![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Lonza.
I almost made the header "The loin will lie down with the lamb", but there's no lamb involved.
"While making proscuitto at home is beyond what most home cooks can handle in terms of time or curing conditions, lonza - air-dried pork loin - is much more doable and is a good stand-in in many recipes. It's quicker to make, yet when thinly sliced yields the same slightly sweet and silky meat that proscuitto provides."
Note: I made a 2/3 batch, or 6 pounds.
4 quarts water
1 pound / 3 cups kosher salt
10 oz / 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup curing salt #1
(I added about a head of garlic, crushed, and maybe 3 Tbsp juniper berries, crushed)
3 3-lb center-cut pork loin, with 1/4" fat layer (Note: make sure there is fat on the loins as it helps to keep the meat from becoming too dry during aging)
3 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
Pour the water into a large plastic tub. Add the salt, sugar, curing salt and let dissolve. (Mix in garlic and juniper.) Put the pork loin pieces in a large rectangular storage container so that they lie flat. Pour in the cure until the loins are completely submerged, weight them down with a small plate, and cover and store in the fridge.
After 5 days, remove the loins, stir the cure, and return the meat to the liquid. Cure for another week. Remove the loins and discard the brine. Pat the loin pieces dry and sprinkle each with a tablespoon of black pepper. Hang the loins in a cool basement where the temperature does not exceed 55 F (I used the spare fridge) for 2-3 months.
What worked: I took out one of the two pieces yesterday after two months. It sliced up beautifully (see pictures below) and tasted excellent, especially with cantaloupe from our CSA. I wrapped the pieces in cheesecloth that had been soaked in Bactoferm FRM-52, aka sausage mold, and while that didn't impart any good mold it helped keep any bad stuff from forming. I like using the cheesecloth as it provides a nice barrier, is easy to tie around, and generally easy to remove.
What didn't: John and I agreed that it needed another month. Even with a pan of water I let it get too dry and it was rock hard. I didn't need to freeze it to slice thinly. However, the fat layer did keep it from drying out too much as promised - there was only a slight dark ring around parts of the outside.
Will I make it again? Definitely, although not until we eat up this batch. However I am planning to order some pork shoulder next week so that I can make coppa, which is essentially the same process with a different cut of meat.
What I'm reading: David Brin, The Practice Effect
I almost made the header "The loin will lie down with the lamb", but there's no lamb involved.
"While making proscuitto at home is beyond what most home cooks can handle in terms of time or curing conditions, lonza - air-dried pork loin - is much more doable and is a good stand-in in many recipes. It's quicker to make, yet when thinly sliced yields the same slightly sweet and silky meat that proscuitto provides."
Note: I made a 2/3 batch, or 6 pounds.
4 quarts water
1 pound / 3 cups kosher salt
10 oz / 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup curing salt #1
(I added about a head of garlic, crushed, and maybe 3 Tbsp juniper berries, crushed)
3 3-lb center-cut pork loin, with 1/4" fat layer (Note: make sure there is fat on the loins as it helps to keep the meat from becoming too dry during aging)
3 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
Pour the water into a large plastic tub. Add the salt, sugar, curing salt and let dissolve. (Mix in garlic and juniper.) Put the pork loin pieces in a large rectangular storage container so that they lie flat. Pour in the cure until the loins are completely submerged, weight them down with a small plate, and cover and store in the fridge.
After 5 days, remove the loins, stir the cure, and return the meat to the liquid. Cure for another week. Remove the loins and discard the brine. Pat the loin pieces dry and sprinkle each with a tablespoon of black pepper. Hang the loins in a cool basement where the temperature does not exceed 55 F (I used the spare fridge) for 2-3 months.
What worked: I took out one of the two pieces yesterday after two months. It sliced up beautifully (see pictures below) and tasted excellent, especially with cantaloupe from our CSA. I wrapped the pieces in cheesecloth that had been soaked in Bactoferm FRM-52, aka sausage mold, and while that didn't impart any good mold it helped keep any bad stuff from forming. I like using the cheesecloth as it provides a nice barrier, is easy to tie around, and generally easy to remove.
What didn't: John and I agreed that it needed another month. Even with a pan of water I let it get too dry and it was rock hard. I didn't need to freeze it to slice thinly. However, the fat layer did keep it from drying out too much as promised - there was only a slight dark ring around parts of the outside.
Will I make it again? Definitely, although not until we eat up this batch. However I am planning to order some pork shoulder next week so that I can make coppa, which is essentially the same process with a different cut of meat.
| Lonza |
 |
What I'm reading: David Brin, The Practice Effect
