Recent content by mjacobsen
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M
Determining Cured/Aged Ham Doneness
Hi all, I started curing a 20 lb ham last night, following the Rhulman recipe for a Blackstrap Molasses Ham. Per the recipe, my plan is to rinse, smoke, and then hang it after 20 days of curing. One thing that the book doesn't go into is when to tell that the ham is done (as in, can be eaten... -
M
Tuscan Salami Potential Issue
Well, I went ahead and gathered up the salami, took a few sample slices, examined them and smelled them, and took a bite. No difference from the previous batch that finished perfectly. Good mouth feel, taste, and aftertaste. I think the presence of larger fat pockets was throwing me off, since... -
M
Tuscan Salami Potential Issue
Thanks for the reply Holly. Here we are about a week later, and the soft spots haven't hardened up that much. The individual salamis have shrunk down significantly and they've lost the requisite water weight, and the softer areas don't smell/look bad. I was under the impression that they'd... -
M
Tuscan Salami Potential Issue
Hey all, I completed my first round of tuscan salami based on rhulman's recipe today, and the first few sections that I gathered turned out fantastic. In 14 days, the "control" sections (I only weighed a handful of them at the start) had dropped about 40% weight, and the flavors and aromas were... -
M
Pork Belly Curing Very Slowly
I'm not determined to have it done in 7 days (I'm aware I can't "will" it to finish), I'm just not certain of what I've seen with this particular process. At 15 days, it seems like it's done. However, the redness of the interior seemed to correlate with "doneness", as my early fry tests appeared... -
M
Pork Belly Curing Very Slowly
I appreciate the input on the nitrite/nitrosamine conundrum. To be fair, even within USDA ppm guidelines, it seems to me that bacon (homemade or store-bought) can produce nitrosamines if cooked at a high enough temperature. I cut into it tonight (it's now been 15 days), and there was still a... -
M
Pork Belly Curing Very Slowly
I'll double check that tonight - good thought. It was never an issue with previous cures, so I assumed the fridge settings were fine. -
M
Pork Belly Curing Very Slowly
Fair point. As someone who collects a lot of data during cooking, it was really odd to observe what I currently consider to be an outlier. The only adjusted variable here is the prague powder #1 instead of morton tender quick. I'm hoping to hear from someone who can comment on experiencing... -
M
First time using Prague #1
Yeah, I add the maple syrup at the beginning, like the others have said. The ingredients will form a sort of paste, which isn't a big deal, since after a day or so, the meat will draw out moisture and make a slurry out of it anyway. Just apply it evenly and stick it in a food grade bag and let... -
M
Pork Belly Curing Very Slowly
Thanks man. I'll just sit tight and wait it out I guess. I know I boosted the nitrite a bit, but I'm not too concerned about health implications. From my reading, an adult would have to eat 20+ lbs of product at 200 ppm nitrite. -
M
Pork Belly Curing Very Slowly
I do indeed. I measure everything by mass, not volume, whenever possible. However, it's skinless. Here's the thing that's really throwing me right now. All of my data points with Morton Tender Quick show a much faster cure time. However, everything I've read on the topic says they should be... -
M
Pork Belly Curing Very Slowly
At the 6 day mark, I cut into the belly, and saw that the inner 1/2 inch was still the raw, ruby red color. I cut out a piece and fried it up to be certain. Sure enough, it firmed up and cooked like raw pork, with a graw/white hue. Nothing like bacon. I cut into it again last night, and still... -
M
Pork Belly Curing Very Slowly
All, I'm curing pork belly presently, which happens to be the third time I've done it. The first two times I used a dry cure (dry in the sense that I didn't add water, but the slurry formed after a day or so) with Morton Tender Quick, put the belly in a bag, and stuck it in the fridge for 7...
