Rustic Italian Food Page 15
Fit the meat grinder with the large die, then scatter the kosher salt, dextrose, black pepper, fennel seeds, and curing salt over the cold meat and fat. Put on plastic gloves, then stick your hands in a large bowl of ice until very cold, almost painful. Place the bowl of a stand mixer in the large bowl of ice. Mix together the meat and seasonings with your hands, then set the grinder on high speed. Grind the meat, fat, and seasonings into the mixer bowl. Dump the mixture back onto the baking sheet and grind it a second time.
Pour the wine over the meat, then set the bowl in the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until the mixture is sticky, like wet bread dough, about 2 minutes.
Cut the beef middles toto 1½-foot lengths and tie one end tightly with butcher’s string. Attach a large sausage stuffer tube to the food grinder. Grease the stuffer tube with some of the meat mixture. The next step of stuffing the sausage is much easier with two people: if you can, have one person feed in the meat and the other person handle the casing as it fills up. Feed some of the meat mixture into the feed tube on high speed until it just starts to poke out the end of the sausage stuffer. Turn off the machine. Slip the open end of a casing onto the stuffer all the way to the end, like putting a sock on your foot. Put pressure on the end of the casing so it’s gently pressed against the stuffer. Turn the machine to high speed and feed in the meat. Keep gentle pressure on the casing so the meat packs into the middle of the casing as tightly as possible. You want no air in there. As the meat gets stuffed into the casing, the meat should surround at least 1 inch of the end of the stuffer tube to prevent air from getting into the sausage. Constantly check the sausage for air bubbles, working them out the open end of the casing as necessary. Continue stuffing the meat into the casing until you have a firm sausage about 1 foot long.
Remove the stuffed casing from the stuffer, grab the open end, and squeeze it down tightly against the meat to pack it firmly. Twist the open end several times against the meat until the sausage is firm and sealed. Tie off the twisted end with butcher’s string, leaving enough extra string for hanging. Repeat with more tied casings until the meat mixture is used up.
Ferment the sausage in a warm (80°F to 90°F), dark place with 100 percent humidity for 36 hours. See Fermentation for options on setting up the fermentation environment.
After fermentation, hang the sausage in a cool (50°F to 55°F), dark place with some air circulation and 75 percent humidity until the salami feels firm yet slightly pliable, usually 6 to 8 weeks (see Equipment and Doneness for options on setting up the curing environment). Check the salami every couple of days. It should feel a little tacky on the surface and lose 25 to 30 percent of its weight. Some white mold is okay, but a thick covering of mold usually means the humidity is too high. If the casing becomes hard and brittle, the humidity is too low.
Remove and store in the refrigerator for several months.
BEVERAGE—Casa Girelli, Primitivo 2007 “Virtuoso” (Puglia): Herbal spice and rich, dried fruit and earth flavors characterize this Primitivo, which is the genetic equivalent of Zinfandel.
Chorizo
I have tasted chorizos for years, but I never really had one I liked until I went to Barcelona. There, in La Boqueria, the big main market, I found the perfect texture and flavor: firm yet pliable, not quite spicy, but redolent with the smoky aroma of pimentón, and perfectly salted. Everything was dead on. When I got home, I started experimenting to re-create that exact flavor and texture. I think this is pretty damn close. It’s milder than the heavily spiced Spanish chorizo you might be used to. And don’t confuse it with Mexican chorizo, which is an uncooked fresh sausage.
MAKES ABOUT 3½ POUNDS (ABOUT EIGHT 12-INCH-LONG SALAMI)
4 pounds (1.8 kg) boneless pork butt (shoulder), cubed
1 pound (500 g) pork fatback, cubed
2 cloves garlic (7.5 g), smashed
¼ cup plus 4 teaspoons (75 g) red wine
½ cup plus 1½ teaspoons (70 g) kosher salt
10½ teaspoons (25 g) dextrose powder, or 8 teaspoons (21 g) superfine sugar
3 tablespoons (24 g) pimentón (smoked paprika)
1 tablespoon (10 g) cracked pepper
1 teaspoon (6 g) curing salt No. 2
Beef middles, soaked in cold water for 1 hour, then rinsed inside and out
Freeze the pork and fatback in a single layer on a baking sheet until firm but not solid, about 1 hour. At the same time, freeze all the parts to a meat grinder. Soak the garlic in the wine for 30 minutes, then discard the garlic and keep the wine.
Fit the meat grinder with the large die, then scatter the kosher salt, dextrose, pimentón, black pepper, and curing salt over the cold meat and fat. Put on plastic gloves, then stick your hands in a large bowl of ice until very cold, almost painful. Place the bowl of a stand mixer in the large bowl of ice. Mix together the meat and seasonings with your hands, then set the grinder on high speed. Grind the meat, fat, and seasonings into the mixer bowl. Dump the mixture back onto the baking sheet and grind it a second time.
Pour the wine over the meat, then set the bowl in the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until the mixture is sticky, like wet bread dough, about 2 minutes.
Cut the beef middles into 1½-foot lengths and tie one end tightly with butcher’s string. Attach a large sausage stuffer tube to the food grinder. Grease the stuffer tube with some of the meat mixture. The next step of stuffing the sausage is much easier with two people: if you can, have one person feed in the meat and the other person handle the casing as it fills up. Feed some of the meat mixture into the feed tube on high speed until it just starts to poke out the end of the sausage stuffer. Turn off the machine. Slip the open end of a casing onto the stuffer all the way to the end, like putting a sock on your foot. Put pressure on the end of the casing so it’s gently pressed against the stuffer. Turn the machine to high speed and feed in the meat. Keep gentle pressure on the casing so the meat packs into the middle of the casing as tightly as possible. You want no air in there. As the meat gets stuffed into the casing, the meat should surround at least 1 inch of the end of the stuffer tube to prevent air from getting into the sausage. Constantly check the sausage for air bubbles, working them out the open end of the casing as necessary. Continue stuffing the meat into the casing until you have a firm sausage about 1 foot long.
Remove the stuffed casing from the stuffer, grab the open end, and squeeze it down tightly against the meat to pack it firmly. Twist the open end several times against the meat until the sausage is firm and sealed. Tie off the twisted end with butcher’s string, leaving enough extra string for hanging. Repeat with more tied casings until the meat mixture is used up.
Ferment the sausage in a warm (80°F to 90°F), dark place with 100 percent humidity for 36 hours. See Fermentation for options on setting up the fermentation environment.
After fermentation, hang the sausage in a cool (50°F to 55°F), dark place with some air circulation and 75 percent humidity until the salami feels firm yet slightly pliable, usually 6 to 8 weeks (see Equipment and Doneness for options on setting up the curing environment). Check the salami every couple of days. It should feel a little tacky on the surface and lose 25 to 30 percent of its weight. Some white mold is okay, but a thick covering of mold usually means the humidity is too high. If the casing becomes hard and brittle, the humidity is too low.
Remove and store in the refrigerator for several months.
BEVERAGE—Bastianich, Rosato 2008 (Friuli)/Beba, Toro Doppio Malto NV (Piedmont): The Rosato is made from the Refosco grape, which produces a deep rosy color, a hefty mouthfeel, and pronounced spice and red fruit flavors that stand up well to the smoky, spicy chorizo. Or try a beer with this sausage. Toro Doppio Malto from Piedmont complements the chorizo by imparting a nutty caramel component that softens its spice.
Beef Speck
The region of Tyrol is part Italian, part Austrian, and famous for the lightly smoked, juniper-scented dry-cured ham calle
d speck. Even though pork leg is traditional, I wanted to show you that beef makes great speck, too. I love it sliced paper-thin and draped on a plate like carpaccio, with some lumps of Gorgonzola cheese and pickled vegetables.
MAKES ABOUT 4 POUNDS
5 pounds (2.25 kg) beef top round
⅔ cup plus 1¼ teaspoons (100 g) kosher salt
5¼ teaspoons (12.5 g) dextrose or 4 teaspoons (10.5 g) superfine sugar
½ teaspoon (2 g) crushed garlic
1 teaspoon (1.5 g) ground black pepper
1 teaspoon (6 g) curing salt No. 2
½ teaspoon (2 g) ground juniper berries
¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) red pepper flakes
Rinse the beef and pat it dry. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a shallow plastic tub with an airtight lid.
Wearing plastic gloves, add the beef to the cure and rub the cure all over the meat. Cover and refrigerate for 10 days. Wearing gloves, turn over the beef every day or so and rub with the liquid from the bottom of the tub.
Rinse the beef, pat it dry, and set it on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate for 1 day to dry the surface and form a sort of “skin” known as a pellicle. The surface should feel somewhat tacky, a texture that helps absorb smoke aromas.
Lightly smoke the beef using very low heat (100 to 125°F) and oak or hickory wood for 30 minutes. On a stove top, you can put wood chips or shavings on one side of a large roasting pan, then put a small wire rack on the other side of the pan. Set the chips side of the pan over a burner on medium-high heat until you see smoke (turn on your hood vent or open a window). Lower the heat to medium and set the beef on the rack on the opposite side of the pan, away from the heat. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and smoke for 30 minutes. Peek under the cover once or twice to make sure the chips are still smoking. If they burn up, replenish them.
After smoking, if there is any moisture on the surface of the beef, pat it dry. Tie butcher’s string securely around the beef in several places or lengthwise through the top of it using a trussing needle. You could also put the beef in a mesh meat bag.
Hang the speck in a cool (50°F to 55°F), dark environment with some air circulation and 75 percent humidity until it feels firm yet slightly pliable, usually 4 to 5 months. It should feel a little tacky on the surface and lose 20 to 25 percent of its original weight. A little white mold is okay. See Curing for options on setting up the curing environment.
BEVERAGE—Piccolo Birrificio “Chiostro”: The herbal spice from the juniper in this salumi is what sets it apart on a charcuterie board. I can think of nothing better to drink with it than Chiostro, a witbier from Liguria that’s scented with wormwood from a dash of absinthe in the beer.
Coppa
When I started making salumi, I messed around with coppa a lot. I made it with whole pork butt and with cut-up pieces. I tried hanging the coppa with nothing around it, and I tried stuffing it in cheesecloth. What I liked best was stuffing the whole muscle into beef bungs. Pork butt, or shoulder, is an uneven cut because of all the bone that is removed, and stuffing it into a big casing helps it hold its shape so it’s easier to slice when fully cured. By the way, this is the “cold cut” that you often find on submarine sandwiches called “capicola” or, even worse, “gabagool.” Let’s just call this salumi what it is: coppa. Be sure to slice it paper-thin or it will be too chewy.
MAKES ABOUT 4 POUNDS
5 pounds (2.25 kg) boneless pork butt (shoulder) in one piece
⅔ cup plus 1¼ teaspoons (100 g) kosher salt
5¼ teaspoons (12.5 g) dextrose powder, or 4 teaspoons (10.5 g) superfine sugar
1 teaspoon (3.5 g) cracked pepper
2 cloves garlic (7.5 g), minced
1 teaspoon (6 g) curing salt No. 2
Leaves from 3 to 4 sprigs rosemary (6 g), chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1 beef bung, about 1½ feet long, soaked in cold water for 1 hour, then rinsed inside and out
Rinse the pork and pat it dry. Combine all the remaining ingredients except the bung in a shallow plastic tub with an airtight lid.
Wearing plastic gloves, add the pork to the cure and rub the cure all over the meat. Cover and refrigerate for 15 days. Wearing gloves, turn over the pork every day or so and rub with the liquid from the bottom of the tub.
Rinse the pork and pat dry, then stuff it into the beef bung, packing it in tight and massaging the bung so the meat takes the oblong shape of the bung. Twist the open end of the bung tightly against the pork. Tie butcher’s string tightly around the twisted end to seal it, leaving extra string for hanging.
Hang the coppa in a dark environment with some air circulation at 50°F to 55°F and 75 percent humidity until it feels firm yet slightly pliable, 2 to 3 months. It should feel a little tacky on the surface and lose 20 to 25 percent of its original weight. See Curing for options on setting up the curing environment.
BEVERAGE—Monteflor, Friulano 2009 “Satis” (Friuli): Friulano is the classic wine to pair with salumi. The wine has bright acidity and light flavors of lemon oil with salty minerality. This is a great example of how a modest wine can be elevated by its food pairing.
Pancetta
Americans tend to like pork bellies smoked and cured with lots of sugar. That’s American bacon. Italians usually skip the smoke and let the pork belly speak for itself. Pure and simple. You often see pancetta rolled, but this flat method is much easier. When you roll pancetta, you need to make it airtight. If you don’t, there will be air pockets that let bacteria grow, which can ruin the pancetta. Making flat pancetta gives you the same flavor and texture but without the added risk. You can use this pancetta anywhere you would normally use bacon.
MAKES ABOUT 4 POUNDS
5 pounds (2.25 kg) pork belly
⅔ cup plus 1¼ teaspoons (100 g) kosher salt
5¾ teaspoons (25 g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (6 g) curing salt No. 2
1 teaspoon (3 g) ground pepper
½ teaspoon (1.5 g) ground cinnamon
Rinse the pork belly and pat it dry. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a shallow plastic tub with an airtight lid.
Wearing plastic gloves, add the pork belly to the cure and rub the cure all over the belly. Cover and refrigerate for 10 to 12 days. Wearing gloves, turn over the belly every day or so and rub with the liquid from the bottom of the tub.
Rinse the belly and pat it dry. Tie butcher’s string securely around the belly in several places or lengthwise through the top of it using a trussing needle, leaving extra string for hanging. You could also put the belly in a mesh meat bag.
Hang the pancetta in a dark environment with some air circulation at 50°F to 55°F and 75 percent humidity until it feels firm yet slightly pliable, 2 to 3 months. It should feel a little tacky on the surface and lose 20 to 25 percent of its original weight. See Curing for options on setting up the curing environment.
BEVERAGE—Cantina di Montecchia, Lessini Durello NV Brut (Veneto): Here’s a compelling Venetian sparkling wine: floral with stone fruit aromas and lots of minerality on the palate to complement the saltiness of the pancetta but cut through the fat.
Lardo
If you’ve never tasted cured pork fatback—lardo—pull up a chair. It’s one of the most luxuriously rich things you will ever put in your mouth. Three important points here: first, you need extra-thick fatback. It will be hard to find, but look for it at your local butcher shop or farmers’ market. Better yet, if you know a pig farmer in the area, ask the farmer for extra-thick fatback. Whatever you do, don’t bother trying this recipe with fatback that’s less than 1 inch thick. It just won’t work. Two inches thick is even better. Second, I like a lot of spice in my lardo. It gives the fat such great flavor. I cure the lardo with spices, then rub the same spices on it again before storing it. Third, it’s important to add water to the lardo after a few months and let it soak. It really enhances the soft, melting texture. Italians usually soak the lardo in a marble tub. But any container will do. After it’s done, jus
t thinly slice the lardo and enjoy it naked. Maybe put a thin slice or two on toasted Rustic Loaf or on Pesca Pizza.
MAKES ABOUT 5 POUNDS
5 pounds (2.25 kg) pork fatback at least 1 inch thick
1 teaspoon (3.5 g) cracked pepper
1 teaspoon (6 g) curing salt No. 2
1 teaspoon (2.5 g) ground coriander
½ teaspoon (1.5 g) ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon (1.5 g) ground cloves
½ teaspoon (1.5 g) grated nutmeg
2 cloves garlic (12.5 g), minced
Leaves from 2 sprigs rosemary (3 g), chopped (about 1½ teaspoons)
5 fresh sage leaves (2 g), chopped (about 1¼ teaspoons)
3 cups plus 3 tablespoons (450 g) kosher salt
HERB MIXTURE
1 teaspoon (3.5 g) cracked pepper
1 teaspoon (2.5 g) ground coriander
½ teaspoon (1.5 g) ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon (1.5 g) ground cloves
½ teaspoon (1.5 g) grated nutmeg
Leaves from 2 sprigs rosemary (3 g), chopped (about 1½ teaspoons)
5 fresh sage leaves (2 g), chopped (about 1¼ teaspoons)
Rinse the fatback and pat it dry. Combine all the remaining ingredients except for the separate herb mixture in the bottom of a large, dark plastic trash bag.
Wearing plastic gloves, add the fatback to the cure and rub the cure all over the fatback. Press the air out of the bag, seal with a twist tie, and put the sealed bag in a shallow plastic tub with an airtight lid.
Put the tub in a cool (50°F to 55°F), dark place with some air circulation for 4 months. After 4 months, add enough water to the plastic bag to completely cover the fatback. Reseal the bag, put the lid on the container, and return to the same cool, dark place for at least 2 months or up to 6 months.