Bresaola and Lomo too dry, too soon

[Nic Pugliano]

Hey Ron,

As always, thanks for the help and guidance. The math is a good place to start, but I triple-checked that and it was right. I also purposely weighed the meat post-cure based on some feedback you gave another member on the forum, so it wasn’t that.

After thinking about it some more, I tied the bresaola to hold a more cylindrical shape, whereas the lomo was kept au naturel in the bag, which caused it eventually go semi-flat. Since the bresaola lost water at a rate faster than normal, but slower than the lomo, I’m thinking shape, thickness, and mass had most to do with this. Interesting, as always.

As of last night, the lomo and bresaola were at 8.5 weeks of aging with 49% and 41% water loss, respectively. Based on that and your feedback, I went ahead and cracked into the bresaola and I have to say – it’s one of the most delicious and rewarding things I’ve ever created in the kitchen. I did a 36-hour red wine soak prior to the curing process and also added a healthy amount of rosemary to the cure, and both come through very well in the final product. Both pieces are going on the Beswood today; I plan on freezing most of it and making a nice plate of carpaccio tonight with the rest.

I didn’t try the lomo yet, as I only like to try one thing at a time when experimenting in case it makes me sick. I feels pretty hard, but might soften up a bit when cut. Either way, I’ll circle back with an update a pics in a day or two.

Thanks again!