Introduction & some questions


 
D

D Thomas

New member
Hi all,

I am new to the forum so I'd like to say hello to all and introduce myself, also I'm new to Charcuterie though pretty keen to learn I've made fresh sausages and am having a go at Beef Braeseola, and thinking of haveing a go at making Bacon soon.Then Salami and when some books I ordered finally arrive I'm sure the list will grow quite quickly.
which brings me to I am from Australia and some names of ingredients are different what is Kocher salt? is it rock salt or sea salt?
Maple Sugar I'm not sure if it is available here and would Bromn sugar be an ok substitute?

Regards

Dave
 
Welcome Dave!

Here's a good link that covers the most common salts most of us use. There are many salts out there, but this is a good starting point. Kosher salt is just a flatter style, as opposed to the more cubicle crystal style found in ordinary table salt. Kosher salt also doesn't contain iodine which is the primary reason I use it. I don't like the metallic off-flavor or iodized salt.

Maple syrup is a sugar product produced from maple trees typically growing in the northern parts of the US and southern Canada. It has a unique flavor but is not mandatory for most recipes.

You'll find that most recipes can be adjusted to the ingredients you have on hand or prefer.

Dealing specifically with sausages, I have found this site to be very helpful.

Good luck and keep the questions coming!

Paul
 
if you get confused about salts just use weight. Kosher salt can be vastly more voluminous than table salt (or less than coarse sea salt) however if you have pure NaCl (without iodine or other additives like Paul says) you can trust that one gram of kosher salt will be as salty as one gram of sea salt or one gram of table salt.

Maple sugar is essentially dehydrated maple syrup. I'd be surprised if maple syrup isn't commoditized enough to find some down under. Brown sugar is flavored with molasses so it's a different flavor, although similar.
 
Hi Thanks for the info, We do have maple syrup over here though alot and the only ones I have tried and didn't see why you guys liked it so much turned out to be Maple syrup imitation. However there is a US food shop near my work that I got some liquid smoke from and I noticed they had proper Maple syrup there so I might get some they may even have maple sugar I'll have a look.

I was thinking of having a go at making Michael Ruhlman's Maple cured bacon which is the reason for some of the questions.

Thanks again
 
Thanks for the links Paul. I found that site on Sausages yesterday and spent several hours reading the info there I also ordered the book on making fermented sausages along with Michael Ruhlman's "Charcutarie" from Amazon last week and am inpatiently waiting for them to arrive.
On the salt I am wondering if Kosher is what we call salt flakes.
or if its different again any way I'll go by weight and should be fine either way.

Thanks again
 
From the description I found

http://www.saltworks.us/salt_i...erence.asp#FlakeSalt

salt flakes are a lot finer (as in size) than kosher. Kosher are large, granular grains.

You can use salt flakes as they appear not be iodized (like table salt). You may want to adjust the amount you use the first time to ensure you don't use too much.

You get less kosher salt in a measured amount than say table salt because the grains are bigger (table salt would pack more in the same measuring spoon). The same would apply substituting flake for kosher.

Easy to add more, hard to remove too much.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">salt flakes are a lot finer (as in size) than kosher </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not necessarily. The salt flakes I use are less fine than kosher (Murray River) to much less fine than kosher (Maldon).

When subbing one salt for another go by weight not volume. And there is no need to use more expensive specialty salts in cures and sausage. Their flavor will be lost.
 
I'm not sure what that real maple syrup is going to cost you, but I'd suggest making the bacon with the imitation you already have. Make it again with the real syrup after you've had some practice.

Believe it or not, real maple syrup is unfortunately not consumed by the average American. My wife dislikes it and my kids prefer the corn syrup alternatives. Dad (me) gets his own syrup.

Maple syrup seems abundant but I'd love to find some good bellies instead of what I can get at the asian groceries. I'd do a trade with you but shipping is going to kill that deal.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Believe it or not, real maple syrup is unfortunately not consumed by the average American. My wife dislikes it and my kids prefer the corn syrup alternatives. Dad (me) gets his own syrup. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh man, my wife pretty much drinks real maple syrup! Woman has expensive taste though.

Dave, I think you can use various sugars to replace the maple in Ruhlman's recipe - brown sugar would work in a pinch. In fact I used brown sugar as a finishing rub on the last batch of bacon I made.

Raw or turbinado sugar would work as well. As would simply applying the cure without maple syrup and smoking the bacon. Imo anyway.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">salt flakes are a lot finer (as in size) than kosher </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not necessarily. The salt flakes I use are less fine than kosher (Murray River) to much less fine than kosher (Maldon).

When subbing one salt for another go by weight not volume. And there is no need to use more expensive specialty salts in cures and sausage. Their flavor will be lost. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi Kevin

Just a quick question

How much do you guys pay for Murray River salt there.
It is only a 100 or so miles away from me and we pay through the nose for it. About $20.00 a Lb.

Cheers
 
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