Salt Curing Meat
How to cure Meat for Charcuterie….
I am a firm believer in making the most from an animal. If you have to kill an animal then the least you can do is treat it with respect and all to often we, the consumer are guilty of forgetting just where, exactly where our sunday roast came from. For a lot of people it would come, quote: “From the supermarket” unquote or “A cow”. They miss the point. How often do we ever consider how long something be it animal or plant takes to grow and mature?
With this in mind I have devised two dishes using venison, one using the fillet and this one using the haunch. I have long had a fascination with the preserving of food, from the why to the how and what it shows how we humans can be productive and indeed protective of our natural larder.
I wrote some time ago about the preserving of duck legs for confit and the way a salt cure can add wonderful flavour whilst curing it at the same time. I applied the same method with this venison dish. The meat was fully trimmed and rolled in a salt mix which included white sugar, rosemary, bay, thyme, cloves, star anise and cinnamon. These ingredients add real flavour to the meat and rather than leave the meat layed in a tray I rolled them tightly in cling film to help the salt penetrate the meat and give the meat an attractive shape when slicing it for presentation.
These usually take a couple of days in a refrigerator, the meat is tested with the fingers. Once the flesh feels firm the salt crust is removed and the meat washed and patted dry. Next up is a spice mix. Crushed coriander seeds, pink peppercorns, fennel seeds and black peppercorns are crushed into a fine powder before being rubbed into the flesh and left to rest.
Balance is vital, there are some strong flavours there and it is easy to overwhelm the taste of the venison.
Carpaccio of Home Cured Venison, Panko Fried Goats Cheese, Devilled Quail’s Egg, Pear Relish and Red Wine Vinegar Dressing
Wow, Miles! Just Wow!
Beautiful dish and presentation!
I’ve been thinking about a post concerneing the need to “age” curry pastes or certain sauces (like adzhika) to get the best flavor and you kind of stole the show - as usual!
Laura
January 20, 2010 @ 3:45 am
Laura,
You go for it!!!
Many thanks
Miles
January 20, 2010 @ 6:53 am
Miles,
now that is impressive, I’m liking that, fabulous just to read about it never mind eat it.
Great stuff
Best
Rod
January 20, 2010 @ 8:44 am
Miles,
I’ve never tackled meat curing but you make it sound worthwhile for the home enthusiast. Notice you mention pink peppercorns… my customers tell me these are difficult to find. Why use pink?
Whether it’s that we’ve indulged in too much stodge over the past few weeks or perhaps because spring is around the corner, but a neat little dish like this looks extra fresh and appetizing.
Cid
January 20, 2010 @ 9:01 am
Rod,
Glad you like it amigo, doesn’t taste bad either
Miles
January 20, 2010 @ 11:16 pm
Cid,
It’s not as harsh as black or dried green ones and the colour is rather pleasing to boot!
MIles
January 20, 2010 @ 11:18 pm