Homemade Sausage Making

Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing

Available for pre-order now (mine will be ordered later today) and scheduled to be released and shipped Aug 27, 2012.

I have many cook books and the best of the bunch are all text and the only reference to the author's credentials are on the inside flap of the dust jacket. Some of the most impressive to look at and hold are repleat with pictures and autobiographical information and incredably short on technical detail.

Michael Ruhlman might not be an expert but keep in mind the book is co-written with Brian Polcyn and he definitely knows his stuff and he has the credentials to back it up. He gave me my introduction to all of this charcuterie stuff as well as single handedly teaching me humility, standards, and what it means to be a chef. Although the book may not be overflowing with technique and detail, I firmly believe that without the previous charcuterie book and the upcoming salumi book, the charcuterie boom on the culinary scene right now wouldn't be what it is.

To be honest, I think they chose a direction of simplicity. A direction of simplicity to draw in the masses and attract newbies. Chef Brian definitely has the technique down, so the lack of specifics within the book is definitely intentional.

Fast forward to about 2:45 for a video to meet the true man behind the book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f2Iluym1Co

Jason, Did you post the correct link?

ssorllih wrote:Jason, Did you post the correct link?

Yes sir. You need to fast forward to about 2:45 into the video.

story28 wrote:Fast forward to about 2:45 for a video to meet the true man behind the book.

I really enjoyed that video, thanks!!!

thank you!

Great video, hadn't seen it before. Thanks for the link!

No problem guys .

Here is the only other cooking related one I am aware of. It is shorter, but the triple look technique is pretty effective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3bieEEYEAk

A good friend loaned me his copy of this tome and I am coming to believe that it was written because it was a topic that would sell books. There is a shortage of science and an abundance of fancy prose. For example for making duck confit you can purchase a whole duck and remove the breasts and legs and make confit with those and you will still have the carcase to roast and use "if you like working in the kitchen". Why would anyone presume that a subject like this was just idle curiosity? It is a costly way to be introduced to a major aspect of food technology. My forty year old copy of "The Joy of Cooking"©details confit of goose in three paragraphs.

Like any book, it has issues, but overall it's a good book.
It's basically a cookbook, I don't think that any particular level of science is promised.

Bob

I just got an advanced copy of the duo's upcoming Salumi book. It looks promising with a nice balance of butchery, history, and recipes. I highly reccomend preordering this book.

That's awesome. I was planning on putting my order in shortly!

Finally got a copy of Ruhlman, Polcyn Salumi. It's a good recreational read and a nice coffee table book but not exactly a "must have" book if you are venturing out into making dry cured products. Ruhlman waxes at great length about tasting various products and visiting sausage makers in Italy and the States. There is little technical information there and not as many recipes as I was hoping for. Several, however, look interesting and I will probably be testing them out down the line. All in all, their earlier book Charcuterie was better and had more substance.

While Salumi may inspire you to undertake dry curing, if you are interested in this subject, there is better essential and technical info available on this site, in Marianski's Art of Fermented Sausages and a lot of practical info and interesting recipes on Len Poli's site.

But the main reason for my post here is that Ruhlman and Polcyn state that Cure #2 is not necessary when curing solid muscle meats. Everything else that I have read call for cure #2. Can we have a discussion on this? Have any of you not used nitrates when curing lonzino, breasola, coppa, etc.?

I borrowed this book from the local library. I have only had a quick look at it. I like the section on pig breakdown primal cuts and then what can be done with each cut. I do prefer the way the Marianski's book uses ingredents per kg of meat. Last Christmas I was given a coppy of 'Bangers to Bacon'. It is written by Jeremy Schmid who is Characuterie chef from NZ. It is designed for the NZ market. He owns a delli and resturant. I contacted him last year by email and his reply was very helpful.

I am looking for good book on Characuterie. The trouble is that bookshops tend not to stock them (will order them). So unless they are at the library I would just be buying blind. I do like photographs in books and pencil drawings (that is why I enjoy looking at peoples pictures on this site). I can make pate's, terrines, mouses. So I am not realy fussed about books on these. I also like books that contain meal/snack ideas. I am not a slave to recipes, but they are a good start and I usually adapt and change them. My dream is to get into dry curing. Any one got any suggestions apart from the books I have mentioned?

You have made a good well very important point about cure #2 redzed. I am not able to offer any great insiight about #1 or #2 in dry curing. However I do have a question about products that use #1 or #2 cure. It has come to my mind because I am making my first batch of Pancetta. I am aware that many people do not understand the diferrance between #1 and #2. As a general guide I thought that short time cured products (ie panacetta, cooked sausages) used #1 and longer cured/fermentated products use #2 (air dried or not heat/uncooked products). My mind then makes a leap from here; is it safe to fry (I am aware of the issues around fried food and the potential risk from casnogenics from using too much heat when cooking red meat) products that have been cured with #2 cure. Say as part of a pasta dish?