Intensely lamb

[madbaker]

This week's Resolution Recipe: Lamb Proscuitto Bresaola.

1000 g boned leg of lamb
38 g Diamond kosher salt
14 g black pepper
30 g sugar
2.5 g curing salt #2
0.4 g juniper berries, crushed
10 g rosemary
20 g garlic (Ha! I used... actually that amount.)

Blend the cure and aromatics. Rub the lamb with the cure inside and out covering all available surface area. Place in a Ziploc and seal. Keep in the fridge for 15 days, overhauling (flipping) every other day while redistributing the cure.

Remove lamb, rinse off, pat dry. Trim the lamb as needed, placing trimmings in the center. Roll into as tight of a tube as you can - air pockets are an invitation to bad bacteria. Tie in butcher's knots. Roll lightly in toasted fennel seeds or fennel pollen. Case inside a beef bung. (You may need to Frankenham the bung, depending on the size of the lamb roll.) Hang in a 50-60 degree space with 65-75% humidity until the lamb has lost 30-35% of its green weight, roughly 4 weeks. Vacuum seal for another four weeks to equalize.

Slice thinly and eat.

What worked: This was excellent. Intensely lamb-flavored with notes of rosemary and pepper. I couldn't taste any garlic or juniper, although some others were able to do so. It sliced very thinly and was attractive. (Good thing, because we have about four pounds.) Some of the unsliced leftovers were dynamite in omelettes with red onion and goat cheese.

What didn't: It took longer to dry than the recipe specified - about six weeks. There was a bit of mold that kept developing on the outside of the bung. I kept washing it with vinegar and rubbing with salt. There was also a bit on the inside, but I cut around that once it was out. I also salted it before vac-sealing just in case it re-occurred; this worked to prevent mold, but produced a bit more liquid on the outside (making it trickier to slice) and made it a bit saltier than I generally prefer. Not excessively so, though.

More importantly: while the end couple of inches were proscuitto-dryness, the rest of it was quite moist. It's fully cured and safe to eat; but I have rebranded it as bresaola, which is about the texture it achieved. Once you start slicing, you can't just stop and let it cure more...

Will I make it again? Not any time soon, given how much we have and that it's better consumed in small quantities. Still, I will add it to the recipe book. I'd like to get it to actual proscuitto dryness; that might require three months the way lonza does.

Pre- and post-sliced.

Comments

[hrj.livejournal.com]

*droools*

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

I wasn't able to catch you at a convenient moment to hand you a packet, but it will make appearances at events this year.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I will look forward to that!

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

I am totally making this.

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Two questions: What is beef bung, and if I don't have a vacuum sealer, is this a big problem?

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Beef bung is the large part of the intestine. See here. (http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=85_94_95&products_id=301) Basically, you need something to help keep moisture in while it dries and cures, and 35mm casings just aren't going to fit around a rolled-up lamb leg.

The vac-sealer usage helps equalize - that is, combat case hardening by allowing redistribution of moisture throughout the whole muscle - but you don't have to do that last step. It just can help it look nicer.

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

My Prague Powder no. 2 arrived today. I'll be mixing up the cure/seasonings tomorrow!

[joycebre.livejournal.com]

this looks delicious!

[rustmon.livejournal.com]

Damn, that looks SO good.....

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Green weight: Is that before it's been cured and seasoned, or before it's been bunged up?

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

"Green weight" refers to pre-drying weight. Most accurately would be without the bung (which will weigh less when it dries as well) but generally the bung weight is a relatively insignificant part of the whole. Prep it for hanging, weigh it, multiply by .7 for a target.

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Excellent. I'll be prepping it for hanging tomorrow night!

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

4 weeks in, it's down from 1092g to 788g, with a target of 765-710g. Given how cold and damp it is in the attic, I wasn't expecting things to go so quickly.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

It's amazing how quickly it initially loses weight. Science!
I just started a small second batch yesterday. In a couple weeks I can hang it, this time for three months to see if that gets it to proscuitto texture. I'm also going to be using the curing fridge, which is significantly drier even with a pan of water in it.

[aryanhwy]

Today, we will find out badly things go awry when the "cure in the fridge" stage lasts for 4-5 weeks instead of two.

I sure hope the answer is "not badly at all".

[madbaker]

I routinely go about six weeks, but it really depends on the environment and subsequent weight loss. Google says Durham's average July temperature is closer to 60 F than 80 F, which is perfect curing temperature.