Soppressata

So, the small sausages came out nicely. I am feeling pretty good about the outcome, considering how much of an amateur I am at this. I give the taste of them a 7 or an 8 on a scale of 10. The fat content is a little high, and I will probably lower it a little next time I do these. They are both good, but I am enjoying the Cooking By Hand recipe (the darker one) the best.

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Day 1 of Hanging:

Day 7 of Hanging:

The smaller sausages are drying out pretty fast. A Northern Front came through like a day after I hung them, and the humidity has been much lower that usual. I'll probably scale them next week to see how far a long they are coming. They look beautiful, but I am worried the outsides are drying a little faster than the insides.

The large sausage has started to show signs of good mold which makes me so so happy. Good mold helps keep away the bad mold. So this is a very good thing, and has me whistling.

Day 14 of Hanging:

The small sausages are done. They have all lost 30%+ of their weight and are good an firm to the touch. They dried out a little sooner than I expected, but the humidity drop and their size I guess sped things up.

The big boy still has a ways to go. He is looking good so far, and I will keep you updated on his progress.

Day 21 of Hanging:

Not much visible change, but the big boy has lost 22% of his weight. Pretty good stuff. There is no bad mold on him and he seems to be just happily hanging there. I am pretty optimistic about him.

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I did two different Soppressata recipes here. I based one from Cooking by Hand and the other from Charcuterie, with minor changes to both.

Ingredients for Spicy Soppressata (Cooking By Hand):
11lb Lean Pork
3 1/2lb Fatback
188g Salt
33g Dextrose
12g Red Pepper Flakes
23g Black Pepper, coarsely ground
3/4g Thyme
23g Garlic, minced fine
3/4g Cloves, ground
3/4g Ginger, ground
3/4g Nutmeg, ground
17g Instacure #2
2g Bactoferm
1 1/2cup Distilled Water

and

Ingredients for Soppressata (Charcuterie):
7lb 12oz Lean Pork
1lb 15oz Fatback
2g Bactoferm
1cup Distilled Water
3oz Kosher Salt
12g Instacure #2
140g Nonfat Dry Milk Powder
60g Dextrose
6g White Pepper, ground
12g Garlic, minced fine
4g Red Pepper Flakes

Sopressata is a Salami that is supposed to look a little more rustic. I ground the meat with my large die, and I diced the fat up into uneven pieces, rather than grind them.

I used pretty much the same technique that I did when I made the Tuscan Salami.

Here is the Spicy Soppressata (Cooking By Hand) mix:

And here is the Soppressata (Charcuterie) mix:

I hand stuffed the Spicy Soppressata (Cooking By Hand) mix into a large Genoa Salami Casing I got from Butcher & Packer. The thing is enormous. Ten pounds of enormousity. The rest of the mix I stuffed into Hog Middles using my sausage stuffer.

I stuffed the Soppressata (Charcuterie) mix into the hog middles.

I incubated them for 12 hours and then hung them in my drying room.

They should take 3 to 4 weeks to dry out. The large Salami will probably take 2 months. I will post weekly updates on them.

Walnut Pesto

This is the pesto we do during the summer. It goes with the bowtie pasta salad & I also serve it as a sauce with the pork loin.

It is extremely easy to make. You can make it with a blender or a hand mixer, but I prefer making it in a food processor.

Ingredients:
4oz Basil
1/2 cup Walnuts
3 Garlic Cloves
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1Tbs Salt
3/4 to 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pick of any large stems from the basil. Throw the large stems in the trash and put the leaves into the food processor. Then add all the other ingredients, except for the olive oil.

Put the top on the processor and pulse the ingredients a few times, mixing and cutting them up.

Turn the processor on and slowly drizzle in the olive oil while mixing. Add just as much olive oil until you like the consistency. Wipe the sides of the bowl and process anything that didn't get mixed in. Taste it. If it tastes bland, add a little more salt.

If you do use a blender or a hand mixer, you may want to add half the olive oil initially to help get the rest of the ingredients going.

Brioche Rolls

This is the Brioche that I make during the summer. As far as breadmaking goes, it is a pretty simple recipe.

Again, I have scaled the ingredients out to both weight and volume measurement. Though I recommend you buy a cheap digital scale and use weight measurements when baking for better accuracy and consistency.

You may want to cut this recipe in half. A half batch will yield you 12 large rolls, which is usually more than enough.

Ingredients:
2/3 Cup Whole Milk
1/2oz (1 1/2 Tbsp.) Yeast
1 2/3lb (7 1/2 cups) Bread Flour
2 2/3oz (6 Tbsp. + 1 tsp) Sugar
1/2oz (1 Tbsp.) Salt
6 Large Eggs
4 sticks Unsalted Butter

Optional:
1 Egg
Poppy Seeds

The first thing you want to do is set your butter out and let it come to room temperature.

Next, let your milk come to room temperature. You can heat the milk up over a burner or in the microwave, but you don't want it too actually get hot. If it is too hot, the yeast will die. So, just bring it to room temperature. Then put the milk in a Kitchaid mixing bowl.

Add the yeast and whisk it a round a little. I usually let the yeast sit in the milk for about 10 minutes and then give it another whisk. Your milk should now look a little murky:

Next, you want to add in the flour, sugar, and salt.

Put the hook attachment on your mixer, add the eggs, and start mixing on a low speed.

Mix the dough until all the flour is incorporated in, which should only take a few minutes.

Then cut up your softened butter and place it in the mixer.

Mix the dough on low until the butter starts to get incorporated in. Then switch to a medium speed.

You want to mix the dough until the dough is pulling away from the sides and the bottom of the bowl. This is what it should look like when it is ready:

Then spray a mixing bowl, add the dough to it, and cover it with plastic wrap. If you are making the dough for that day, leave it out at room temperature and let it rise until it is double in size (usually about an hour and a half). You can also throw it in the fridge and if you want to make the rolls a day or two in the future.
Lightly sprinkle all purpose flour or some bread flour over a work surface. Pat down your dough and then portion it out into 24 pieces.

Shape them into dinner rolls and then put them on a sprayed sheet pan, going 4 down and six across.Let them rise at room temperature until they about double in size, usually about 45 minutes to an hour.

If you want, crack an egg in a bowl, whisk it up, and then lightly brush it over the tops of the rolls. Then sprinkle a little bit of poppy seed over the tops.

You want to bake them at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes. With all the eggs and butter in the rolls, they will start to brown rather quickly, and you may be tempted to take them out early. Be sure that they are indeed done before taking them out. You can stick a toothpick in one, and like a cake, if it comes back wet, it still needs to be cooked, but if it comes back dry it is done.

The Escape of Squirrelly the Skunk

So a while ago, I kept hearing something messing with my outside trashcans late at night. I mentioned it to our Head of Grounds, Craig. He, always being helpful, decided to lay out a trap for the culprit.

It turned out to be a skunk.

Now, the thing about catching a skunk in a trap is that you can't shoot it, or it will spray. And you can't move it, or it will spray. So, really, you can't do anything.

It is also several feet from my front door.
So, I have been getting in and out of my house like a ninja lately. Always angling to the side, and keeping an eye on the skunk.

So, as the days went on, me eyeing the skunk, him eyeing back, I sort of started to feel bad for the poor little guy. He was always sort of nice, sniffing in the air like a cute little thing, making the most of his situation. I swear he nodded at me once when I was leaving for work, as if to wish me a good day.

Here he is taking a cute little nap:

So, anyway, I even gave him a name. Squirrelly. Squirrelly the Skunk.

Now then, my heart isn't exactly bleeding. I have, in fact, signed death warrants on skunks and raccoons who tear up my trashbags during the summer. Oh, and that black squirrel who found a way into my dry goods room? Better you don't know. But at the same time, my heart isn't made of stone either.

This little fellow was just nice. He had a name. And I was feeling bad for him every day. When it rained, I got excited, because I knew that Squirrelly was going to get to drink.

So, I decided that I had to break him free. Otherwise the guilt of his death would be more than I could bare.

I enlisted the help of my youngest brother, and fellow skunkitarian. Here he is in his skunk freeing outfit, looking a lot like a yellow Cobra Commander:

Our mission was simple:

1) Free Squirrelly

2) Not get sprayed

3) Document it with pictures.

Since he is good at climbing roofs and I am good at taking pictures, we decided to combine our forces and become Skunk Rescue Squad(tm).

His raincoat is +7 agility btw.

That ladder he was holding? Totally went to getting him up on the roof.

Edward then proceeded to lower this swimming pole down to Squirrelly's cage.

And then he went for the little locking latch.

My pal Squirrelly looked up alertly, which sent me behind this totally protective tree.

Edward loudly whispered toward me that he needed a second pole to get that cage open. So, I got him one.

Take two with the cage.

So Edward is really good at opening cages. Because he managed to get Squirrelly free. I wish I had the escape shot to show you. But here is what happened: The door opened, and then Ol' Squirrelly came out. And I swore it was coming right at me. This is basically the picture that I got:

But he is free.

We think he lives here:

So, I rate my documentary skills at C+. Edward got an A plus plus plus for his Squirrelly breaking free skills.

Wherever there is injustice, you will find him.

Wherever there is suffering, he'll be there.

Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find...

The Skunk Freer Guy.