I got curious about the Tuscan Salami, which, although it had only been in the cabinet for 10 days seemed to be getting pretty solid.  To my surprise, the weight had dropped by 38-45%, vs. the 30% it should have lost to be considered “done”.  I cut one open, and it looked pretty good, so I pulled them all out and sealed them up.

They’re pretty delicious - you can taste the fennel, the garlic and the tang from the fermentation.  A very distinct difference from the Saucisson Sec.

Tuscan Salami

For the record, I probably won’t hand-cut the fat again.  The chunks, while visually striking, are too big and tough (yes, tough!).  I noticed Kate and Charlotte picking the fat bits out of theirs before they eat it.  I’m also not too sure I’m going to fool with the mold on the outside again.

With the O’Brien clan descending on us once again it was time to put those confitted duck legs to work.  I extricated them from the duck fat they were stored in (which took some work), then shredded them in the mixer with a little bit of broth and the fat I couldn’t scrape off the legs.  Turned out perfectly - although I served them on rice crackers, which detracted from the flavor.  Should have had a baguette.

The ham seemed to be salty enough as well.  It was certainly firm all over.  After rinsing it off, I took out some of the lard I’d rendered earlier and saved and slathered it all over the exposed parts of the meat, then wrapped it tightly in cheesecloth and tied it up.  It goes into the curing cabinet for… four months to a year!  We may be eating it next Christmas.

The Mummified Ham

I decided the pork loin was as cured as it was going to get.   It was not as firm as if it were cooked, but firmer than when it started, and it didn’t smell at all.  I rinsed off the cure, dried it out and stuffed it into the hog middles.

There had been some anxiety about whether they would fit, but after soaking the middles for an hour or so they were soft and easy to work with.  After they dried of a bit, I hung them in the curing cabinet.

Stuffing the Lonzino

I pulled the ham out of the fridge where it’s been hiding from me for the past two weeks.  It’s firmed up nicely, but there were a few soft patches, so I covered it again with salt and sent it back to the fridge for a few days.

Salted Ham

Time to take out the pancetta that’s been drying.  It looks great.  I cut it up into four pieces and sealed it to be frozen, but not before cooking a few slices up.  Salty, but great.  Probably should be blanched before using in a recipe.

Dried Pancetta

There’s a fair bit of mold growning on the Tuscan Salami.  It started out yesterday looking like frost.  It’s a bit uneven, but maybe it will grow in.

Not much news.  The beneficial white mold hasn’t really made much more progress.  I should have wrapped up the Pancetta and baked the bacon which have been curing in the fridge, but I was too busy putting a gate opener on the driveway gate Kate put in.  Tomorrow.  The duck pancetta should be done as well, but it seems a little soft when I squeezed it a couple of days ago.

The ham (or “dammed ham”, as it is known) actually seems to be firming up.  Maybe something will come of it.

A new shipment from Butcher and Packer came today: mold, mold and more mold, along with some pH paper (what did happen to the first pack I ordered?) and some hog middles.  I’m hoping to make some Coppa, some Bresaola and, as you might guess, some Garlic Sausage with the middles.  They didn’t come in a nice PVC jar, just a pile of intestines in a plastic bag.  I whisked them down to the fridge before my guests saw them.

I’m having some trouble with humidity levels in the curing cabinet.  It was down at 56% today, even with a pan of water (with salt) inside.  I may have to turn on a humidifier.

More good news this morning: The longest of my sopresatta has a little bit of white mold on it!  Humidity was down to 60%, so I turned off the humidifier.  Later in the morning it was back up to 70%.  The sausages are getting a bumpy look.

Got back from Vermont this evening, and to my great relief, the Saucisson Sec has turned the same color red as the Sopressata.  I’m feeling very good right now.  Duck breasts look good.  I overhauled the bacon and pancetta.