballotines, pates, and confit, primarily from pork.
- Charcuterie is part of the garde manger chef's repertoire. Originally intended as a way to preserve meat before the advent of refrigeration, they are prepared today for their flavors derived from the preservation processes.
Been into Charcuterie for almost a year now. Thankfully I haven't had to throw anything away yet due to failing to cure properly. However, I recommend if you're interested to start with Pork, as I did. A simple recipe is using pork tenderoin for Lonzino or Lomo (Spanish).
Charcuterie Tips To Follow?
- Obtain the best quality meat you can afford (quality > quantity)
- Obtain curing salt (Insta Cure #2; helps preserve)
- Salt is your friend! (2% added per weight of meat)
- Monitor temperature/humidity & mold
As always, source the best quality meat you can afford. Not everything have to be Whole Foods or farm fresh quality however. Many times I've used meat from my local neighboorhood grocery store & it's turned out just fine. Always inspect the meat however, the curing process take many weeks so it's painful to start over if you don't source quality meat.
Curing salt & salt in general is your friend. Curing salt (sodium nitrate or sodium nitrtie) keeps your meat that bold pink color (nirtite). The nirtrate version protects the meet against botulism (food poisonoing) which can be fatal. While curing salt is strong recommended, it's optional. However, if you don't have ideal curing conditions, batercia will grow & can ruin your meat. Ideal conditions vary based on the type of meat, but a typical cool place to dry with humidity around 70% is ideal. Most of the time my basement is suiteable for this depending on the time of year.
Salt in general is how curing meat is possible. General rule of around 2% salt to the total weight of the meat. Personally I use pink salt, but any salt will work generally. The salt will slowly seep into the meat over time. In my batches, I rub my meat into a brine & let it sit in the fridge for a week or so. Afterwards, I rinse off the brine & let it hang to cure. Overtime, you'll see the meat start to "sweat" the salt out of itself. The salt replaces the water in the meat with itself, salt. This is why you can eat cured meat raw, although it's technically not raw.
As always, monitor the temperature, humidity, & mold of your curing meats. Changes to temperature & humidity when curing can be devastating. This results in the bad type of mold growing on your meat. Rule of thumb is any white mold is typically fine, whereas green is cautious & black is fatal. When the meat is done curing, should lose around 1/3 give or take of it's original weight. It can cure until ti's rock hard if you prefer to grate it as cheese, it's all your personal preference.
Below are three meats I've recently cured (Venision Lonzino, Pork Lomo, & Pork Lonzino). A lot of time & love when it's all three. If you're an avid meat eater, I highly recommend giving it a try. Surely made myself appreciate where my food comes from & taking care of it. Around a month from start to finish occured in the process of three meats. Thanks guys!
