The Butcher's Apprentice: The Expert's Guide to Selecting, Preparing, and Cooking a World of Meat by Aliza Green

Author:Aliza Green [Green, Aliza]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Cooking, Specific Ingredients, Meat
ISBN: 9780785832713
Google: eYq0zyWFI0wC
Amazon: 0785832718
Publisher: Quarry Books
Published: 2012-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

muscle. When you dry-cure, every ding

guanciale [jowls], lomo or lonza [loin],

Step 1—Salting: This is done at cold

turns into a crevasse.

pancetta [belly], and of course prosciutto

temperature—below 40ºF (4.4ºC)—to

[hind leg]. Our speck [a specialty of Alpine

inhibit bacterial growth while the salt

HOW MANY HAMS DO YOU CURE

Italy] is our prosciutto cold-smoked with

penetrates and drives moisture out of the

IN A WEEK?

applewood after curing. We use organic

meat. Many “uncured” meats are treated

We bring hams in every week so we have

spices whenever possible and have no

with nitrates or nitrites, either synthetic or

the opportunity to have the best prosciutto

known allergens in any of our ingredients,

from celery and other plant sources.

every week, because we can control the

including no gluten. Everything we make

progression of temperature and humidity to

Step 2—Riposo: During riposo (Italian

is fully dry-cured and raw, and may be

mimic the seasons in Parma. We produce

for “rest”), the meat is dried at cold

eaten cooked or uncooked.

eight hundred to nine hundred legs a week

temperature, allowing the salt to

[roughly forty thousand a year]. In Italy, the

penetrate through the meat. This step

IS THERE A SEASON FOR

smaller prosciuttifici produce one hundred

is known as equalization.

CURING MEATS?

thousand to two hundred thousand hams a

Traditionally, this work was done with the

Step 3—Stagionatura (aging): Once the

year; the larger companies produce up to

seasons—the cold of December for salting,

meat has lost sufficient moisture, it is

ten thousand a week.

the winds of January and February for

ready to be moved into higher tempera-

riposo [resting], and the spring and

tures where it develops its special texture,

summer for aging. Our building is set up on

aroma, and flavor through enzymatic

this model so that we have winter rooms,

changes over time. Although edible, it

spring rooms, and summer rooms. Instead

would just be salty meat before this step.

of being subject to the weather at any

Step 4—Trim and Package: To prevent

specific stage, which could be more or less

oxidation and preserve the quality, whole

favorable, we are able to control tempera-

muscle meats are vacuumed to remove

ture and humidity.

the air and sliced meats are sealed in

modified atmosphere or vacuum

packaging.

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