Pancetta and Sausage #2

annie1992

18 years ago

Last year Larry Engelhardt bought me a cookbook called Charcuterie, one of the authors is a chef that has a restaurant near Larry's home. The whole book is about curing meat, smoking meat, making sausage, etc. I love it, it's a great book and full of lots of recipes and useful information.

That first batch of Italian sweet sausage was so good that on Saturday we made more sausage. This one was turkey with dried cherries, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper. It was pretty good, but definitely not worth the skinning and deboning of all those turkey legs, what a pain!

It was good enough that I'd make it again, but I'd get boneless skinless chicken thighs or pre-ground turkey or something, no more of those darned drumsticks!

My other project has been pancetta. It's a cured Italian bacon, not smoked. I started it with a whole side of pork belly/fresh bacon, sprinkled with a mixture of curing salt, brown sugar, crushed bay leaf, and some other seasonings. That cured in the refrigerator for 7 days, then was removed and rolled tightly, then tied:

After rolling and tying, it got hung to cure for 2 weeks in "a cool humid place". That was Elery's basement, mine was too hot and dry because my furnace is down there and it stays pretty warm in the winter. We checked periodically to make sure it wasn't drying out, and after 2 weeks we cut it into chunks about a pound each:

We tested it by browning some cubed pancetta and using it in salad with romaine, pears poached in white wine and sliced almonds (which I incorrectly called walnuts in another post, LOL), dressed with a honey mustard dressing. It was pretty darned good.

Elery took two chunks home, and I have three left. I know one of my favorites, carbonara, takes pancetta, now I have some to experiment with!

Oh yeah, this is fun!

Annie

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Comments (20)

beanthere_dunthat
18 years ago
Wow! That's some good looking pancetta!

Hey, did your spices arrive?
riverrat1
18 years ago
Oh Wow! Very impressive piece of meat g)! I love to go into specialty stores and see the different meats hanging from the ceiling.

I bet it is fun! I'm not sure where I could get a whole side of pork belly to do this...and it's never cool enough for two weeks where I live. So, I guess I'll live vicariously through you once again. LOL! I enjoy reading about all that you do!
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Got an email about some sausage making supplies and casings. Instead of private, I chose to post the members question and my reply here: [This message originated at GardenWeb] Did you happen to catch the show I think it's called "Good Eats" with Alton Brown. He did a show about making sausages etc...I was just wondering if you saw it and your opinion on it. He use d collagen casings on his Italian sausages. Al My reply: Hello, No, I missed that show, but recall that he made a sausage show a while back. He used the meat grinder with attached stuffing nozzle to stuff the sausages as opposed to a separate stuffer. I use my meat grinder just for the meat grind, and then have a separate meat mixer where the spices are added as well as some water and liquid smoke (optional). Then. my stuffer is now motorized and allows me to fill 11 pounds of sausages per filling. 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wizardnm
18 years ago
Your project sounds like fun, but most of all, I'm in awe that you met someone that enjoys doing this type of project with you. Elery is just too good to be true!

Nancy
jessyf
18 years ago
Now I know why you've been a bit AWOL. Playing with your bacon.

Everything looks great, I can smell it from here.
User
18 years ago
Annie that pancetta looks awesome! Here is a ragu recipe that uses pancetta and sausage. The sauce can be used over any type of pasta or even as a lasagna filling.

Ragu Sorrentina

4 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 Lb ground pork ground or ground beef
1/2 Lb Italian sausage cut into 1/2-inch thick rounds
1/4 Lb pancetta cut into 1/4-inch cubes
Several gratings nutmeg
3 Can tomato paste
1 Cup dry red wine
1 Can Italian tomatoes crushed by hand with juices

In a 6-quart saucepan, heat the oil until smoking and add the onion. Cook 9 to 11 minutes, until soft and golden brown. Add the ground pork, the sausage and the pancetta and cook until beyond the gray, when the meat starts to brown in its own fat, about 30 minutes over medium heat. Add the nutmeg and the tomato paste and cook until deep brownish red, about 20 minutes, then add the red wine and the canned tomatoes and cook over low heat for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper and cool. Remove the fat that has floated to the top and discard.This ragu may be refrigerated for up to 5 days and frozen for up to 6 months.
sigh
18 years ago
This is neat & something that I'd love to do but the whole dry curing thing makes me very nervous. Can you explain to this big sissy how it's OK? because I'd really love to try this.

Nina
msazadi
18 years ago
Annie, when you say cool, do you have any idea of what the temp is down in Elery's basement?

First you get your pig tho which would be an issue for me... I too will have to live vicariously for now.
lackboys3
18 years ago
Annie,

Are you SURE you don't have any Italian blood in there somewhere??? Anyone that can make Italian sausage and pancetta, and all the other no doubt delicious things Elery and you keep making has to be at least a little bit "paesana"!!!!
DONNA
annie1992
Original Author
18 years ago
Well, Maureen, as you know, I grew my own pig, LOL. Elery's basement is about 55, and it stays kind of "damp" like basements normally do. Mine is dry as a bone, things don't even mildew down there.

RR, I'll tell Elery that you think he has a very impressive piece of meat. Or maybe I won't tell him that, LOL.

Jessica, you didn't mention that Elery is taking his portion of that bacon home to play with it by himself? (grin) And yes, I've been AWOL because I've been trying to deal with end of the year budget for the office (our year ends October 31), plus next year's insurance increase, some possible changes in the retirement system and Thanksgiving. Sigh. I'd rather be here.....

Nancy, Elery also has a bucket of sauerkraut curing down there and a big 5 gallon batch of white zinfandel ready to bottle. He says I'll have to bring a bottle to Kim since they had such a nice conversation about winemaking when we were there with you.

Nina, I'm a bit careful about such things too. That's why I broke down and took the suggestion in the book, and bought "curing salt". It's also known as "pink salt" and is used for curing meat. Yeah, I know. It's the same nitrite/nitrate thing used in commercial bacon.

Still, even with the curing salt, I couldn't bring myself to just let it hang like the meat places do, so I cut it into usable chunks and froze it, just like I do bacon. The book's author suggests freezing it anyway and I figure he's the expert!

Chase, thanks for that recipe. Oh boy, will Amanda like that!!!

Annie
annie1992
Original Author
18 years ago
Well, Donna, there very well may be an Italian in the woodpile somewhere. ROFL I know there's Native American and Irish, some French and English. We are truly mongrels, so much that if the girls are asked what nationality we are they simply say (proudly, too) that we are AMERICANS.

Besides, they'd toss me out of the Italian neighborhoods because I don't really like red sauce, wouldn't they? Would I redeem myself with the pancetta, the Italian sausage, the cannoli that Elery makes for Christmas and my love of calamari?

Annie
annie1992
Original Author
18 years ago
R, the spice mix did come and Linguica is on our "list". The recipe says it has to be hot smoked, though. Is there a version that is fresh, or unsmoked. I haven't gotten a smoker yet.

Then again, maybe I could use Elery's grill. HE has one that works, LOL.

Annie
craftyrn
18 years ago
Gosh that looks good ,Annie.

And I think you've given me an idea for a Christmas gift for Hubby-- who are the authors of that book?
maggie2094
18 years ago
Annie - WOW! That is impressive!

I love Ruhlman! He was recently on Anthony Bourdain's show. They have a little rivalry. He also has a great blog.

You two do the best things together!
earthlydelights
18 years ago
annie, quite impressive. if i grew my own pigs, i'd have to try that too.

dice and fry some up and add it to minnestrone or even to any squash or pumpkin soup or even fry some and then cook potatoes. so many uses.

looking forward to see what you do with the cow.

maryanne
annie1992
Original Author
18 years ago
Maryanne, I do have a dehydrator, so I'm thinking maybe some beef jerky. I pressure-can beef in the form of Beef Burgundy (KatieC's recipe) and beef broth so I can use up all the soup bones a person gets from a cow.

Diane, the authors of that book are Brian Polcyn (the chef who owns Five Lakes Grill in Milford, Michigan) and Michael Ruhlman. I know they have it on Amazon, and it's a great book. Lots of recipes and detailed instructions on how to do things and sources to buy ingredients.

Doc would probably love it, and he could make venison sausage. There's even a recipe for hot dogs!

Annie
Terri_PacNW
18 years ago
It all looks amazing..I envy you and your homegrown meats! And that MAN..that MAN that seems to make all others look like cavemen! (Okay maybe just mine!)

Annie, your mongrel comment made me snort! My husband and oldest were just having a discussion the other night about relations, heritage and blood lines.
My husband said: "Well Atleast 5 generations of my linage were born in the US..that makes me American, not African, not African American." I on the other hand..just on my dad's side have several great grand parents that were born not in the US.
By the time it's all sorted out..my kids are mongrels too..as am I... LOL
beanthere_dunthat
18 years ago
Now why did I think you had a smoker? Darn. Sorry about that. Well, the grill will work, I know BIL did some things that way before he got his smoker. Or, you can just use the spices on other things. :)

M was just up in Flint on Tuesday. He asked how far he was from you. I told him TOO FAR to drop in for dinner. He just laughed. :D
readinglady
18 years ago
Sigh, the sausage looks great, but I do NOT need to buy another cookbook.

Don't you think a smoker would make a perfect wedding gift for you two? I can just see your wedding registry . . . why go for the usual?

Carol
annie1992
Original Author
18 years ago
Wedding registry? ROFL We have discussed weddings/parties/receptions. I'm leaning toward just getting married and then having a dinner for his family in Tennessee, another one here for my family. My parents are too old to travel and so are his and we'd have trouble if we married in one place or the other.

Any invitations will request the company of friends and family, no gifts please. Still, a smoker would be nice. (grin) Maybe we'll just have to get our own!

Terri, I'm still amazed every day at how much Elery and I are suited!

Annie
compumom
18 years ago
Annie, I just wanted to add that I'm having such a good time reading about all of your adventures with Elery. You two are the perfect match!

Pancetta and Sausage #2

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