Stuffed my first bung tonight

[Beef]

Ok, so actually I had problems with the size of the bung hole, so I improvised and slit it open and cloaked my moneymuscle. Wait . . . that sounded bad.

I was inspired to make cappicola or gabagoul. I cut and trimmed the money muscle from two pork butts. I used Cure #2 rather than just straight salt, and dried and re-salted for 3 days. Then rinsed with vinegar and then red wine. One I rolled in 50/50 mix of paprika and cayene, the other I rolled in equal paprika/cayene/ground corriander/black pepper (I was just winging it at that point).



I bought the larges Bung (beef middle) that my wisconsin butcher had, and to my horror, it was not close to fitting, so I decided to slit it and cloak the piece like you would bacon.


It actually stuck really well! and the small overlaps stuck well, also. I was about to bust out my sewing machine to sew them together and I thought that might be a bit over the top so away I went.




My kids made off with my butcher twine so Zipties were employed. I put the netting over my hand and forearm, and my wife and I pulled the netting up and over without displacing the casing. Whew

Here is the final product.



So an italian on the internet said to age them for 8 weeks or so between 40 and 50 degrees. That may work here in Wisconsin for a few weeks, but what do I do as the temps increase? I have them hanging in a 45 degree garage, currently.


I had not intended to smoke them, but If one had to, what would you recommend? I trust that smoking would simply speed up the drying process of the already cured meat.

Thanks for any feedback. fingers crossed that botulism doesn't strike.

[MisterChrister]

If you die from botulism, can I have the Seville? Looks like a good plan!

[Beef]

I will duly make not of that.

[sknabnoj]

You can make a curing chamber out of an old fridge, humidifier and temp controller. I actually have some instructions on how to do it and what to buy on my blog. I've used it quite a lot and it works very well!

[oifmarine2003]

Nice! I have my first coppa curing in the fridge right now before she goes into the drying chamber. Shagdog has a Lonzino about ready to go in as well.

I think you are going to need a dry curing chamber with your weather. We just built one and it was pretty easy. I think it was around $150 for all the stuff.

[scp]

I just did one. Cured in salt(3%), various spices and #2(.25%) for 3 weeks..prolly only needed 14 days though. Rinsed in wine, rubbed, bunged, and hung in my basement for 3.5 weeks. ( 55 degree 70 percent humidity)

Came out awesome.

[Beef]

Thanks everyone for your input. My basement is hovering around 50 so things are going well. My humidity was only 50, so I am using cardboard box with a water dish and a hygrometer to boost it to 70% . so far so good.

I just found a non-functioning wine fridge for $30 on craigslist that I am hoping am hoping I can repair and use as a aging chamber. 15 inches wide, 25 inches deep and 30 inches tall. Now just hope I can get it running . . .

if not, it will be cheap entertainment for a few days to putter with.

[robbq]

Just wondering, if this stuff is so picky about temperature and humidity, how were cured meats made before refrigeration?

[Beef]

If it dries too fast, the outside gets hard as a rock, and locks all the moisture inside, and can result in spoilage, I have read. I am not fretting, just want the best product I can with no frills, at this point. I also want to keep mice, moths, and spiders away, so I am looking to re-purpose a wine fridge.

Back in the day, they ate it no matter what. I want to ensure quality.

[cholloway]

Originally Posted by robbq

Just wondering, if this stuff is so picky about temperature and humidity, how were cured meats made before refrigeration?

They probably used natural environments such as caves or went underground as a "root" cellar.

[fingerlickin']

Dude...TMI. Some things are meant to be kept private.

Nice meat though.