Sunday, January 30, 2011

Lonzino Affumicato or Loin speck

Another salume inspired by my visit to Sudtirol. This was one I found on the shelves of every one of the several salumerie I frequented while there, and was eager to make it. I usually always have lonzino on hand as my wife enjoys it on a sandwich with a little fresh mozzarella. Seeing as I was running low, I decided to use a whole loin and make it 2 ways. This was initially designated for the Christmas Eve salumi plate. But, for some reason this loin decided it would take about 8 weeks to dry out as opposed to the usual 4-ish. Good thing........more for me. So, in true Sudtirol fashion, I cured this with caraway, anise and nutmeg, along with salt, pepper and cure #2 of course. Cured it for about 12 days, then cased it in a 4.5" beef bung. What separates this from lonzino is the cold smoke, hence the affumicato(smoked) designation. Still without the juniper wood dust they use in Sudtirol, I improvised again. Ground up juniper berries added to my hardwood dust does the trick. Cold smoking has become a non issue with these new cold smoking devices. It really is a breeze, once it gets lit, you can leave it alone for 12 hours or even more in some cases. This lonzino got 3 sessions for a total of about 36 hours of smoke. Seems a like quite a bit of smoke, but, honestly, it's not. While it can be tasted and it is pleasant and far from overwhelming, it still isn't as prominent as I tasted over there. Next time, I'll either try more smoke or more ground up juniper berries. Either way, I'm not complaining about how this one tasted, I'm pleased with it. I wish I could say at what percentage of weight loss I removed this, but, I mistakenly pulled it down prior to Christmas Eve to see if it could be cut. I knew it was far from ready, but, a little panic set in and I tried anyway. I know the common practice is 30% weight loss and it's ready, but, I prefer my lonzini a touch drier and harder than that. I believe 35-38% is a better number, for me anyway. Sliced very thinly it is very versatile and also delicious. My first Mangalitsa salame is ready, should be posted at the end of the week.
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12 comments:

  1. rwJanuary 31, 2011 at 10:26 AM

    Hi What cold smoking devices are you talking about, please let me know??
    Thanks Ralph

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  2. scottJanuary 31, 2011 at 11:50 AM

    Hey Ralph. I have 2 cold smoke devices. I have the pro-q cold smoke generator, which as far as I know, was the first product of this kind. Works wonderfully. I also have an a-maze-n smoker. Same principle. Once you get it lit, you can forget it for 12 hours.

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  3. mattJanuary 31, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    Looks fantastic mate! I need to look in to this pro-q smoker, I have heard a bit about it recently from other curing folks.

    I have a lonzino which has been hanging for about 6 months now and in my mind is just starting to get pretty fantastic. Sliced ridiculously thin each slice just melts in your mouth, and isn't too salty. I never thought I would like lonzino that much since I normally like some fat, but I am converted.

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  4. scottJanuary 31, 2011 at 12:49 PM

    Yeah, Matt, definitely get one of these cold smoke generators, they're irreplaceable. I hear ya on the whole muscles. Not sure I care for mushy, semi-raw cured meat.

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  5. frankiemJanuary 31, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    Caraway seeds ha? I always think of that when im in penzeys but havent tried it yet. What did you do to keep the temperature up in the smoking chamber? Im still waiting for my proq to be delivered they said it got lost in the mail :( How do you store these whole muscle peices so that you can slice as needed and keep fresh?

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  6. rwJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:59 PM

    Thanks Scott for the info, will see if i can get them in the Uk.

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  7. scottJanuary 31, 2011 at 4:40 PM

    Ralph, pro-q is a UK based company.

    Frankie: caraway is really big in the dolomites. I haven't smoked in extreme cold yet. But, you can use a light bulb or something similar to keep the temperature above freezing at least. I keep my whole muscles in the chamber. If I think they've been in too long, I'll remove it, slice it, vacu-seal it and freeze it.

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  8. rwFebruary 1, 2011 at 4:12 AM

    thanks scott, have ordered mine Thanks again

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  9. daveFebruary 10, 2011 at 11:54 AM

    What are you doing for hardwood dust, Scott: mail-order or a local source?

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  10. scottFebruary 10, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    Hey, Dave. Mail order, there are several outlets. I've used smokin'licious and PSS seasoning(mixed hardwood only for pro-q)

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  11. AnonymousFebruary 12, 2011 at 10:29 AM

    Morning all. You can cold smoke in just about anything including a cardboard box. All you need is a inexpensive single hotplate and some wood chips installed to any type of closed but vented chamber. Get creative, it is a bunch of fun

    Reg

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  12. scottFebruary 12, 2011 at 11:46 AM

    Yeah, Reg. These new cold smoke generators are inexpensive, so, they make it really easy.

    ReplyDelete

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