Anyone want to help with a pancetta tesa?

Air dried cured Meat Techniques

Anyone want to help with a pancetta tesa?

Postby jasonmolinari » Fri Aug 20, 2004 5:31 pm

Hey, trying to make a pancetta tesa, and i'm looking for recipe and curing conditions. I've tried a few recipes, and i'm currently curing it at 50 deg. F (10deg. C) and about 55% RH...but it isn't seeming to come out right..

Franco, where in sardegna are your parents from? I grew up in Italy, and have a house in La Maddalena.

any help?
thanks
jason
jasonmolinari
Registered Member
 
Posts: 149
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 5:29 pm

Postby aris » Fri Aug 20, 2004 6:58 pm

aris
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1875
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:36 pm
Location: UK

Postby jasonmolinari » Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:58 pm

Aris, that is where i get most of my recipes, but that is a pancetta arrotolata (rolled up), i'm trying to make one which is flat. I'm mimicking his conditions, but it doesn't seem to be turning out right....

jason
jasonmolinari
Registered Member
 
Posts: 149
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 5:29 pm

Postby Spuddy » Fri Aug 20, 2004 8:40 pm

The drying conditions are different for tesa compared to arrotolata as it is thinner.
Often tesa is smoked whereas arrotolata is not.
What are you finding is wrong with it?
User avatar
Spuddy
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1314
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Angmering, West Sussex, UK.

Postby aris » Fri Aug 20, 2004 8:41 pm

Ah ok.. Yes.. i've seen the flat one. Actually I saw some on a re-run of Nigella Bites on UK Food last night and got very envious :-)

Actually, it looked very dark compared to regular bacon - as if they didn't use nitrates to keep it pink, or perhaps it was smoked to give it that colour.

Why don't you e-mail Len Poli - perhaps he has a recipe.
aris
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1875
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:36 pm
Location: UK

Postby jasonmolinari » Fri Aug 20, 2004 8:45 pm

Yeah, it does look a lot darker, and it is generally much drier.

I'll shoot len an email..

jason
jasonmolinari
Registered Member
 
Posts: 149
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 5:29 pm

pancetta

Postby Franco » Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:57 am

Hi Jason,

I have made pancetta a few times with varying degrees of success, I usually skin a large belly and rub in my bacon cure, I then let it cure for 3 days in the fridge then wash the belly and dry it then apply a mix of some ground black pepper, sea salt, dry garlic and crushed rosemary.

I then let this hang in a dry place for around 2 weeks rubbing more mix in every couple of days. A black crust will eventually form which is typical of pancetta tesa.

I have tried this same method for speck but using shoulder instead of belly and adding crushed juniper berries to the mixx.

By the way the family is from Alghero which is pretty to close to Madelena.


Cherers

Franco
User avatar
Franco
Site Admin
 
Posts: 627
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:12 pm
Location: Bolton, England

Postby aris » Sun Aug 22, 2004 3:43 pm

Franco - can you give us some ideas of where to find a 'dry place' in a typical UK home?
aris
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1875
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:36 pm
Location: UK

dry place

Postby Franco » Sun Aug 22, 2004 3:52 pm

I usually leave any salami to dry in the attic, this is quite warm and not humid so it is fine for the later stages of salami production, an other ideal place is an airer cupboard but with the advent of combi boilers these seem to be disappearing.





Franco
User avatar
Franco
Site Admin
 
Posts: 627
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:12 pm
Location: Bolton, England

Postby aris » Sun Aug 22, 2004 3:53 pm

I wonder if my biltongbox would be good. Perhaps If I added some sort of humidistat. What sort of humidity levels are required?
aris
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1875
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:36 pm
Location: UK

Postby aris » Sun Aug 22, 2004 4:05 pm

aris
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1875
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:36 pm
Location: UK

Postby jasonmolinari » Mon Aug 23, 2004 2:11 am

Hey Franco..what temperature do you keep the pancetta at while it is drying? I have one in my fridge (cold and very dry), and it seems to have dried a lot on the surface...maybe too much so. Once the suface is dry how do you get the rub to stick to it?

The other is at 10deg. C and 55% humidity, but it always seems to develop an odd smell..not bad but not like i remember the beautiful smell of pancetta...

jason
jasonmolinari
Registered Member
 
Posts: 149
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 5:29 pm


Return to Curing Techniques

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests

cron