First Bresaeola

[Ty520]

Just took my first bresaeola out of the curing chamber.

I am confident I did everything right but I have to admit I am slightly nervous about eating it.

Despite not casing it, i think it looks pretty good.

Tastes pretty good too.

I guess I will find out if things went properly in 6-12 hours.

Here's hoping for no unexpected emergency visits to the restroom in the middle of the night

 

[Ringer]

Looks great, hopefully no disaster pants.

 

[indaswamp]

If you followed the safety hurdles, used enough salt, and watched your drying temps. to keep it below 60*F....you should be fine.

What was the final weight loss? I like Breasola at around 37-38% weight loss....and a soak in a good barolo wine for about a day for casing removal...then vac sealed for at least a month.

 

[indaswamp]

BTW- excellent definition across the grain. Slight dry rim, but to be expected. Your chamber looks to be dialed in fairly well. Well done! What cut of beef did you use?
Nice to be able to make your own considering that the real deal is about $100 for 3#...
https://sognotoscano.com/products/b...term=4587299954597553&utm_content=Ad group #1

 

[Sven Svensson]

T Ty520 and indaswamp I would love to see the recipes/methods you used. I really want to try this soon. I wouldn‘t hesitate to eat that. It looks beautiful. Great job! Also, when the TP shortage hit I installed bidets in all 3 bathrooms so I am well prepared for any contingency. I no longer fear the “burning ring of fire.”

 

[indaswamp]

I do beef the same way....but this one is venison...
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/venison-bresaola.295952/

Spices are BP, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary. Sorry, no measurements...but the venison roast weighed about 1.5#.

 

[Ty520]

If you followed the safety hurdles, used enough salt, and watched your drying temps. to keep it below 60*F....you should be fine.

What was the final weight loss? I like Breasola at around 37-38% weight loss....and a soak in a good barolo wine for about a day for casing removal...then vac sealed for at least a month.

final was 35%; used 3% salt in my cure and the chamber is set to 55 degrees. I expected terrible case hardening, but it seems to be a non issue - nothing even remotely like what I saw in the recipes I referenced.

I think I would have liked it a touch drier.

no emergency bathroom visits after multiple tastings, so it seems to be A-OK.

does your wine soak and vac seal help soften up the case hardening entirely, or do you still need to trim?

 

[Ty520]

T Ty520 and indaswamp I would love to see the recipes/methods you used. I really want to try this soon. I wouldn‘t hesitate to eat that. It looks beautiful. Great job! Also, when the TP shortage hit I installed bidets in all 3 bathrooms so I am well prepared for any contingency. I no longer fear the “burning ring of fire.”

thanks.

Used a good quality beef loin - trimmed as much surface fat and silver skin as I could manage, as well as cutting off the tips, and shaving off any thicker areas so it was as symmetrical a cylinder as possible.

final weight of the cut was 3.5#

I made a dry cure of 3% kosher salt, 1% brown sugar, 0.25% Cure#2, and 0.5% of each of the following spices: peppercorn, juniper berries, thyme, bay, crushed red pepper. and nutmeg.

After applying the cure, I sealed it up in a ziploc, and kept it in the fridge, flipping and massaging it every other day for 3 weeks.

After 3 weeks, I rinsed it off, then a rub down with red wine vinegar.

Trussed it up and kept it in my curing chamber set at 55 degrees/75% until it reached a loss of weight of 35% - i think I would have preferred it a touch drier though.

was probably the easiest one i've done so far - minimal hands-on time, and had a pretty quick turn-around.

eager to try a coppa or lomo next

 

[Ty520]

I do beef the same way....but this one is venison...
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/venison-bresaola.295952/

Spices are BP, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary. Sorry, no measurements...but the venison roast weighed about 1.5#.

how well does the gameyness work? IMHO, one needs to up the spices when working with wild game

 

[pushok2018]

Nice looking Breasola!

 

[indaswamp]

final was 35%; used 3% salt in my cure and the chamber is set to 55 degrees. I expected terrible case hardening, but it seems to be a non issue - nothing even remotely like what I saw in the recipes I referenced.

I think I would have liked it a touch drier.

no emergency bathroom visits after multiple tastings, so it seems to be A-OK.

does your wine soak and vac seal help soften up the case hardening entirely, or do you still need to trim?

What %RH was your chamber running at? For whole muscles, after the first month or so of drying, it is best to run the RH% between 80-85%RH for more even drying.
Yes, the wine soak and vacseal eliminate any dry rim.

 

[indaswamp]

how well does the gameyness work? IMHO, one needs to up the spices when working with wild game

Dry curing wild game tames and mellows the gameyness of the meat...as long as all game fat has been removed.

 

[Ty520]

What %RH was your chamber running at? For whole muscles, after the first month or so of drying, it is best to run the RH% between 80-85%RH for more even drying.
Yes, the wine soak and vacseal eliminate any dry rim.

75% - but as noted, the hardening seemed to not be an issue.

I also have other cuts in it at different stages, so didn't want to start playing with settings - not sure how I would juggle that.

How do you prefer to store after finishing?

 

[indaswamp]

How do you prefer to store after finishing?

Vacseal and in the fridge. If I had a larger chamber, I would store them there vacsealed.