Charcuterie

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JohnnyChance

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I always enjoy a nice charcuterie plate when I go out for dinner and at my current job, I get to contribute to ours. We used to have a pretty standard and simple rotation of items, but I have a pretty long leash for interesting side projects so I have been trying to up our charcuterie game. I have a very small walkin, so I don't have room for 2 giant cambros filled with hams packed in salt or pigs heads and trotters in brine (cough, Tkern, cough). But I do have a humidity and temperature controlled wine/storage room that I can hang stuff in. Here is some stuff I have working right now.

Cleaning up some Moulard/Magret duck breast for prosciutto. Spicy White Devin also pictured.
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The duck breast packed in salt, pink salt, garlic, juniper berries, thyme, and peppercorns for a day or two.
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After about 36 hours in the cure, rinsed.
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And wrapped in cheesecloth, ready to be dried.
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Some sliced duck breast prosciutto (from a different batch, this one is Pekin, the Magret version is bigger and tastier).
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Guanciale (cured Pork Jowl) in the cure after about 4 days. Couple more days and then it goes to hang and dry.
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Bresaola (air dried beef) after curing for two weeks, rinsed of cure, ready to dry.
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Two batches of duck prosciutto and the bresaola hanging in our store room. When we get audited, our fat soaked paperwork will make for a nice snack.
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Some of the bresaola after aging/drying for week(ish) and sliced with my Martell 300mm suji.
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So...what do you guys have hanging in your store rooms? What's on your charcuterie platters or in your recipe notebooks? Please share, I am always looking for new things to try and add to our rotation.
 
ooooh, i've been meaning to do some curing at home. could you please post full recipes for these delicious looking items?
 
This post did it. You don't have a bunch of fancy tools and converted fridges and you still get delicious meats.

I'm making some.
 
Charcuterie...the King of Food. Your ingredients are mind blowing. Let me know when it's ready and I'll send my address. ;-)
 
Johnny,

Everything looks fantastic, thanks for sharing your pictures. Seems like you are doing some really cool things at your restaurant, especially maximizing the functionality of your wine cooler.
 
And that 300 sugi is aging really nicely as well!
 
Yes I do have Ruhlman's Charcuterie. Two copies actually, one at work and one at home. Pretty much all of the charcuterie items I make are either recipes from that book, variations on his recipes, or the book is at least used as a reference when attempting my own recipe. Looking forward to the follow up Salumi.
 
Check out Paul Bertolli's books. I prefer them to Ruhlman. Everything looks great; haven't tried making guanciale yet but I do enjoy eating it.
 
They have been on my "to buy" list. This is my first try at guanciale, should be done in a week or two, hopefully they are pretty good. How did your cochon 555 competition go?
 
Went alright. Didn't win, but put out some pigtastic food that a lot of people enjoyed. Scott from Source restaurant took it. Had dinner at his restaurant on Saturday. He puts out some good stuff.
 
Send out some of that paperwork to us, I'll bet it's delicious as well. Ummmm........fat soaked invoices......ahhhhhhhhhhh................
 
Awesome. What are you plans for those? Cut some cheeks off and get some guanciale workin.

We are doing our annual "Hops n Hogs" dinner in late June. Usually we do a few suckling pigs on a spit or grill and then have sides and pulled pork from the pigs served family style. This year we are doing it on a day the restaurant is closed, so we don't have to worry about service as well, gives us a little more freedom. More courses, main entrees will be partially plated (each person gets a plate with seared belly, pulled pork, maybe sausage) with family style sides. Oyster reception on the patio, salad course, amuse/soup course, then entree and dessert. We will also be doing some "Optional Offal" during the amuse course. Hopefully we get some people to try and to egg other people on to try as well. Any suggestions? Was thinking about headcheese or pigs head torchon, maybe some trotters, fried ears and/or skin, etc.
 
Also, my bresaola came out wicked salty. Can't serve it as is, instead we are going to microplane it over some pasta and basically use it as beef-salt. I cured it for 2 weeks, maybe a shorter cure or a bigger diameter piece next time. Or both.
 
That sounds like a great time. I'd love to have a day to do that. The bresaola over the salad is a delicious idea.

Those piggies are being turned into head cheese. I'm going to get some cheeks in that are bigger for the guanciale. Ever try a zampone? Gently peel the skin back on a trotter down to the knuckle like a tube sock then saw off the bone. Make some sausage out of other parts and stuff into the pig sock. Sew it closed and wrap in foil then poach. Slice like a sausage. Looks awesome on a plate.
 
OK I got out On Food and Cooking, and did some Googling about Charcuterie today. I got so damn hungry I had to stop. I seriously drowning in saliva just thinking about it.

Any suggestions for starter stuff? Preferably cheap, few tools, not as likely to kill my family and me. It would help if I didn't have to wait 8 months to get it, too.
 
Eamon, I would suggest bacon or corned beef. Bratwurst are pretty easy too if you have a stuffer.

-AJ
 
Make some Tasso. Get a pork shoulder. Cut into 1" strips. Coat in the tasso spice of your choosing. Let hang out and be groovy for 4 hrs then smoke. I second the bacon suggestion too. Maybe take a stab at rillettes?
 
I have been wanting to make Corned beef for a while for Reuben's. It's on my short list. Not too sure about the saltpeter. Is there a good way to make it without that. Or am I over thinking this. Do you use saltpeter in yours?
 
Nope. peppercorns, coriander, mustard seed for spices. brined in water, brown sugar, instacure #1 and salt for a month. Then removed, rinsed off, simmered until corned beef
 
Nope. peppercorns, coriander, mustard seed for spices. brined in water, brown sugar, instacure #1 and salt for a month. Then removed, rinsed off, simmered until corned beef

Thank you! Thank you! I will use your method.. Greatly appreciated!
 
Duck prosciutto and bacon are super easy. So is cured salmon. Chicken liver mousse is also cheap and easy.
 
sounds like bacon is a good place to start. Curing salmon sounds like a good way to keep my wife happy!
 
I have been wanting to make Corned beef for a while for Reuben's. It's on my short list. Not too sure about the saltpeter. Is there a good way to make it without that. Or am I over thinking this. Do you use saltpeter in yours?

I made it in school and we did not use saltpeter or instacure. I was told that as long as we were using the product quickly (in our case devouring) it wasn't necessary. For long shelf, then maybe you'd want to use it. Same with the bacon. We did not do any of the long dry aged products were it is probably more important to prevent bacteria growth. Just guessing on that. I know a place in Marietta that uses no added chemicals.

-AJ
 
I made it in school and we did not use saltpeter or instacure. I was told that as long as we were using the product quickly (in our case devouring) it wasn't necessary. For long shelf, then maybe you'd want to use it. Same with the bacon. We did not do any of the long dry aged products were it is probably more important to prevent bacteria growth. Just guessing on that. I know a place in Marietta that uses no added chemicals.

-AJ
Thanks for the comments. Sure mine wouldn't sit around long.:biggrin:
 
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