I Salumi, you say Salami...

either way, yum. So along with cheese making, I am also trying my hand at charcuterie. Not sure what that is?

Take a look here =======> The Fatted Calf

The Fatted Calf creates amazing, succulent morsels of meaty goodness. "Hi!" *Waves to Toponia*

and here=============>Salumi Cured Meats

Sausage making is fun and relatively easy. There's an infinite variety of sausages that can be made from every country around the globe and I've made my fair share of them but I felt the need to take the "Art of Meat" to the next level. I'm married to a butcher for god's sake so it's a natural progression. Curing, aging and drying are time honored ways in which to preserve meat but what's also true is that the flavor of cured and aged meats is second to none and impossible to duplicate without adhering to very specific techniques. Deviating from the recipe's temperature for aging or salt can prove to be costly on many levels.

After reading a number of books written by authorities on the subject as well as talking to several experts, I'm once again faced with a dellima. This is a craft that requires precise environmental/temperature control. I got over this hurdle by purchasing a cheese cave (wine cooler) for aging my cheese wheels but it's going to be much harder to maintain the temperature control necessary when aging huge pieces of meat and salumi. I haven't quite figured out where I'm going to hang my giant legs of prosciutto. I wonder how Mauricio would feel if I converted our dining room to a temperature controlled cooler where I could hang tasty morsels such as whole pigs legs, by the trotter to age for up to 7 months at a time? Hmmmm...