Comments on: Soppressata

By: Erin

Erin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Oh my, that looks delicious. Only a few more months in my postage stamp sized apartment, then I’m so taking this on. For now I will have to settle for hoofing down the road for some Salumi soppressata. . . it’s a tough life.

By: Lucy Vaserfirer

Lucy Vaserfirer — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

That looks absolutely fantastic. I want to try the saucisson sec recipe from the book (been suffering saucisson sec withdrawal since my trip to France), but, I’m wondering, would you use a mold culture on it too, and if so, which one? And since you’ve mentioned the mold cultures a couple of times now, is there a general rule to follow about their application? One last thing-if you want to coat a dry-cured sausage in cracked pepper or herbs, how do you do it? Thanks!

By: DrZibbs

DrZibbs — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Wow. Looks great.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Do the mold and the beef middle need to be removed before eating?

By: Devon

Devon — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I am so impressed when people of, any culinary background, take on these type of endeavors. There’s nothing like spooning mold and getting something delicious on the other end. Very awesome

By: Ben Moscia

Ben Moscia — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

There is a gadget that some of us home-beer-brewers use, its a temperature controller with a probe that you can turn any fridge or freezer into a temp-controlled box. Its $75. or so, but when you have a lot of stuff going on, like curing meat and keeping a big pot of stock cool until you can deal with it, its a wonderful tool. For beer, different yeasts perform best at certain temperatures, so its indispensable. The Freezer(in my case) just plugs into the controller which plugs into the wall.

By: Silvius

Silvius — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Mr. Ruhlman I want to get into charcuterie but there is one piece of equipment that I am unsure what will work/I should buy and I need help-

I’m not certain what to cure my meat in.

I’ve heard of people taking regular refrigerators and augmenting them with other things to control humidity levels, but I’ve also heard of people just buying wine cellars/refrigerators because a good one will already have temperature and humidity control.

What do you use for your charcuterie endeavors? What do you suggest someone who is starting out to use?

Thank you incredibly much for your help.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Can you please clarify if you hung the soppressata in the fridge, or laid it on a rack/shelve?

I would assume you hung it … But I’m curious to know.

Also, what ratio did you use for the salt water?

Thanks,

By: JBL

JBL — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

At the risk of opening a can of worms; are there any recipes that use “natural” sources for nitrites (i.e.:celery juice)?

It seems like many people’s expectations are that if the pork is organic, heritage, etc… then by extension it should contain no “added Nitrites/trates”.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Michael, I bought the book before Christmas, and have tried a couple of recipes in it, namely the beef jerky and the Tuscan salami. The beef jerky turned out great, and my dad tells me the salami turned out great as well. He was a bit apprehensive about leaving the sausage out at room temperature overnight, but after I explained what was going on, he’s on board. Now that he’s tasted it, I need make sure I get some before he eats it all!

By: drago

drago — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Sorta related open question to anyway (included Michael): I tried making the duck prosciutto from a few weeks back.

It darkened to a wonderful hue and achieved that “flexible firmness” but after a week it smelled really gamey, like chicken that should be tossed.

Did I screw something up or was it maybe just sub-standard meat to begin with? Or is that intense smell what I’m actually looking for?

By: heather

heather — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

so glad to hear your fridge set up worked! we picked up half a farm-raised hog a couple of weeks ago, and were hoping we could dry cure in our basement. the temperature down there fluctuates so much, though, it’s nice to know that there’s an relatively inexpensive alternative that would be easier to control.

By: Salty

Salty — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

On a side note….my wife looked at the title picture and exclaimed “what is that?!” I explained it was a sausage and she replied, “why is it wearing a shirt?” “It looks like some one’s head was cut off in a guillotine!

After looking at the photo……..I can see it.

By: Abra from French Letters

Abra from French Letters — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Sean – I was living on Bainbridge Island when I was deeply into curing meat, so I’ll answer. You probably can’t make anything better than Salumi does, and it won’t be cheaper, but it’s more of a hobby than a foodstuff per se. You can make incredibly delicious products and have lots of fun both making and serving them. If long, slow cooking projects are your thing, curing meat is a natural.

By: Davidsrecipesite

Davidsrecipesite — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

You have truly inspired me and I will be ordering your book tomorrow. I have had that craving in the back of my head for several Spanish and Portuguese cured meats since youth. I have always just pushed it back to the miscellaneous section of my head that stores such ideas. My great nana used to make linguica and Serrano hams – hence my bug. You have finally sold me. I figure if I can take the time to BBQ and other tasks I can do this. I also already have a mini fridge that is not used.
I do wonder if a full sized fridge would also work. We have a spare in the garage and since I know myself so well, if I was to spend the time to make these things I know I would want to make a lot of stuff.

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

it’s just a little fridge with a pan of salt water. wet salt as cured meat says is fine, you just don’t want molds growing on the water. i kept a cable thermometer in there to watch the temp. really not much more to it.

i know some chefs who cure the whole time in their walk in cooler and it works great for them, but yes, cold would slow it down and i’d worry about case hardening in a fridge.

By: Sean Kelly

Sean Kelly — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Can anyone comment of whether it makes sense from the perspective of time and money to home-cure meat? I live in Seattle where there are several good local options.

By: Vivian

Vivian — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

@Sean. You are very fortunate. I live in Oklahoma where there are no Salumerias. I have found a few sources here where I can obtain just some of the imported meats that I like, but they can’t always bring in what I wish to have. I can get prosciutto de parma but I can’t get filipino style longanisa or portugese sausage (linguica). I now make those sausages at home and at a minimal cost too. It makes sense to do this if it is worth it you.

By: Angry Brit

Angry Brit — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

This looks amazing. I’ve never cured my own meat (although I have made my own confit and pate) and this definitely makes me want to try. Just out of curiosity, would this method work with other meats such as duck, goose, or venison?

By: Sean Kelly

Sean Kelly — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Michael, or other cured meat people- what if the temperature was too low? I would think the fermentation would slow, but would there be ill effects?