Charcuterie

[Doug Lambert]

I am making Charcuterie… Lomo, Bresaola and Coppa. They have been in the fridge (vacuum pack with umai bags.) for 2 weeks and have not seen any notable change. Is this normal?

[Jim]

It doesn’t sound normal. Do you have any pictures, they may offer some clues.

[Doug Lambert]

Oh boy, usually more computer literate. How am I to attach photos? I am unable to copy and paste. What am I missing?

[Doug Lambert]

This photo is after 6-7days of cure and a week in the fridge Taken Nov. 25th.

This photo is from Dec. 3

There is really no noticeable change. (maybe a small change at best) Unfortunately I did not weigh them using a scale, but holding them there is no noticeable change in weight as well.

[Ron Pratt]

quote dflambs” post=4557:

Oh boy, usually more computer literate. How am I to attach photos? I am unable to copy and paste. What am I missing?

Doug,
“his forum server does not host picture files. Therefore the best way to post pictures onto this forum is to use http://www.photobucket.com and copy the link for the image to the text field of the forum post.
The image link starts with (IMG) http:…..etc.”
Ron

P.S. I have edited your post above so that all can see your pictures – I hope you don’t mind. Ron

[Doug Lambert]

Anyone have a thought on what’s happening?

[Jim]

Hi Doug,

From the looks of it, you have set things up right. It is visible that the coppa is getting some moisture loss judging from the wrinkles of the bag. This process takes 6 weeks to a couple of months, so you just got started. You really don’t want rapid moisture loss in the beginning because it can cause “case hardening”. So our advice is to be patient. Give it another couple of weeks and post another set of pics.

[Doug Lambert]

If this is the case… the 5-7 weeks advertised may be a little to short of a time to express. Watching the video’s it just seemed the process for crust to form happened sooner. I wasn’t worried, just a little confused. With that said, I do understand it takes time. Will do on the photo’s. Thanks for the help.

[Jim]

With various humidity levels and temperatures in refrigerators across the globe, it is very difficult to determine the exact time it takes to make a capicola or bresaola, etc. Actually, you do not want a crust to form on the meat, because this would be “case hardening” and will prevent moisture from the center of the meat to escape, so gradual moisture loss is the best. FYI, often a crust may form anyway, especially on the bresaola. Looking forward to seeing more pics from your fridge.

[Doug Lambert]

Agreed, thanks so much for the assistance!

[Gary DeMarco]

Yes depending on the size of the meat ,We like a firmer dryer meat the longer you leave it in the frig the better it will turn out.

[Dave]

Your meat looks exactly like mine does after a comparable amount of time. It may appear that nothing is happening but it is. In my particular set up, I’m losing about .8% of water per day in my bresaola, which would give me a 24% weight loss after 30 days and right in line with the 5-7 weeks suggested for a finished product.

If you don’t have an accurate digital scale, get one. It is absolutely critical to this process for weighing the original piece of meat, ingredients, salt, pink salt, etc. I would actually recommend 2 scales; one “regular” digital kitchen scale that also has a setting for grams and a smaller scale that can measure grams in .1 intervals.

Scales also comes in handy for weighing flour for bread making and lots of other kitchen applications.

Time is such an imprecise measurement of all food preparation and especially charcuterie.

As Charles Papazian said in his homebrewing bible for beginners, relax and have a homebrew (or other beverage of your choice.)

[Author]

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