Venison Prosciutto ...
- Thread starter Dr.S.Jordan
- Start date
TringSaint
Well-Known Member
sit rep....
so, since my last update, i have made some saussicon sec with a mix of pork and venison - these are now drying
Also, i have completed the curing of two more legs of CWD and a CWD loin which will become venison brasaeola. Piccies below:
the beasaeola is on the LHS and the two legs have been done with a standard cure as per the recipe which started this topic and an adaptation which includes black strap treacle (on the right). The black cure has worked nicely and you can clearly see the colour change in the picy.
When i have done bacon this way, the end result is fantastic, so hoping this will turn out the same.
The first leg which started drying a month or so ago is coming along nicely, so should be ready by month end, i reckon.
so, since my last update, i have made some saussicon sec with a mix of pork and venison - these are now drying
Also, i have completed the curing of two more legs of CWD and a CWD loin which will become venison brasaeola. Piccies below:
the beasaeola is on the LHS and the two legs have been done with a standard cure as per the recipe which started this topic and an adaptation which includes black strap treacle (on the right). The black cure has worked nicely and you can clearly see the colour change in the picy.
When i have done bacon this way, the end result is fantastic, so hoping this will turn out the same.
The first leg which started drying a month or so ago is coming along nicely, so should be ready by month end, i reckon.
Reynard
Active Member
Glad I found this Post. I am just setting up for Air drying. This was on my list. Has to be the best Venison prosciutto i have ever seen. Do you have any pics of your air dry set up. I jumped straight from first page to posting this. Sorry if there is pics in the pages in between first and last. Will check now. Thank you for sharing.
TringSaint
Well-Known Member
My set up is really simple as I have screwed a batton between two parts of a roof joist in my loft and the meat hangs off there.
Bit cool but it's cleaner than the garage and the meat seems to be curing well without too much mold growth.
Bit cool but it's cleaner than the garage and the meat seems to be curing well without too much mold growth.
I hang my meat in the front porch. It is covered but open on two sides so is draughty. Everything's hung inside a muslin bag to keep the flies off. Currently I have a Serrano ham, 12 chorizo, a bresaola, and back bacon hanging there.
TringSaint
Well-Known Member
ok guys and gals, the cwd legs are now ready and, you know, i just couldnt help myself!!
Photos below of one that i have cut into and, yes, it really does taste as good as it looks (even if the pictures are upside down - damn anti-lefty iphone!!):
The flavour is really subtle and very tender - less salty than parma ham but with much more depth of flavour. The meat is so tender it amazing and will be awesome in a nice rocket salad or on its own with a good bottle of red! The other two have been hanging for a month or so and are now going into a wax sarcophagus for a couple of months or until i get peckish (the darker one is the black cure using black-strap treacle and it smells amazing!).
All were cured for 4 weeks and have been drying in my loft space for 2-3 months (not much air movement up there and its been quite cool, so the drying took longer than expected)
Couple of pointers:
1 - next time i would weight the legs during the initial curing so as to aid moisture loss
2 - only add lard to the cut end of the leg, not all over it as it took ages to dry out (although that isnt necessarily a bad thing) and you get covered in lard every time you handle it
3 - be more careful when skinning to as not to leave any tears in the surface of the meat, as these did develop a bit of mold which was easily cleaned off, but its a faff and means you do lose that little bit when carving up the leg
4 - really neaten up the cut edge for reasons above
5 - really slather the lard onto the exposed bone area and down into the pocket surrounding the bone again for reasons above
Apart from that, and this being my first full cured leg, im damn impressed even if i do say so myself!!
As for my other exploits, the cwd brasaeola was cracking but it really needs a bigger loin to work well (fallow would be spot on - from a nice big spiker). Still, it tasted fantastic and was buttery soft and lasted only a few days.
The sausicon sec was ok, but i massively over did the garlic and it was too strong (note to self - adhere to the bloody recipe!!). Still, it was my first cured and dried sausage and i didnt kill myself, so all cant be bad!! Next time, less garlic and wider casings so as to get a more even cure and drying of the sausage, plus link into smaller sections to aid the drying process.
My latest venture (and its drying as i type) is yet another load of CWD jerky which has been ordered by one of my children!! Anyone else made to make this stuff to order from your family members?? Still it is really good and is well worth doing.
Hope you all like the piccies
Steve
Photos below of one that i have cut into and, yes, it really does taste as good as it looks (even if the pictures are upside down - damn anti-lefty iphone!!):
The flavour is really subtle and very tender - less salty than parma ham but with much more depth of flavour. The meat is so tender it amazing and will be awesome in a nice rocket salad or on its own with a good bottle of red! The other two have been hanging for a month or so and are now going into a wax sarcophagus for a couple of months or until i get peckish (the darker one is the black cure using black-strap treacle and it smells amazing!).
All were cured for 4 weeks and have been drying in my loft space for 2-3 months (not much air movement up there and its been quite cool, so the drying took longer than expected)
Couple of pointers:
1 - next time i would weight the legs during the initial curing so as to aid moisture loss
2 - only add lard to the cut end of the leg, not all over it as it took ages to dry out (although that isnt necessarily a bad thing) and you get covered in lard every time you handle it
3 - be more careful when skinning to as not to leave any tears in the surface of the meat, as these did develop a bit of mold which was easily cleaned off, but its a faff and means you do lose that little bit when carving up the leg
4 - really neaten up the cut edge for reasons above
5 - really slather the lard onto the exposed bone area and down into the pocket surrounding the bone again for reasons above
Apart from that, and this being my first full cured leg, im damn impressed even if i do say so myself!!
As for my other exploits, the cwd brasaeola was cracking but it really needs a bigger loin to work well (fallow would be spot on - from a nice big spiker). Still, it tasted fantastic and was buttery soft and lasted only a few days.
The sausicon sec was ok, but i massively over did the garlic and it was too strong (note to self - adhere to the bloody recipe!!). Still, it was my first cured and dried sausage and i didnt kill myself, so all cant be bad!! Next time, less garlic and wider casings so as to get a more even cure and drying of the sausage, plus link into smaller sections to aid the drying process.
My latest venture (and its drying as i type) is yet another load of CWD jerky which has been ordered by one of my children!! Anyone else made to make this stuff to order from your family members?? Still it is really good and is well worth doing.
Hope you all like the piccies
Steve
I just keep a cheapo humidy sensor in the room (something from Oregon scientific or similar) you usually get 2 or 3 sensors so you can put then in other rooms as well.
Control is a different matter - utility room seems to keep pretty constant 43%. If you get more fluctuation i'd expect you need some kind of de / re - humidifier
Control is a different matter - utility room seems to keep pretty constant 43%. If you get more fluctuation i'd expect you need some kind of de / re - humidifier
hi Steve that looks good, you must be well chuffed. Quick question, when did you add the lard covering, after cure and before hanging it to dry or after drying?
cheers
TringSaint
Well-Known Member
Hi Legolas,
on the first leg, I larded it as soon as I hung it up, but put lard all over which really slowed down the process. It took 3 months to dry sufficiently.
The other two I only larded the cut section and these dried in about a month.
All had some mold growth (white and a little bit of fuzzy green) but all cleaned off well. Taste is really good - I took some to a club shoot at Bisley at the weekend and it got a unanimous thumbs up!!
as for humidity control, it wasn't!! Just kept in the loft until dry!
for a first attempt I am dead chuffed and come September when the loft cools down I will do a fallow leg.
on the first leg, I larded it as soon as I hung it up, but put lard all over which really slowed down the process. It took 3 months to dry sufficiently.
The other two I only larded the cut section and these dried in about a month.
All had some mold growth (white and a little bit of fuzzy green) but all cleaned off well. Taste is really good - I took some to a club shoot at Bisley at the weekend and it got a unanimous thumbs up!!
as for humidity control, it wasn't!! Just kept in the loft until dry!
for a first attempt I am dead chuffed and come September when the loft cools down I will do a fallow leg.
Brillo idea. Thanks!
First time ive seen this thread, very interesting, 
TringSaint
Well-Known Member
I switched my 'waxed' haunches from the loft to the fridge because of the unseasonable summer weather!!
i have another curing now - actually it's ready for hanging from this weekend!
i have another curing now - actually it's ready for hanging from this weekend!
TringSaint
Well-Known Member
I hang my venison for a couple of days, but most of the curing has been done on previously frozen legs. Reading michael ruhlmans charcuterie book, he often recommends freezing meat before curing just to kill off any bacteria before starting.
Woodsmoke
Well-Known Member
Freezing kills the trichinosis parasite which can lead to illness. In truth though, it's pretty rare for any game to be infected, and almost unheard of in pork these days due to massive improvements in husbandry methods (In fact, I wonder how many people realise you can actually safely leave pork just a tiny bit on the underdone side these days to ensure it stays moist? I always use a meat thermometer now, and very rarely take pork above 150F)
The only real benefit I see from freezing most meats before is if I intend to cold-smoke it. The freezing causes the cell walls to burst and allows for a more even uptake of cure and smoke
Similar threads
