a first for me...

[GARNAAL]

I just love Houston with all these great ethnic grocery stores everywhere..
here is the real reason for which I went to the Phoenicia grocery store today..

A fresh , 4.5 lbs leg of spring lamb..




to start a, for me new, first time project..
a Lamb Prociutto

it's going to cure with kosher Salt, Sugar, black pepper, fresh rosemary and cure #2 for 1 month and then hang to dry until it looses ~ 40% in weight..

following a recipe from Jason Molinary


http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/Prosciutto-lamb.pdf

[tish]

First time I've ever heard of a lamb prosciutto. Will be following this one with great interest.

[landarc]

Very cool, and curing is a great idea.

[GARNAAL]

tish & landarc

I had the same thought here - having done all the usual stuff over the years with charcuterie, hams and sausages

this cured lamb idea was stuck in my mind by a friend of my wife from Norway -
she goes way out of her way during the winter holidays to do some traditional lamb dishes like Fårikål, Pinnekjøtt and Spekemat.

There isn't much more of a traditional Norwegian meal than spekemat or cured meats. Spekeskinke (dried ham), Fenalor (dried mutton), and various salamis are served with potato salad, scrambled eggs with chives, lefse and flatbrod. And of course this hearty meal calls out for beer and aquavit as opposed to wine.

well here I am - had to just try it because I love Lamb anyway!!

[GARNAAL]

here is my Lamb Prociutto after curing for about 1 month..

[GARNAAL]

oops that should have said - here after curing about 3 weeks...

Originally Posted by GARNAAL

here is my Lamb Prociutto after curing for about 1 month..

[Titch]

Do you drain the liquid as you go

[Cack]

looking good garnaal

[GARNAAL]

Originally Posted by AussieTitch

Do you drain the liquid as you go

yep I do drain after ~ each week -
and use the rub half way during the cure period with 1/2 of the total cure/spice mix.. (as I do with Bresaola and Lonzino)

[KotaChuk678]

Coming along!

[---k---]

Very cool. What are you doing to control the temp and humidity where it hangs?

[JazzyBadger]

Yep, I hate driving into Houston. I hate it with a passion. I do it for the amazing ethnic stores as well though. Viet Hoa is one of my favorite spots to go to right near the Beltway. Get some GOOD deals there.

[GARNAAL]

Originally Posted by ---k---

Very cool. What are you doing to control the temp and humidity where it hangs?

I use a small 2.7 Cu ft. Black and Decker Fridge from Walmart - placed in our food pantry - which at the high range of the temp setting (= minimum #1 cooling setting) runs at 55-60F, which is what I normally use to dry meats and sausages.
I modified the racks a bit to enable placement of the meats and sausages - for drying sausages I custom sized some wooden dowels to fit in between the rails on the inside wall of the fridge..
(also drilled a hole in the door, thru which I inserted an instant meat thermometer to see temp without opening the door.)

(you basically can use any old fridge and do that - if the built in thermostat does not allow you to run at ~ 55 to 60 F - install a baseboard electric heat, line voltage switching thermometer in the fridge to regulate the temp and connect the power cord of the fridge to the switched output of that..)
if you really want to get fancy you can also install a small 120V fan in there to aid in air circulation..)

I use an old Hygrometer from one of my old cigar humidifiers , which I hung in the fridge (don't smoke anymore - cigars that is.... meats is another question ) to watch RH% - luckily I do not need anything to regulate it here in Houston- been at it for some years now - and nomally it runs at 70 RH when I start a batch and see it run down to ~ 60 after a while when stuff dries out.. (if need be, place a container with some water in the fridge to raise RH% or get hold of a small dehumidifier when it gets too high..) - they sell combined Hygrometer/thermometer units also..)

[GARNAAL]

almost ready to taste a slice of it - don't you think ??

[oifmarine2003]

Very cool! Can't wait to see it cut!