'Nduja inspired by Spilinga

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deuxcv, afternoon.... If I may interject..... It is my understanding Evan is making his "old world" meats to satisfy the taste buds of the most discriminating folks there are.... in the New York area.... these folks taste some of the most desirable foods there are... imported from all corners of the world .... In some circles, from what I have read, folks will spend hundreds $'s on tasting plates...
I am going to assume they are looking for that little something that makes the food "special" and spices can make or break some foods...
Sooooooo, in order to get his specialty group of food, that he makes, "in the door" so to speak, he doesn't compromise on spices... especially when some of the products take 6 months or so to get to a finished stage....
In my own personal experience, I have found certain spices to be a step above the others... and refuse to compromise... the flavor of some just don't cut the mustard, so to speak... fresh sweet basil in Pico de Gallo.... crushed fresh Tellicherry black pepper corns on a pepper steak... Madagascar vanilla beans in home made vanilla... and lastly my home grown hard neck garlic and horseradish in my recipes... some stuff just brings certain food a step above the others.....
I'm sure Evan is trying to make the best charcuterie there is... something to be remembered... something to be discussed at the next cocktail party.... from looking at the pictures of his products, he has accomplished the curing portion of the process.... the food looks AWESOME.... if you eat with your eyes first, his stuff is a winner... If the flavor profile leaves something to be desired, he fails.....

No, I am not a shill for Evan... I buy his products.... casings, fermenting products.... only because he is a member here, and I want to see him do well.... If I was closer than 3500 miles from his business, I would stop in and give a personal tasting so I could be more specific as to how good his stuff really is...

Dave
 
thanks dave. i'm excited to try his products and have a go at this. where is his shop? just supplies or does he have a salumeria too?
 
Owner - The Craft Butchers' Pantry Online Store


Location: Wappingers Falls, NY


He's on facebook and other sites also....



Dave
 
 
been reading up on nduja and setting forth to make a 50# batch of nduja as a trial for my restaurant and wanted to get your feedback on a pew points.

since nduja is in the tradition of cucina povera, making the best food from the poorest ingredients, wondering what experience you have in making it from chilies other than imported. seems counter to that ideal to spend $2-3/pound for the pork and then have to spend 2-4x as much on spice imorted from halfway around the world when there are amazing domestic chilies. so wondering what knowledge/experience you have of substituting other more common varietals. that said for the first batch also want to try your products for at least a baseline. i was thinking for 50# of meat i’d want 10-15# of peppers. was thinking 2000g hot powder, 500g sweet powder, 2000g whole hot, 500g whole sweet. but, dang, that’s almost $350 worth of chile. am i crazy? what would you do?
Sent you a quote and private email :)
 
@DaveOmak  Thanks for the kind words! I agree with you. 

@deuxcv  

Yes, best food from the poorest ingredients, but we are not in Italy where the peperoncino is plentiful and inexpensive. For us in the US this product is a luxury. It is packaged and imported on which there is importation tax on top of the cost of the product. Than there is the importer mark up, then there is me. I hardly mark up my products at all, as I understand it is wicked expensive. There is just so much that goes into getting this pepper into this country, and that is why it is so expensive…

As for domestic peppers, I understand your thought process here, but it would not be ‘Nduja. I am a stickler for nomenclature to an extent, but the flavor of American chiles taste nothing like the Calabrian. The peppers I get from Calabria have a very, very unique flavor that can’t be substituted. I am not denying that America has great peppers, but for a specific product like ‘Nduja you can’t just substitute. If I believed you could I would not spend so much money getting them imported…

The proper ratio for ‘Nduja di Spilinga is 33% Calabrian pepper product. Yes, you can mix and match. I have done recipes with varying percentages from 22-33%, and love it all. Obviously the more the better. It is up to you as the producer to decide how much to add, but never add less than 20% or you will be straying too far from the characteristics of the product.
 
[quote ] but the flavor of American chiles taste nothing like the Calabrian. The peppers I get from Calabria have a very, very unique flavor that can’t be substituted.
[/quote]

The last batch of fresh hot Italian sausage I made I used Evans Calabrian pepper and it was the best I ever made. Not as hot as a cayenne but the flavor is outstanding.
 
The last batch of fresh hot Italian sausage I made I used Evans Calabrian pepper and it was the best I ever made. Not as hot as a cayenne but the flavor is outstanding.
This is great to hear! I know I am not crazy here when I say there is something very unique about the Calabrian pepper. I spend so much money getting these peppers in, and it is good to see some validation that they are something unique.
 
Couldn't take it anymore - went out for lunch and bought a package of imported nudja (Calabria). Can't wait to get home to taste it.

Evan,
I saw Len Poli's recipe for nduja lists cure#2 as optional. He religiously uses cure#2 in his ground cured product formulations (not optional). What do you think sets nduja apart from other dry cured sausages? High fat content and hot condiments inhibit bacterial activity?
 
His recipe is the worst I have seen to date. I think it is terrible...

I do not recommend making it without some form of curing salt, or even potassium nitrate.

I think he says optional because of the high amount of fat. Nitrate and nitrite are only soluble in the water portion of the meat added, so truly you do not need that much when making Nduja because of this. 

Do not listen to him... I like Len's recipes for sausage, but when it comes to salami I do not like what he brings to the table.
 
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