March 5th, 2010
Sometimes at work we have rejections or returns, which means cheap meat for the office. Today it was a mispacked case of flank steaks and top blade muscles were inside of the box. This is the muscle from the clod where you get flat iron steaks. I love flat irons (and you can find out more about them here) but they are time consuming to cut, especially when you have to cut 90 pounds of them. I’ll take you through the steps for cutting these steaks. Here we go….
Here is the whole muscle. It is the muscle that hangs off the clod heart. There is a lot of connective tissue here so trim it off.
This is what you get. As with trimming any piece of meat, try to get under the membrane and tilt the knife blade up a bit as to not cut into the meat. Next turn the muscle over.
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March 2nd, 2010
Well, I guess I should branch out a bit. I have made the same fennel seasoned salami for the past 3 or so batches. I guess, I like it that much. This bad boy took 47 days to dry.
I have been trying hard to get it right and this time it is almost perfect. Last batch, there was a bit of fat smearing. This time the fat smearing was resolved by my new sausage pump. This hand crank machine brings me back to the Otto’s Meat Market days where I spent my days pumping out fresh Italian and polish sausage. My arm would be sore as hell at the end of the day. Luckily, these days I only pump out 10 pound batches. So…the pump forces the meat through the stuffing tube and retains the fat’s structural integrity. The grinder stuffing attachment that I used before, screwed the meat and fat up.
The only issues I have are: 1.) I need to find some good fatback because some of the fat I have been using has been a little creamy. and 2.) I need to add a bit more fennel to this batch. If anyone knows where I can find some fatback in Chicago or has some reccomendations for new projects please let me know.
Posted in Charcuterie, Pork, Salumi, Sausage | No Comments »
February 20th, 2010
After 34 days the paprika and cayenne salami in the the hog casings are done and delicious.
Posted in Charcuterie, Sausage | No Comments »
February 5th, 2010
Here are my sausages after 22 days of drying. The fennel salami in the beef middles( bigger ones) seem to be drying great as usual. The other sausages in the pork casings seem to be drying slower. A few of the one’s in the pork casings are almost done and a few seem to not be dried much at all. Those may go in the trash if they don’t improve quickly. I’ll keep you updated. *****UPDATE***** Well, I took the suspect sausages out and inspected them. It looks like the casings were contaminated by something and were spoiling. When I cut into them they still looked raw which suggests there was something wrong with them. I mean they have been drying for 22 days and the big ones feel half done. I threw out all the suspect sausages. All the others look great!
Posted in Charcuterie, Salumi, Sausage | No Comments »
January 14th, 2010
After smelling up the apartment and driving the wife crazy with the glorious scent (in my opinion, of course) during the two day fermentation, I put the sausages I made the other night in my drying fridge. Here’s a photo. They will dry for a couple months. If you look close you can see the mold culture start to work.
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January 12th, 2010
Well…. when I got home tonight, I made some roasted chicken legs and wings with a cracked wheat, lemon, eggplant, homemade bacon lardons, caper and cilantro salad. The key to the chicken is to render the skin in the rendered bacon fat and then finish the chicken in a 400* oven for about 15 minutes. I also glazed the chicken with a red wine vinegar and tangerine reduction.
After dinner, I pumped out 10 pounds of sausage. I made 5 pounds of fennel seasoned salami and 5 of some pepperoni type salami. The fennel salami are in beef middles and the pepperoni in the hog casings. These will hang and ferment in my oven for two days before I hang them to dry in my drying fridge. I’ll keep you updated.
Posted in Charcuterie, Chicken | 3 Comments »
January 10th, 2010
Hey everyone! It has been a while since I have posted anything. I’m sorry. The holidays were very busy for me. I hope everyone had a great holiday. Tonight I made a Sunday gravy with beef neck bones and homemade pappardelle.
This was delicious and I may try to make this every sunday. Tomorrow I am planning to make some more salami so stay tuned.
Posted in Pasta | 2 Comments »
November 29th, 2009
The belly on the left was cured with pink salt, salt and dextrose. The one on the right was cured with mace, juniper berries, clove, dextrose, pink salt, salt, pepper and bay leaves. I cured them for about a week and now they are drying in my drying fridge. I think I will dry them for a few weeks so they develop really nice flavor. I’ll keep you updated.
Posted in Charcuterie, Pork | 2 Comments »
November 9th, 2009
Well, I am making a new “urban sourdough” starter. I started with water, rye flour and a pinch of yeast. It is fermenting great. Unfortunately, this pizza wasn’t created from the starter but this dough sat in my fridge for a week. It developed great flavor. This pizza just has pureed tomatoes, pecorino, aged provolone and homemade coppa.
Posted in Pizza, Salumi | No Comments »
November 7th, 2009
Well, a lot has happened since my last post. Cory and I were married and we spent a week in Maui, Hawaii. We had a great time on the beach and participating in all the other activities associated with that. As for the food, it left a bit to be desired. I was surprised by the lack of local fish on restaurant menus. The best meal we had, in my opinion, was the fresh fish I grilled on the beach.
So, its back to the real world now after our excursion. The real world means: work, taking care of the dogs and planning for Thanksgiving. I have been thinking about what to cook for a while now but it wasn’t until recently that it came together for me. Every year, I am responsible for the bread, soup and another dish of my choice. My mother cooks the turkey and prepares all the other delicious fixings and pies. Every year, I make grilled garlic naan, which seems to go over well. Last year I made a forgettable pheasant soup and some braised collards that were a bit too bitter for a few of the guests. This year I am determined to make some memorable dishes. Pictured above is the test run for the soup I am going to make. It is a parsnip and roasted butternut squash soup with leeks, bacon, truffle oil, mint and a homemade dashi broth. This will be a crowd pleaser. I can’t stop eating it now. I also plan to test my idea for a side dish: a apple, caramelized onion, aged cheddar, and some other stuff I haven’t determined yet turnover. Keep checking back for that one.
Posted in Soup | 2 Comments »