Work nightmares still continue. But as I've moved on from Secundo to Dolce to Macelleria - they now involve culatello sponge cakes with chantilly cream frosting.
How to tie a culatello in an entwined spiderweb network.
That twine is the traditional and best way to tie culatello.
The twine will give you blisters. Even when you're not strong enough to pull hard enough.
Viscichetta means blister.
Legs are bought based on weight.
They pigs come from different farms in the area, but they must eat feed with Parmigiano Reggiano whey in it.
That pancetta is cured between wooden blocks and needs a good brush dusting.
Watched how the salami (strolghino) is spewed into intestines.
How to tie salami into sections. Well. Not quite mastered that yet. I feel knotslexic.
Salami Gentile is wrapped in rectum instead of intestine.
How to scratch the rectum covering and poke it with a fork to let the water drain.
How to tie the Gentile so it stays straight while curing.
Busy cured meat/culatello time is Oct-Feb
It used to be just Dec and Jan when the weather was coldest and just right, but now the Consorzio requires the meat to be hung in refrigerated rooms, cella, so now they can produce more meat over a longer amount of time.
It was thought that the meat hanging in damp cellars was not sanitary.
How to clean a piece of shoulder by removing it's fat.
That glands on the shoulder when cooked are bad.
That a pig's leg is shaved, then cut into a culatello (rear) piece and a fiocchetta (front) piece and then broken down into meat and thick fatty skin bits to be cooked to pork scratchings aka ciccioli
While working, huge chunks of meat can fly pass your face.
Metal gloves, no matter how large and taped around your wrist, are finger-savers.
That I dont understand why anyone trusts me and a knife anywhere near their food...
How to tie fiochetta with twine without chafing new blisters on top of the post-culatello-tying blisters.
Blisters hurt. Damn.
Like prosciutto di parma, culatello is quality-checked using a horse bone pin to smell and a knocking hammer to check for air. A hollow sound is a bad sign and means that the culatello was not cut or closed properly as water remained and spoiled the meat.
I'm fascinated by the quality-control skills of the nose.
These cured meats are truly artisinal - all hand made, lots of labour of love.
The older the culatello, the better flavour.
The smell of meat stays with you, absorbs into your clothes, seeps into your hair, a constant reminder on your fingers.
How to tie a culatello in an entwined spiderweb network.
That twine is the traditional and best way to tie culatello.
The twine will give you blisters. Even when you're not strong enough to pull hard enough.
Viscichetta means blister.
Legs are bought based on weight.
They pigs come from different farms in the area, but they must eat feed with Parmigiano Reggiano whey in it.
That pancetta is cured between wooden blocks and needs a good brush dusting.
Watched how the salami (strolghino) is spewed into intestines.
How to tie salami into sections. Well. Not quite mastered that yet. I feel knotslexic.
Salami Gentile is wrapped in rectum instead of intestine.
How to scratch the rectum covering and poke it with a fork to let the water drain.
How to tie the Gentile so it stays straight while curing.
Busy cured meat/culatello time is Oct-Feb
It used to be just Dec and Jan when the weather was coldest and just right, but now the Consorzio requires the meat to be hung in refrigerated rooms, cella, so now they can produce more meat over a longer amount of time.
It was thought that the meat hanging in damp cellars was not sanitary.
How to clean a piece of shoulder by removing it's fat.
That glands on the shoulder when cooked are bad.
That a pig's leg is shaved, then cut into a culatello (rear) piece and a fiocchetta (front) piece and then broken down into meat and thick fatty skin bits to be cooked to pork scratchings aka ciccioli
While working, huge chunks of meat can fly pass your face.
Metal gloves, no matter how large and taped around your wrist, are finger-savers.
That I dont understand why anyone trusts me and a knife anywhere near their food...
How to tie fiochetta with twine without chafing new blisters on top of the post-culatello-tying blisters.
Blisters hurt. Damn.
Like prosciutto di parma, culatello is quality-checked using a horse bone pin to smell and a knocking hammer to check for air. A hollow sound is a bad sign and means that the culatello was not cut or closed properly as water remained and spoiled the meat.
I'm fascinated by the quality-control skills of the nose.
These cured meats are truly artisinal - all hand made, lots of labour of love.
The older the culatello, the better flavour.
The smell of meat stays with you, absorbs into your clothes, seeps into your hair, a constant reminder on your fingers.
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