Venison Bresaola

Dan Gliballs

Well-Known Member
I had a nice lean haunch going spare so I picked up some ingredients today and made up a wet brine.

For a 5 kilo bone in haunch roast.

1 kilo salt (normal sea salt, didnt like the scare stories of the nitrates/ites)
2 bottles of a cheap red (to this I added 3 wine bottles of water)
5 garlic cloves
5 dried chillies
2 onions
Large sprigs of Rosemary, thyme and sage
1/4 cup crushed peppercorns
2 sliced carrots

The smell is lovely, i fear I have overdone the salt but I followed (roughly) a recipe I found on t'internet for a 2.5kg lump of meat so I just double everything.

Il leave it until it "feels" right then air dry it in a muslin wrap for a month or so.

Il keep you posted if Im still alive.
 
When you have finished with the marinade Strain it boil it let it go cold and you can use it again - if too salty add some more wine.
Good luck - a month of drying might be too long to check it after 3 weeks. There is no hard and fast time-scale on curing like this you learn by doing the job.
The test is that the meat becomes quite firm and goes very dark on the outside. Keep it somewhere cold and well ventilated - flies wont bother it.
 
Started off as....

IMG_0306.jpg


IMG_0308.jpg


In brine for a week...

IMG_0309.jpg


And air dyed for 1 month...

IMG_0321.jpg


IMG_0319.jpg


Im not sure if a) its had long enough drying and b) if its edible.

Its mainly white mould but has little spots of blue/green mould like you get on old bread.

Any pointers?
 
cant give any pointers as i want to have a crack but was waiting your results .get a sliver cut off and try ,dont be scared:scared::D,atb wayne
 
Where was it air dried a d what temperature? If it was outside at this time of year it may need longer. Plain viniger will remove the mould.
 
Its had a month outside and has gone from a 5 kilo lump of meat to just under 4 kilos. I cleaned it with Cider Vinegar this morn.

With it hanging in quite a windy place i think the skin has hardened too much and is stopping it from drying out any more. I cut a chunk off to have a look at the inside and its a DEEP ruby red, almost like port, it smells fantastic too. I just dont have the balls to be the first taster!!

About to head to the local hotel where my missus works, the head chef is one of those Michelin Star lot, hes going to put it through the meat slicer and be the guinea pig, he would pretty much eat anything anyway.
 
I make venison biltong regularly, I know different but same principal. I have a large wooden box with a 100w light bulb in the bottom and lots of ventilation holes to allow the heat to rise, go past the meat and escape in the top. Basically the principal is the same of salting it, adding spices, letting it dessicate slightly and drain, but over a much shorter period of time. Within 3 hours of salting it looses a lot of liquid, then wash is cider vinegar and then herb it and then hang it in the biltong box. I did do quite thick bits the first time and it failed so I tried thinner bits, 2cm thick, put a dehumidifier in the room and also the bulb in the bottom, but also in a warm room in the house, and it was cured within 2-3 days. Hard on the outside and a good consistency inside. I found the thicker bits got the white mould on them and it would just keep coming back and eventually go greeny etc, so by doing thinner they cured much better. I just don'g think the climate was good enough, too much moisture in the air.

I was taught the process in South Africa, whereby in the dry season it worked a treat just outside, but in the wet season we made it in a meat chiller, with some fans blowing on it. Makes me think if my 'tango fridge' would be good for making thicker bits of biltong in......

Let us know how you get on.........
 
Well........












Result!!! Its foookin boootiful!

Unfortunately the chefs thought so too and got stuck in to it, tbh its better than I expected, a real authentic taste. its just like the cured venison sausage the missus brought me back from Germany

Just after washing with cider vinegar this morning...

IMG_0329.jpg


IMG_0328.jpg


This is what it looks like inside...

IMG_0331.jpg


IMG_0330.jpg


Because of the thickness of the joint Im going to have to slice it off in stages, about 5 cm in it is starting to get a little moist so Il hang it back up to dry after taking some off. because of this I didnt get the whole thing sliced up.

This is definately the way forward!

A plate full of this with a bottle of pear cider is just about as good as it gets.
 
thanks for sharing ,just been reading up abit to start and have a go myself.
it seems curing in a case helps the venison not to blacken too much and dry on the outer layer going back to your earlier post the white mold is good mold that helps keep the bad mould/bacteria away .you can buy this in a powder form to mix and spray on rather than hoping the good mould starts to culture. if you get green mould wipe away with viniger . thanks for posting this as you have spurred me on to have a go . i will keep you posted on my efforts,atb wayne
 
what I did was start the drying process in my garden shed, with the lack of air it kept it damp and gave it a coating of mould, as soon as I moved it to the outside breeze is started drying fast.

I was going to keep it in my open fronted log sheds but they are made from creosoted timbers and I was worried the smell would taint the meat so I settled for the over hang at my front door.

I think I would be inclined to steer toward the lean animal instead of one with an inch of fat on its arse, I suppose you could shave the fat off.
 
Last edited:
ingredients are ordered and i have turned a spare fridge into my drying/curing area so i can start as soon as my stuff turns up, cant wait wayne
 
Hi Dan,
Great vension bresaola recipe with picture and found rosemary out of stock so will try vension bresaola on weekend and will share my comments later.
 
sorry dan i havnt finished my fridge i have fitted it with a temp controller and nearly finished the fan and then im ready to go i have had quite a few seats to do as of late so had to put it on the backburner. i should have it ready to go by the end of the week and then i can get some pictures of it all set up .atb wayne
 
Dan,

It might be a bit criminal to suggest this but... Do you think if you used a backstrap/fillet for this you'd get a better cure since it's thinner. I'm thinking I'll give it a go on the next roe I shoot.

Ali
 
Dan,

It might be a bit criminal to suggest this but...
Thats a hanging offence right there!!

I liked the first go at curing that much Ive done another one last week with the same recipe, albeit without the bone in, this tim im going to string it when I put it in the muslin to try and firm up the joint and make the whole thing "tighter".

How did everyone elses attempts go?
 
Started off as....

IMG_0306.jpg


IMG_0308.jpg


In brine for a week...

IMG_0309.jpg


And air dyed for 1 month...

IMG_0321.jpg


IMG_0319.jpg


Im not sure if a) its had long enough drying and b) if its edible.

Its mainly white mould but has little spots of blue/green mould like you get on old bread.

Any pointers?
looks like a classically air dried ham from Italy, brilliant
 
Back
Top