Neen's Notes

Project pancetta has come to its savory and delicious conclusion. Here’s a final shot:

I think a trip to Eastern Market for some nice, plump sea scallops is in order. Wrap them up in pancetta, roast quickly, and serve with a spicy plum or peach chutney…yum.

Ah, but with room in the drying closet comes room for a new project. With all of this bacon-y goodness and soon to be finished soppressata, I thought something a little bit leaner might be in order. I once bought peperone from a small Italian market that made it on-site and was pleasantly suprised by two things: It was much less fatty than the average slice you might see on pizza and also much more heavily spiced.

Pepperoni is the Americanized spelling of peperoni, the plural of the Italian word peperone which means “pepper.” Makes sense then, that this would be a peppery sausage that bites back a little bit when you taste it. So let’s go for it:

Meat:

• 5 lbs. of lean beef, cut into small cubes. A round or chuck roast with the sinew and fat trimmed away is perfect.

Cure:

• 3 tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. DQ curing salt #2 / Insta-cure #2 (www.butcher-packer.com)
• 1/4 cup Bactoferm F-RM-52
• 1/4 cup distilled water
• 3 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• 1 tsp. ground fennel
• 4 tbsp. dextrose
• 3/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 2 tbsp. paprika
• 2 tbsp. dry red wine
• 10 ft. sausage casings

Soak the sausage casings in warm water for at least a half hour.

Combine the meat with the kosher salt and DQ curing salt #2 and grind through a small die into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Dissolve the Bactoferm starter in the distilled water and add it, along with the rest of the ingredients, to the ground meat. Mix thoroughly to combine everything. At this point, I let the meat rest for a few hours in the refrigerator. Prior to stuffing, I also fried a small patty of the ground meat to check the seasoning.

Grease a sausage stuffer (I use the attachment for the Kitchenaid) with a small amount of shortening. Find the opening in the soaked casing and run cool water down the length of the casing several times to remove any kinks, and then shimmy it onto the stuffer. Tie a knot at the end. Have a sterilized pin at the ready to remove any air pockets that form as you form the peperone. Stuff the seasoned meat into the casing using consistent speed and gentle, even pressure.

Once you have completed stuffing a rope of peperone, twist it into 10 in. links alternating directions, and then tie each link off with butchers twine. Prick the peperone all over to remove any remaining air pockets and facilitate drying. Weigh them and take note of the weight.

Hang the links at room temperature for 12 hours and then move to a cool, dark, humid place to dry completely. Ideal conditions are about 60 degrees and 60-70% humidity. The peperone is ready when it feels firm all the way through and has lost 1/3rd of its weight. Here it is hanging out in the drying closet on the left, with the soppressata (which is almost ready!!) on the right.

Depending on the thickness and size of the links, drying can take anywhere from one to three weeks. Then, well…mangia!

Update: Here’s what the finished peperone looked like. Had a nice little kick to it, but nothing too palate-numbing. Really worth the wait!

Ciao for now,

Neen

Picture this (if you want a laugh): Pouring rain, about 45 degrees, and I’d just come out of Eastern Market. The walk back to my office is about 6 city blocks and I had 5 lbs. of salt, a 5 lb. pork belly, a 1.25 lb. moulard duck breast, some spices, a few pieces of fruit, and a hunk of provolone cheese in my cooler bag. Oh, and I had a haddock sandwich from the lunch counter. Even if I had an umbrella, there was no free hand with which to carry it.

“You. Are. Brilliant.” I told myself. Admittedly, even if I’d had the forethought to consider how heavy my supplies would be I doubt it would have had much effect on the process. I was far too excited about my new book (Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing, by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn) to give much thought to my soon-to-be sore shoulders. Frankly, I was more concerned about locating a suitable place somewhere in the house that was cool, dark, and humid enough to hang cured meat.

I imagine that few people go home on Friday night with the thought, “Yes, I can’t wait to rub down a pork belly!” But that was my plan last week. I’d wanted to buy Charcuterie for a long time, but only recently convinced myself that the recipes in it were accessible enough to be done by a home cook without much special equipment.

So…who wants Pancetta?

Pancetta is cured, but not smoked Italian bacon. I chose this recipe to start with mostly for its simplicity. Also because you can buy an entire 5 lb. pork belly for roughly the same price as 1 lb. of finished pancetta. Seriously.

Here’s what you need:

• One 5 lb. pork belly, skin removed. (A butcher will do this for you, but if you do it at home you can save the skin for flavoring stock…mmm.)

Cure:

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons pink salt*
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons juniper berries, crushed with the bottom of a small saute pan
• 4 bay leaves, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 or 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2.5 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper

*Pink salt is a curing salt that contains nitrite and is sold under many names including Insta Cure #1 and DQ Curing salt. You can find it on Amazon.com or at www.butcher-packer.com.

Other equipment you may require: Cotton butcher’s twine and cheesecloth.

Start by cutting the belly into as uniform a square or rectangle as you can. Save the scraps for use in sausage or for making salt pork. (To make salt pork, cut the scraps into even pieces, dredge them in salt, and refrigerate in a sealed container for 12 days. Shake often to re-distribute the salt. After 12 days, rinse the pieces under cold water and pat dry. Store in the fridge in a sealed bag, they will keep for several months.)

Combine the ingredients for the cure and mix together well. Rub the cure all over the meat side of the belly and place it in a non-reactive container just large enough to hold it. This belly fit nicely in a 9 x 13 in. baking dish. Cover the container with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate the belly for 7 days. Rub it to redistribute the seasonings and flip it over every other day. After a week, check for firmness. If it feels firm at the thickest point, it is cured. If it still feels squishy, refrigerate for another day or two as needed. This one required 8 full days. Here it is at the end of the curing:

Remove the belly from the container and rinse it thoroughly under cool water. Pat dry. Sprinkle a little bit more coarsely ground black pepper on the meat side if you’d like.

From here you have two options: Pancetta is traditionally rolled up jelly-roll style and trussed into a cylindrical shape. However, if you don’t roll it tightly enough, air pockets can form inside and cause mold growth (ew). The other, easier option is to wrap the flat belly in cheesecloth, poke a hole in one corner and hang it to dry flat. I went with the latter choice.

Hang the belly in a fairly cool, dark, and slightly humid area for one week. If it begins to dry out and get hard, wrap and refrigerate it. Pancetta should be firm, but quite pliable. This is why humidity is important. If you are concerned that your air is not humid enough, put a small container of equal parts salt and water in your drying area. Our basement is fairly cool and humid and I cleaned out a closet down there for meat-drying…

Ruhlman writes that you can also opt to skip drying and that the pancetta will still taste great when it is cooked, but that the drying phase improves texture, intensifies flavor, and helps it last longer.

After drying, the pancetta should be wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator for up to a month, or can be frozen for up to 4 months. Freezing makes it easier to slice thin.

Mine just went into the “meat closet” for drying last night, but I’ll post a picture when I cut into it. Yum.

Next up? The recipe for those links of soppressata hanging next to the pancetta.

Ciao for now,

Neen