Greetings from Tasmania

Introductions and chatter

Greetings from Tasmania

Postby Slarti » Sat Apr 11, 2015 10:47 pm

Hello all. My first post.

This looks like a very interesting forum, and I am sure that I will learn a lot. I stumbled upon this site the other day when I was checking on the safety of the white mould on the first batch of Bresaola I have made. (as I thought/hoped, it was fine)

I live in Launceston, Tasmania and my food interests include many things discussed here - I grow as many of our own fruit and veg that I can (small-ish backyard) and process/preserve them to keep throughout the off-seasons, I have had a couple of goes (at christmas times) at curing and smoking hams, but the smoking has only been on an ad-hoc basis on the barbie.

I have recently bought a temperature controlled electric smoking cabinet. So far it has only been used to smoke some chicken breasts, whole chooks, a few goose breasts (yummo!) and tomatoes. Smoking of sea salt didn't work as well as I thought it might. So, many an opportunity to play around with the smoker, making bacon, hams, etc. I will no doubt use knowledge and experience of members here. I have plenty to learn about brining.

I have done the odd fish curing over the years - gravalax, ceviche, hot-smoked, even had a couple of (semi-successful) cold-smoked salmon. But these days it is a matter of access to quality fish and, will the family (3 young daughters) eat it?

I have had the odd dabble in small-goods making - cured pork sausages years ago, and I used to regularly make biltong (I still think mine is better than the many types I tried during a year in South Africa), but would like to take this a bit further. Even down to salami making.

Along the same lines as with cheesemaking. I have made a few fresh cheeses in the past, but will be having a go at a couple of fermented ones in the near future, having bought a small wine fridge recently so I can control the temp during maturation.

So, lots to learn and read up on - I am expecting big things from this site....... :wink:
Slarti
Registered Member
 
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:12 pm

Re: Greetings from Tasmania

Postby NCPaul » Tue Apr 14, 2015 11:12 am

Welcome to the forum. :D There is a wealth of information and plenty of help to be had on this site. I think you are our first member from Tasmania.
Fashionably late will be stylishly hungry.
NCPaul
Site Admin
 
Posts: 2918
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 12:58 am
Location: North Carolina

Re: Greetings from Tasmania

Postby crustyo44 » Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:11 pm

Welcome to the forum Slarti,
Your climate in Tasmania is great for making all kinds of Charcuterie.
A curing chamber is not even required, just a clean lock-up area to hang and dry all sorts of goodies.
A good friend of mine shifted to WA and he is still missing the temperature/ humidity combination
he was used to in regard to curing and drying.
Have you ever tried the UMAi bags for making Coppa, Bresaola etc. They are available now in Melbourne from Misty gully under a different name, plus they have the same style of bag now for smoking and drying all-in-one.
I tried them and I am impressed. Although the chamber cured products are hard to beat.
Keep up the good work.
Cheers,
Jan.
crustyo44
Registered Member
 
Posts: 640
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2010 12:00 am
Location: Brisbane.Australia


Return to Chatter

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests