pancetta, lomo, curing process

[aeddon]

hello all

I love sausages, salami and cured meats so i guess this is the place to be

I've been lurking around for a while now and feel its time to jump in and ask questions.

I have a kenwood chef + mincer+stuffer attachment to make sausages and feel a bit of trial and error wont have much bearing on my health. so will just try and try again until i've had enough of sausages(if thats possible) or I'm to fat to make them anymore

But am more wary about making salami and curing meats and its an investment: time and money. the meats i love (as most do) are pancetta, parma ham, coppa/lomo, kabanos, chorizos and... well all salami

i'm wanting to cure meat cuts the most. working my way up to whole parma ham legs. but want to start with smaller cuts like pancetta and lomo.

i have searched and researched the process, but as still a little unclear.

I know its seams unclear what questions i'm actually asking but want a little reassurance is all. the process seams to be far too simple to be true and i must be missing something? is the preocess really as follows and does it rely on a proper regulated enviroment (hydromiter/temp fridge)

Do i just hang the meat in the fridge untill cured, with bowl of water in the bottom, i have an air pump that can bubble up in the water to creat more of a humid environment. do i need to air the fridge daily?

can this be done without the exact temp/humidity levels mentioned in previous threads. doesnt the enclosed fridge curing setup encourage bacterial growth - warm, damp and stagnant!

I know this may be a silly question: but does the cure... well cure the meat? what are the parameters of this cure working? how/when will it not work?

Curing to untrained eye goes against everything your taught about meat, leaving meat out in the air, rotten meat, meat going off etc... seams hanging out in the open seams wrong and have to go against my instinct that says 'keep it in the fridge, use in three days'

so is it:

1-rub half of the parma cure into the meat and cure it in a ziplock bag for 15days in a fridge,
2-then rub the remaining amount into the meat and left for a further 15days
3-then i need to start curing proper. hang in fridge untill cured - which is when?


if read these threads:
Paul Kribs re: lomo: rehaps you could help me out. your picture has inspired me two buy to loin eyes, picking up on sat and i dont even have the cure yet!!!!!! so will wack in the firdge

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=977&highlight=lomo

other threads that I have perticularly caught my attention
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=953&highlight=pancetta
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=927&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=pancetta&start=0

sorry to waffle, but would apprecaite you lot washing away my doughts if you can

cheers

aeddon

[Paul Kribs]

aeddon

I am pretty new to all this myself, but of course I will help if I can. All the relevant information is already on the forum regarding the Lomo. Just use the 'search' facility and type in 'lomo'.
I know exactly what you mean about being apprehensive about curing, thats why I started by curing some bacon, which is very straightforward, to boost my confidence.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Platypus]

Yep aeddon it really is that simple.

The thing to remember is that most of this kind of curing was developed before life became complicated

You don't need a fridge to do the curing (just a cold space) but if you are going to use one then I would recomend that it is 'aired' occasionally so that it doesn't become too stale. If you can check or control the humidity your results will be more consistant but again not essential.

The main thing is to have a go......
If you get stuck or are unsure about something, just ask.

Regards
Platypus

[aeddon]

cheers guys

i read and re-read lots of threads, read lon poli's site over and over but still wasnt sure. I always try and read up before asking.

how crucial is the intial fermenting temp range. does a few degrees matter? is it like yeast - active at a certain temp? and inactive dead if pass this temp

If its cold and damp then my bedroom will be fine. i end up spending most of my nights in m'honeys room, which aint all bad i have access to freezer, and have a sonic humidifer from my mushroom growing antics, also an air pump runningthrough water hikes up the RH quite a bit.

sorry to diverg but - platypus: are you the eklund knifemaking platypus from RC? if so hope alls well- will update the RC thread on my progress.

[Erikht]

Hello there aeddon, you keep popping up.

I don't think the exact grades are that crucial. Many of these products has been made for thousands of years, before anybody had the technology needed to control, and far less to measure, the temperature and humidity. The most important is that you are within the safety levels, and that the inviroment is the right kind of inviroment-cool and dry, cool and humid etc. Ideal temperatures are nice guidelines, but you can fail on either side. That said, have the ideal conditions as goals, so that you don't do anything dangerous.

[Paul Kribs]

Nicely said Erikht, my thoughts exactly.

aeddon, if you have any quieries just post on this forum and you generally get sound and quick advice I have found.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[aeddon]

crikey we dont half get around!

like i said, its the instinct questioning me.

Will start with some lomo then abit of pancetta followed by some kabano will read u on parson snows scientific explanation threads

[Paul Kribs]

aeddon

When I did my lomo, I only cured it for 15 days before washing and hanging to dry out, although I mixed some sweet paprika and some hot smoked paprika with the cure. The reason why Franco recommends 2 curing periods is because it is destined for a leg of pork, which has a lot more density/thickness. I am sure I will be corrected if I am wrong on this point. I believe I am correct though as the lomo turned out superbly, and I have eaten most of it and am here to tell you about it. For the hanging period I covered the Lomo with a sweet paprika/lard mix. I did not stuff the Lomo into a casing. The lard paprika mix is easily removed with a hot damp cloth. The hardest part of the process IMO is trying to cut it thinly. When cutting the Lomo use as thin bladed a knife as possible, very sharp and wipe the protien from the blade with a wet cloth at every slice. Hope this inspires you with the confidence to take the first step, when you eat your first couple of slices you will realise you have done the right thing. I would advise anybody interested in curing to first try with bacon and the next step to cure a loin eye.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Platypus]

aeddon,

Yes that's me on RC. The knife is almost finished now and only needs a couple more coats of Danish oil. I will post some pictures this weekend.
I have just ordered the materials for the sheath from Le Prevo