With the Saucisson Sec disappearing rapidly (especially with Kate’s Dad here and the rest of her family showing up for dinner each night), I decided another batch was in order.  I’d met John last Sunday, but was only able to pick up a single shoulder, so I didn’t have enough for a second batch of something.

Everything went very smootly, although the fat seemed to be getting a bit old and had some slimey stuff on it, which I washed off.

I put them in the cabinet without weighing them, figuring I knew how they felt when they were done at this point.

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.

As good as Pancetta is on its own, I figured it was time to try a new recipe. I was on my way to San Francisco for work a couple weeks ago, and I came across this photo in GQ:

It’s focaccia with parmesan, PANCETTA, and, the coup de grace, a fried egg. Of course, I was determined to try it.

Friday night we had Erin and Peter over for dinner. I had been brining pork chops (got them from Paul at Countrytime Farm), but wasn’t sure what to do for a starter. As I was wrapping up my shopping for the evening, I picked up some pizza dough from Genuardi’s. After kneading it a bit, I doused it in olive oil, sprinkled it (liberally) with parmesan, covered it in slices of pancetta, and heaved it into the oven (at 450) for about 10 minutes. As soon as it came out, I fried a couple eggs and put them on top.

Yes, it tastes that good.

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

Two weeks have passed, and I was thinking of letting it age longer, but Jeff emailed me to say his Pancetta (I cured about a 1 lb piece that I had leftover and gave it to him to age) was terrific. I couldn’t resist, so I went out to inspect mine. The fat was still pleasantly moist, but when I touched the muscle exposed to the air, it was as hard as plastic. I figured it had something to do with the humidity, and I decided to cut it down right there so I could put it in a plastic bag with a moist towel to re-moisturize it.

Of course, once I got it inside I HAD TO slice off a piece, right? Well, it was AMAZING!!! As Jeff pointed out later, there is a distinct salty flavor that hangs on a little too long, but other than that it’s tremendous. The pepper is dominant (and next time I won’t use quite as much), but you can get a whiff of the other flavors too: garlic and juniper being the most strident. I can’t wait to try it some different dishes.

Let’s establish a timeline here. I was born June 13, 1980. Micha and I married June 19, 2004. August was born June 24, 2008. 

And on September 20, 2008, I purchased my first Pork Belly. My last posting dealt with the initial dry curing. After a week, I rinsed off all the cure, thoroughly dried the belly, rolled it up tight, and hung it in the drying chamber (old fridge with Dad’s line-voltage thermometer to keep it at 55 degrees). 

If you choose to roll Pancetta, it’s important to make it tight so no air gets inside where mold can grow. You also need to keep it in the dark, since light will turn the fat rancid. Refrigerators dry the air a lot, so I put a pan of salted water in the fridge to try to keep it humid (looking for 70%). The salt is there to keep away the bacteria.

Whether or not I really needed to put it in the drying chamber I don’t know. Pancetta’s supposedly the easiest cured meat in the world–easier even than bacon, which is smoked. Most people just hang it in their kitchen. 

Let’s get one thing straight: tying Pancetta is difficult. It doesn’t want to stay rolled. I don’t know how to tie it. I made it all up. It took me a long time. But when I was done. It looked SOLID. I was so proud that I treated myself to some Pappy Van Winkle (the best Bourbon ever).

I really like how this one makes it look like Heavenly light is shining down on the Pancetta.

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