Wild Hog Lonzino di Calabria started...finished w/pics.

[indaswamp]

The second loin, I decided to make with Calabrian pepper. I used the garlic infused white wine I had made for the Coppa di Parma. I have seen both red and white used for this salumi so since I was already making the white, I went with that.

I weighed the loin to calculate the spiced cure mix.

Then I wiped the loin dry, trussed with butchers twine, wet with the garlic/wine infusion, then evenly applied the spiced cure mix. vacsealed for a rest in the fridge.

see you guys in 2 weeks.

 

[tx smoker]

Wow Keith, I cannot wait to see this one done. Trade you a couple nice steaks or a beef roast for some of that

I love the barter system,
Robert

 

[sawhorseray]

Whoa, looks like something special coming down the road! I never did any charcuterie from the wild hogs I whacked, pretty much smoked the hams, Q'd the strap, and turned everything else into sausage. Enjoy the wait! RAY

 

[indaswamp]

Wild Hog Lonzino di Calabria

2.5% Sea Salt
0.3% Cure #2
0.25% Coarse Cracked Black Pepper
0.22% Hot Calabrian Pepper Flakes
0.16% Hot Calabrian Pepper Powder
0.64% Sweet Calabrian Pepper Powder
3 Cloves Fresh Garlic steeped in 60mL Dry White wine overnight

1 gram Dextrose (total)
0.25g/kg. B-LC-78 whole muscle surface starter (bioprotective)

 

[indaswamp]

Wow Keith, I cannot wait to see this one done. Trade you a couple nice steaks or a beef roast for some of that

I love the barter system,
Robert

Hmmmmm....tempting. Very tempting.....

 

[indaswamp]

Whoa, looks like something special coming down the road! I never did any charcuterie from the wild hogs I whacked, pretty much smoked the hams, Q'd the strap, and turned everything else into sausage. Enjoy the wait! RAY

Thanks Ray. I was very hesitant doing wild hog charcuterie until I did a deep dive into the research which proves that it can be done safely. They have been curing meats this way for thousands of years even before we domesticated animals. My concerns on safety satisfied, I'm making a lot of stuff with it.

 

[bauchjw]

That is so cool. Can’t wait to see how it goes!

 

[indaswamp]

Today was the day for the Calabrian Lonzino too. I am really looking forward to how this one turns out. I really enjoyed the Calabrian coppa I made from the Hampshire hog I bought last year. Came out really good....and I expect this one to be good too.

I put this loin in the beef bung the correct way-small diameter side in the bung first. I did remove all the trussing around the loin that I had tied prior to curing in the fridge. This allows the loin to compress in the bung giving a larger diameter which will dry slower and produce a better flavor allowing the enzymes to work longer to create more flavor compounds.

I like how the trussing turned out on this loin...very uniform diameter.

In the new drying chamber for a 1 week drying cycle.

 

[indaswamp]

Lonzino di Calabria has reached 35% weight loss as of tonight. This one took 36 days, faster than the others likely due to the shape it dried (flatter) and the lactic acid created by the surface culture...

Angel tears forming on the mold...

uncased...

The slice...

Little too much dry rim than I'd like but again this is due to too much airflow trying out the new accelerated drying schedule. I have the fan intermittent now for all future runs. Flavor is incredible! Wow! I have them vac sealed and will put them back in the chamber low in the bottom to allow the moisture in the piece to equalize and allow flavor development to continue. I expect them to be better in 2 month.

 

[Sven Svensson]

It’s still amazing to me that you can take uncooked meat, wrap it in some guts, let it sit around for weeks, and it will taste absolutely delicious. Incredible work, as always. I’m very impressed.

 

[indaswamp]

It’s still amazing to me that you can take uncooked meat, wrap it in some guts, let it sit around for weeks, and it will taste absolutely delicious. Incredible work, as always. I’m very impressed.

It's the salt and the nitrite/nitrates Sven.... That is what pulls the moisture out. The microbes, the mold and the natural enzymes in the meat itself perform a controlled decay on the proteins and the fat creating amino acids and fatty acids. Those breakdown into an assortment of molecules which get recombined into a wide array of flavor and aroma compounds. There have been over 400 different compounds found in dry cured meats. These reactions can be pushed where you want them by temperature and the micro addition of certain minerals in the salumi. This is why sea salt is THE BEST ON THE PLANET for dry curing salumi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is how raw meat gets denatured through controlled decay to create salumi........

 

[sawhorseray]

Looks absolutely fabulous Keith, some great work right there! RAY

 

[indaswamp]

Looks absolutely fabulous Keith, some great work right there! RAY

Thanks Ray!