Pastourma of the Harbor (Salumi)

The tale of the two Salumi's, a Salami and a Dry-Aged Loin that started at Safeway. Yea no kidding.......it was shortly after Thanksgiving and in lo and behold hanging out in their meat case were a half a dozen Beef Loins weighing in at 14-16 lbs (massive discount too). I must have walked by this extravaganza of meat at least 3 x before I pulled the trigger. As I pondered the purchase of the Loins, I had to figure out what to do with them. 

As most of you already know, I love Cured Meat, and a while back, I used the Loin successfully (multiple times) to make my version of Basturma, so with that in mind, I purchased a 16 pounder. Hmmm..... what to do? Wait, I said two Salumi's, a Dry-Aged Loin, and a Salami? I'm getting there. Just be patient. 

I got home and showed the wife my glorious purchase. As always, she just nodded her head. She doesn't actually care about my food and meat obsession, so she just nods and smiles. I get it. I feel the same way about her shades of Lipstick too.....just smile and say how nice she looks. Anyhow she was headed out, and with that, I had another idea. I had her buy me another one. Yup, that's right one more. I decided to Dry-Age that one in my Steakager.  

Over several days of shopping at various stores, I popped back in Safeway and bought my third. I had another idea for Salumi. Where does the Salami come in here? Well, I used all the fat trimmings off the Loins to make a Salami…… yes, there is a difference between a Salami and a Salumi. 

Heres the 16 lb. Loin unleashed from its cryovac home.

 First thing I did was to dry the surface. I hate working with moist meat.


Using a very sharp knife, I removed all the fat I could do without damaging the Loin. These types of Salumi benefit from a minimum of fat. The fat will be used for my Salami's.

Assemble the ingredients!! Place Salt and Cure in a separate bowl. Place Orange Peel, Coriander, and Grains of Paradise in a spice mill and grind. 

First coat Loin with Salt/Cure mixture getting it into every nook and cranny. 

Then apply the rest of the ingredients doing the same. 

Vac Seal and place in the refrigerator for 21-25 days to cure. Every day give it a whack and rotate.

After 22 days, it was cured. I rinsed thoroughly.

 Apply rub. Mace, Grains of Paradise, Orange Peel, coriander @ .25% each and 1% of Demerara Sugar.

Jan 5, 2018
Place Cured loin in the UMAI bag. Weigh... subtract 30%. Weight 3589 g -30% =2512 g.

March 5, 2018- Just weighed. It lost 31% of its green weight.

After the Sujuk hit it's hit target weight loss of 31% (was shooting for 30%), it's vac sealed so the moisture can equalize. In other words, the moisture will be retributed. Have you ever cut into something like this and wondered why the outside is super hard, and the center is a little softer? Other than case hardening, it's about moisture redistribution. The closest analogy I could offer is letting a steak rest after it's cooked. This rest period will take at least 8-12 weeks for optimum results. The larger the piece, the longer it will take. 

After 11 weeks, I decided it was done. 

So far, so good….. 

Must use a professional deli slicer….

Review at the bottom…..

Review- Amazing, of course. The very light flavor which is what I was going for. Nothing stood out for me. All the flavors intermingled very well…. 5 months in the making.