Looking back at some coppa recipes, I see where I got the idea that 100mm collagen casings would work: From Marianski's recipe: "6. Stuff the butt into beef bungs or 100 mm collagen casings." Same instruction for bresaola. My guess is that collagen casings may or may not adhere enough as the meat dr...

Thanks, Bob. I see Butcher & Packer's casings are indeed a couple of bucks less than TSM, Allied-Kenco and Craft Butcher's Pantry. I didn't bother shopping around because I figured prices couldn't be that different for a commodity item. I suppose commodity items become less of a commodity when packa...

For my first experiments with my new chamber I cased a coppa in a beef bung I had in the fridge (left from a haggis experiment a few years ago). Wanting to make some more, I noticed how expensive they are when I went to place an order. I bought another beef bung but also bought some 100mm collagen c...

Another newbie here. I asked this very question recently. See this thread

I have the VP210, which is slightly less expensive and less heavy than the VP215. The VP215 is suitable for commercial or otherwise high-volume packaging operations because it uses an oil-bath pump, whereas the VP210 has a sealed pump that apparently won't withstand that kind of heavy use. The VP210...

I agree NaCl is likely the only source of the sodium that the label lists. If they make soy sauce with MSG, I sure have never bought it.

That's an interesting (historical?) point, Bob, about adding the mixture in stages in a process where the meat is allowed to drain. Now that would make sense. But for we who are curing in vacuum-sealed bags, where the liquid gets reabsorbed, there may be no benefit to adding in stages. I'm thinking ...

In curing whole-muscle cuts, I noticed that some recipes (e.g., the coppa and bresaola recipes on meatsandsausages.com) call for adding half the cure/spice mixture at the beginning of curing period, and then adding the other half roughly mid-way through the curing period. In that Italian video Chris...

Will it be the leaching plastic stuff or the nitrites or the fat or something yet unknown that gets us first? At least we will not die miserable and emaciated like vegans. By the way, that pastrami looks great. What is a beef navel? In the famous delis they usually ask if you prefer fatty or lean, a...

I can almost smell it. Fantastic.

That is the bible of sausage making. It’s a must have BocZek, I would also suggest Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas . Maybe, along with the more recent Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages by the Marianskis, these are the bibles of sausagemaking, but it's hard to say wh...

So by grinding meat/fat together would prevent the smearing when mixing (keeping everything as cold a possible) and this should give me a nicer texture? What's the technical explanation for what I've experienced? I mean... The fat is there. Even when it leaks out a bit, it's never too much like to ...

They had me at acorn-fed hogs.

Awesome, thanks I'll check it out. No need for kosher but "strangely" my wife doesn't seem to like sausages too much but if i make it from at least mostly beef or I can finally get into Italian salamis (pork or otherwise) she somehow doesn't classify these as sausage. Don't ask :roll: :roll: How ab...

Okay, I've got my very first dry curing attempt underway. Two coppe are curing in the fridge. Meanwhile, I'm still fiddling with the drying chamber. I had difficulty trimming the coppe because I had apparently never noticed how carelessly those Costco butts are boned--it was like they were hacked at...