Venison Basturma & Bresaola

[Walt]

The beginning of the year means a new batch of venison charcuterie. Three weeks ago I began cureing 8 small roasts of varying sizes, totaling just over 7lbs. Half I dedicated to Bresaola (a family favorite) & the remainder to Basturma (a new one for me). Half of each will be cold smoked useing an external smoke generator (the big kahuna) recommended by Roger (Limey) from the keys. The half not being cold smoked was rinsed, patted dry, sealed in UMAI bags for dry ageing & labeled. The rest is in the smoker after being rinsed, dryed & the basturma had a rub applied to reinforce the flavors introduced during the cure. Below is a breakdown of the cures.

Breasola
Venison                  1892g
Salt 3%                        57g
Sugar                          38g
Instacure#2. 25%        5g
Black pepper                7g
Rosemary                    8g
Thyme                          8g
Juniper berries            7ea

Basturma
Venison                1333g
Salt  3%                      40g
Sugar 2%                  27g
Instacure#2  .25%    3g
Allspice  .35%              5g
Paprika  1%              13g
Cumin  .15%                2g
Cayanne  .15%            2g
Garlic Pdr  1%          13g
Fenugreek  .1.5%      20g  skipped no substitute available
Grain of paradise .75%  10g substituted black pepper

After cureing for three weeks, i made a rub useing half the quantities of the seasonings from the cure, excluding salt, sugar & instacure. This was rubbed into the Basturma after a good rinse & pat dry.

 

[DivotMaker]

Very nice, Walt!  Love the hog sticker on the #2!

 

[Walt]

5 of the eight roasts have ripened. We enjoyed some today. The three enjoyed today were; a pepper crusted pecan smoked breasola, a paprika rubbed basturma & a plain pecan smoked breasola. It was eaten with chevere goat cheese & honey.

 

[Walt]

Shot another last week, so I started another batch of bresaola. 8 1/2 lbs of roasts put in the cure today. The cure is based on the UMAI recipe.
The gross weight of the meat was 3822 grams.
Salt. (3% meat weight)    114g
Sugar (2% meat weight)    77g
IC#2 (0.25% meat weight) 10g
Black pepper.                        15g
Dried rosemary.                    19g
Dried thyme.                          19g
Crushed juniper berries      15ea
Chopped garlic cloves.          5ea

It will cure for the next 3 weeks. Ensure the bag has some air in it so it can be overhauled regularly. I will then remove, rinse, cold smoke, vac seal in UMAI bags until a 35% weight loss is achieved. ETC should be in late March

I will update in 3 weeks.

 

[Lonzinomaker]

Looks nice.
I've wanted to try the UMAI bags. Just been using beef bung and tying instead.

 

[Walt]

Thanks. With our temperatures down here, I wouldn't do it any other way. Works great. Been using them for a few years now.

 

[Walt]

Today, I removed from the cure, rinsed, dryed & liberally sprinkled with cracked pepper. Into the #2 with a couple of ice bottles & fired up the Big Kahuna external smoke generator.

The cuts I used were the eye of round (mock tenderloin) & the bottom round (split in half, lengthwise).

After the cold smoke, I will vac seal in UMAI bags to dryage for a couple months.

 

[Walt]

Post smoke....

 

[Walt]

A couple of weeks into the dryage and everything is firming up.

 

[barelfly]

This is great Walt. I have been wanting to make various charcuterie.  I have the great book and bags for it, just need to do it! This is a great reminder.

Can’t wait to hear how it comes out.

 

[Walt]

I had a small, 4oz, roast ripen today. Served it with honey & chevre goat cheese. Always good.

 

[Walt]

A few more ripened

 

[TexasSMK]

Awesome Walt, I need to get into to this one of these days

 

[kona77]

Walt- Not sure what was more impressive.. The beautiful 10pt buck or your whole detailed process from field to table. Heck I did not even know what Charcutrie meant until I researched the subject after reading posts from you and Pork Belly on this site.. Never heard of terms like basturma/bresaola until I saw them of this forum.Looks like a lot of work but I am sure the results are worth the effort..

 

[Walt]

Thanks for the kind words.
Its pretty easy but the process takes awhile. Turns out like a high end jerky. The cheese honey & caperberries or pickled items added, really elevates the whole dish. Its uncommon, even my chef friends are pleasantly supprised and my wife loves it. Becoming a yearly tradition.

 

[ReliableRick]

Hey Walt. I know the thread is a little old but how long is the bresaola good for after its done and how do you store it?

 

[Walt]

Sorry for the  delayed response.  I vac seal it. Between the cure and no oxygen I have never had one go bad. Still have a package or 2 from last season. Good luck.