My career as a charcutiere

This is an update....

I have twice (three times?) now made duck breast prosciutto using that recipe in Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie book. It has been GREAT. After I take it down and start slicing it to eat, it doesn't seem to keep well, e.g., sliced, but the stuff is really, really good.

My first batch of cured salmon using their recipe was also very good, although Phil didn't like it that much because it tasted too much of fennel. It did have a whole fennel bulb, fennel seeds, Pernod, and a few things like that in it. I liked it.

So the next time, I made it with dill weed and dill seeds instead. It was underwhelming. I have in the past made gravlax using (more or less) Julia Child's recipe, and this stuff wasn't as good. And I frequently make salmon tartare, which is always a hit. and yes, I made that one up...

I used the Charcuterie book method for making sauerkraut. It was, shall we say, not just NOT a success, but seriously not a success. I threw it out.

I have had several plans to make sausage of various sorts, purchased a meat grinder attachment to my Kitchenaid mixer, also a sausage suffer gizmo, and lately have purchased a charcoal smoker thing. I have also on a couple of occasions started sausage, but haven't yet worked up the nerve to actually DO it. Stay tuned.

My latest effort is a serious (I think) disappointment. Pancetta. You "cure" this pork belly like you're going to make bacon, for a couple of days, season it some more, roll it up, tie it, wrap it in cheesecloth, tie it up some more, and hang it in a cool place for awhile, until the texture changes. And then you have pancetta, e.g., un-smoked, WONDERFUL Italian bacon. All of us were thrilled when I discovered this stuff. It's great.

So I made some. Did all the stuff it said, let it hang in the pantry for awhile (the pantry in our house, where the washer, dryer, extra fridge, freezer, and food storage are, is seriously far from the reach of both the boiler and heat pump, so in the winter, is SERIOUSLY cold, like frequently near freezing, sometimes for long periods of time). Today I worked up the courage to cut it down and take a serious look, with the intent to use it in pasta for dinner.

There was a big problem. Fortunately, I had also purchased some commercially made pancetta at Kroger. The stuff looks great, smells great, except there is sort of a serious amount of mold in the middle, and I don't exactly know whether or not it's safe to eat. So we didn't.

Any advice would be welcome...

And I do still intend to actually stuff sausage, crank up my smoker, and get busy...

Cheers, Lillie