Cotechino catastrophy

[Massimo Maddaloni]

Hello all,
I probably should post in the "cotechino curing" thread but this is a real emergency and I need all the visibility I can get. OK, we are in Italy, where it's hotter than hell, for a short Easter vacation. My daughter and me cockily boasted about how good we are at making sausages 'n stuff. Given the short time frame we decided to go for cotechino (that's why I asked how long curing would take). Anyway, we mixed lean pork shoulder, rind and neck trimmings in proportion that is not significantly different from what reported in most recipes. Spicing is as per Jason's 2009 recipe except we didn't find caraway so we skept that. Casing is 61mm collagen tied with twine. Cooking time was 3.5 hours simmering. We had three problems. The first is minor in that some water entered the casing. The second is relevant in that the meat inside the casing is falling apart and doesn't hold together. The third is catastrofic because the "cotechino", although not unpleasant, tastes like tin meat and not at all like cotechino. What could have we done wrong?
Thank you for your assistance.
Regards
Massimo

[NCPaul]

After cooking the cotechino, I would cool it overnight to allow the gelatin from the pork skin to set the meat. If it's cut immediately after cooking, the liquid gelatin will leak out and leave a poor texture. Warm it gently the next day before serving. I've not tasted cotechino so I have no advice for the taste. Enjoy Italy.

[jasonmolinari]

Massimo it sounds like you didn't mix the meat enough to get it to form a bind, and that caused it to crumble when you cooked it.

If the meat is nice and cold mix it for a good 2-3 minutes at least. You'll see a white film on the bowl which is the myosin in the meat being pulled out by the salt and by mechanical mixing.

I know everyone always says to treat the meat delicately, but a good mixing is necessary, especially if everything is kept nice and cold.

The tin meat flavor i'm not sure about....

[jasonmolinari]

Also the beauty and most delicious time to eat cotechino is right after cooking..and 3.5 hours is a bit long. 2 hrs at a very very very gentile simmer should be more than enouhg.

[Scotty2]

As far as I'm concerned, if not eaten immediately after cooking, you've missed the boat. I've eaten them the next day and they were completely different.