Friday, February 25, 2011

Bland Bresaola


I've been sticking to curing pork tenderloins for the past few months. They are incredibly easy and very tasty; tough combination to beat. Just for kicks I decided to cure some beef and picked up some pretty eye of rounds. They started out at about 3 lbs each and got a standard cure with Morton Tender Quick, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder and some red chili flakes. I let the cure take for about ten days and then air dried for about a month. Everything cured up very well. I ended up fighting a little mold but it was nothing that a few washes with vinegar couldn't handle.

I was first struck by how pretty these guys were. The second thing I noticed was how bland they tasted. Maybe it's because I am just getting over a cold and my taste buds are dead but these guys taste like nothing! These will definitely be part of a side platter with pickles and olives and not a centerpiece. At least the project kept me entertained for a while. Happy curing!

2 comments:

  1. I make a ton of bresaola and lonzino, and since those cuts are so lean, I've found that the speices need to be amped up big time.

    During curing I double the spices, and then after rinsing, I liberally cover the meat and rub it in well before putting it in casing to hang.

    Give it a shot.. it really creates deep flavor

    ReplyDelete
  2. PCP, thanks for stopping by. I've been reading your posts...love the pickles.

    Of course you are right about the need to amp up the spices. I guess what suprised me was that I expected this to at least taste like super concentrated beef and even that was missing. We'll see what happenes next time.

    Good luck with the new job.

    ReplyDelete