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Lonzino

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 05:39
by Cabonaia
Made some Lonzino - cured pork loin. Kind of the pork version of bresaola. Sorry for the crummy pictures.

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Shot at 2012-07-17

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Shot at 2012-07-17

It tastes great. Can't really describe it. I keep making stuff I've never tasted before! I keep making stuff I could never afford! This piece is about 2 months old. I made four chunks. Ate a couple pieces at 1 month and they were good, but another month made a big difference. More complex, mysterious flavor, and a better feel in the mouth. I got the recipe from Matt Wright's website. Recommended!

http://mattikaarts.com/blog/charcuterie ... pork-loin/

He takes beautiful photos. Unlike some. :mrgreen:

BTW, next to the lonzino in the second picture is some Spanish chorizo, made with Stan M's recipe. It tastes great, just don't look right. You can see a dark ring around the outside, which is the result of a curing fridge mishap I will not go into. Luckily it still dried on the inside. It's better than my first try. Maybe my THIRD try at this recipe will be the charm!

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 20:45
by redzed
The Lonzino looks great! I am envious. Sure wish I had a curing chamber!

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 23:20
by Devo
That looks very good. I too visit and enjoy Matt Wright's website. Kinda funny but he has post on here also when he was learning.

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 04:38
by Cabonaia
Thanks guys for the encouragement. Redzed, I hope you can put together a curing fridge soon. I was waiting till I found a free fridge. Keep your eye out for ladies getting their kitchens redone. I think a lot of working fridges go to the landfill.

Devo - not surprising that he got his start on this site, huh? I found that site before this one, and I enjoy it. But nothing beats the depth of knowledge here IMHO. It is quite incredible.

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 06:25
by redzed
Well I'm looking at a small fridge right now, 34.5 inches high, 20 wide, 20 deep, and if I can get a compact humidifier, I might get it.

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 14:56
by Cabonaia
Cool (haha). I imagine you have seen Uwanna's great illustrations for his setup.

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 07:08
by Chuckwagon
Dang Jeff! Your lomo just takes the rag off a tall hog at the trough! :roll:
Nice going pal.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 04:01
by Cabonaia
Thanks CW. Coming from you, that is a true compliment!

Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 17:42
by redzed
Jeff, I have two loins currently in my chamber a lonzino and embuchado. After 3 weeks the lonzino has lost 20% and the embuchado 13% after 2 weeks . My concern is that both are still very soft when squeezed, unlike my salamis that have firmed up nicely. Is this normal? How long does it take before there should be a noticeable difference?

Maybe I'm just going through beginner's impatience, but your advice would be appreciated.

Chris

Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 20:37
by crustyo44
Hi Red,
On E-Bay there are some compact humidifiers that actually fit in fridge door shelves. All around
$ 20.00. I am going to get one shortly for a planned curing chamber.
Regards,
Jan.

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 01:22
by Cabonaia
redzed wrote:Jeff, I have two loins currently in my chamber a lonzino and embuchado. After 3 weeks the lonzino has lost 20% and the embuchado 13% after 2 weeks . My concern is that both are still very soft when squeezed, unlike my salamis that have firmed up nicely. Is this normal? How long does it take before there should be a noticeable difference?

Maybe I'm just going through beginner's impatience, but your advice would be appreciated.

Chris
Hi Chris - How long did you cure them before hanging them, and are they cased, and if so, what with?

Cheers,
Jeff

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 01:49
by redzed
Lonzino cured for 12 days, cased in a fibrous Novatone brand casing. Lomo Embuchado cured 8 days cased in a collagen middle, Naturin brand.

Thanks,

Chris

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 01:54
by redzed
crustyo44 wrote:Hi Red,
On E-Bay there are some compact humidifiers that actually fit in fridge door shelves. All around
$ 20.00. I am going to get one shortly for a planned curing chamber.
Regards,
Jan.
Sounds like a bargain, but check how much water it will hold. You don't want to keep refilling it every day. I also use distilled water in mine, hopefully it helps in preventing the nasties and calcium build-up. Hope you get your chamber going soon. It is a bit of fun and a learning curve. (keeps the grey matter around for a bit longer)

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 06:51
by Cabonaia
redzed wrote:Lonzino cured for 12 days, cased in a fibrous Novatone brand casing. Lomo Embuchado cured 8 days cased in a collagen middle, Naturin brand.
I think you're stuff is doing fine. I've used fibrous casings and found weight loss to be slow as well, but nothing went wrong. Never tried drying meat in a collagen casing so I can't comment there. I imagine they already firmed up somewhat during the cure time. So long as you are not seeing anything nasty growing, I'd say you are in good shape.

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 22:55
by redzed
Yeah, maybe I'm getting a bit impatient and today I uncased one of the loins beacause I thought that there were air pockets an something was growing in there, but I fact it looks fine. I laced it and will let it mature uncased. Also today I placed a coppa into the chamber. Did not have any suitable casings on hand, so will have to also hang it uncased. Will be ordering some beef middles soon.