Polyface Farm asked me to make a few products for them and they only want the natural stuff. I haven't used it before, but I want to know about celery/cherry extract's ability to produce consistent results and issues with varying potency. Horror and success stories are both welcome. I am also curiou...

Hey there. Who has used celery powder or cherry powder as a replacement for Instacure? What have your experiences been?

I would definitely soak it overnight. I try to save money by buying the casings a tad small. Flushing the casings once or twice, and soaking it overnight helps loosen up the reinforcing membranes. The next day, fill the casing like a water balloon, and watch it swell. The casing is pretty strong, bu...

This is great! Thanks, Ross.

Get a life, idiot. Maybe you will stop wasting yours writing negatively about someone else.

I'm happy to help. Being that your ham has a fair amount of meat exposed and will take salt in quickly and easily, I would personally stick to the minimum number of days. To play it safe, you could add a day or two. One indicator to look for is all of the salt having been absorbed into the meat. It ...

I paid Chuckwagon in exchange for a few kind words. :smile:. But, I think I can help. As you will note in your book, you will see a variance of 4-7% salt concentration for cured ham. What isn't noticed is the different cure times for different styles of ham. The reference you made on page 455 is wha...

You could get the leaf lard too. That is nice for baking. The creamy fat surrounding the belly is pretty fun to work with as long as it is very fresh. And don't forget about the feet, tail, and nose! Skin on is nice because you can make pork rinds, cracklins, or a nice porchetta with crispy skin. Bu...

I'm already on my way.

Thank you, Ross. Last week was the final "week of pain" for the season. We took 1/2 cow and two, 280# pigs. We do everything by hand aside from grinding the meat so, needless to say, I was a very tired fellow by the end of it all!

http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o741/jasonstory28/20121207_143853.jpg We started 100 kgs of salami for Black Ankle Vineyard last weekend. We have some landjaeger, cacciatore, and some genoa salami. Personally, I don't care for the 38mm casings they are in, but they are the right size to meet th...

I finally got some time to figure out our problem with uploading photos. Anyways, we starting hanging some hams in our ham house. We have about ten more to add so I will be sure to add a few more later. I will also be able to send a few photos of salamis and other fun stuff. http://i105.photobucket....

This isn't quite the same, but still a cool product to point out.

http://orceserranohams.com/articles/mojama.htm

You are right, I took your words out of context. But in no way was my rant a personal one. I respect your efforts and extend nothing but goodwill to your vocation and business. If your shop was anywhere close to me I'd be there on a regular basis. Your knowledge and experience is himalayas above mi...

Red, I think you misinterpret my words. Cooking as a professional is a long journey. I mean to say that everyone who makes that decision to become a professional, begins that journey as an amateur. I have a degree from the Culinary Institute of America. My fiance' and one other employee do as well a...