And so it begins....Sopressata

Yesterday I ordered a bunch of different casings from Butcher & Packer. I'm getting some that are natural and a little bit bigger than typical sausage casings. I'm also going to try out some collagen casings. And while I was ordering, I picked up a pound of pink salt (aka DC Curing Salt, Insta-Cure, or Prague Powder #1). I've been giving some of mine away to people interested in making their own bacon. Pretty sure my friend Mike has some slabs curing in his fridge as I type.

This project was supposed to start earlier in the month, but for some reason January got very hectic. Back in December, I purchased a bunch of pork butt at Cardona's. Vacuum sealed it and put it in the freezer. A good three week freeze eliminates any doubt about trichinae larva in the meat. I'm not sure how much it impacts the quality of the final product, but I'm new at this so I'm going with all the safety precautions. The meat came out of the freezer today. I'm planning to cut it up and season it on Sunday. I'll fire up the humidifier in the mock chamber on Sunday too. The mix will sit in the fridge a few more days and then I'll grind/stuff/hang later in the week. I've got all the spices together, just need to pick up a bottle of white wine.