Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing

A long-awaited follow-up to their previous book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing , this volume is exclusively focused on Italian dry-curing (while mentioned in Charcuterie, that book covered fresh sausages in much more detail). Salumi is a meticulous step-by-step look at the production of both whole-muscle dry-cured products such as prosciutto as well as salami and related products. It covers various technical food-safety details in a clear, easy-to-understand manner, and it cites its sources, a major plus. It also includes information on the curing environment, including advice on curing in refrigerators, wine fridges, and custom-made curing chambers (with the sensible cautionary note that "[those] who have built thriving dry curing businesses are regularly confounded by inconsistencies and failures"... in other words, don't panic!). Salumi contains "classic" recipes for what the authors call "the big eight" of Italian dry-curing (prosciutto, salami, coppa, lardo, spalla, guanciale, lonza, and pancetta) as well a number of other products such as mortadella and bresaola, and variations on the classics. The classic recipes themselves aren't doing any innovation, of course, but they aren't supposed to: what they are is straightforward, well-explained, and thorough. Make sure to read the introductory chapters, however, which is where you'll find the details that are common across all the salumi presented in the recipes section. I only have two minor objections to the book: first, while gorgeous, the photography seems more focused on being pretty than on showing the production of the salumi. Second, while I applaud the book for containing weight measurements for most ingredients (in both metric and English, even), there are a few, such as garlic, that they leave as "number of cloves" etc., which seems to defeat the point of much of the precision. All told though, as long as you've got the salt:meat ratio in weight, each cook will probably want to fiddle with the other stuff anyway, so it's not a huge omission. Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in dry curing, either at home or professionally: it is far and away the best dedicated volume on the market today. Pros: ---- * In-depth coverage of all important aspects of dry-curing * Up-to-date food safety recommendations * Clear, classic recipes for many of the major dry-cured products we are familiar with today Cons: ----- * Photographs aren't that helpful for production purposes (beautiful, though!) * Weights not given for 100% of ingredients

Of the three books on charcuterie I have read this is probably the best for the novice who wants to remain closer to the Italian tradition of salted and cured meats. The first few chapters deal with the what, why and how of charcuterie. There is even a section on how to butcher a hog, if one is so inclined. The instructions for the various preparations are detailed and the two color illustrations are very clear. The book provides tips on which cured meat are more suitable if the space to cure them is limited. The recipes using cured meats are valuable to any cook. Of the books on charcuterie I have read so far it is the only one to provide a recipe for "Zampone" and "Cotechino" The retail price is a hair short of $ 40.00, but the book can be found on amazon both new and used for considerably less. Actually I found a new one for less than the price of a used one. I am thrilled with the book and determined to give charcuterie a serious try. This book provides all I need to do it successfully and almost feel that I know what I'm doing. It would make a splendid gift!

Having started curing meats about 3 years ago, this is another great book to use as a rescource. The book is put together well from start to finish and includes some excellent pictures of finished product. Ruhlman and Polcyn Salumi includes some great new information. They describe the traditional hog breakdown by American and Italian processes. To assist the novice, they explain what to do with the cuts and how to best utilize the cuts according to the style of the breakdown.In this section, they also touch on bone-in and out for Spalla, a quicker way to produce a "prosciutto" type product for example.Next, they describe the dry curing basics describing and suggesting different salts, molds, equipement and drying enviroment. Some of this information will be review for the Salumeria but vital for the novice.Next, they go into whole muscle curing of the big 7 and salami. A great section with explanation and recipes. A new recipe includes the Culatello and an explanation of the Culatello versus the Fiocco. The last section of the book reveals recipes on how to cook and serve the Salumi. A nice way to wrap-up the book and to show off your creations. I really enjoyed the book and I look forward to putting this infrormation to work. I am especially interested in trying my first Lardo recipe inspired by their visit to Italy, I am assuming they went, from the region of Colonnata. In any case, the recipe and information looks to reward the Salumeria with a great product. Of course, it all starts with the hog and the quality of the hog. Thanks again for a great book and I look forward to sharing the finished products with others that enjoy and appreciate the art of Charcuterie! Bartolio Salumeria

While Charcuterie only touched on dry curing, this book deals specifically with it and in the Italian methods. It is even more readable than its predecessor and the details on butchering, meat preparation, and curing are exception. BTW it stands on its own and you It covers the differences in how a hog is cut up to maximized meat for salumi, salting and curing, drying, and safety. The authors start with the big eight - the classic cured cuts - and then move into variation, other meats and using the scraps left over from cutting. Excellent book that takes a lot of the mystery away.

First, I read comments on this book in the comment section of Amazon and was hesitating. Not sure if it would contain the level of information I wanted on the subject. Not sure about measurement and quanteties and other subjects people were complaining about. Well, after buying the book and read it in its entirety; everything is in there. From the hog's to the table with all steps and precision needed. Yes, if you skip the first half of the book and go directly to the recipes you're missing a lot of information about how and what. Take the time to read the first 200 pages and everything is in there,, well written and on a home cook level. No need for expansive Professional équipement. Magnificent work in my opinion. Do not hesitate; buy it!

Nice book with lot of original traditional receipts(I m Italian) and in depth explanation of the arguments .

Livro destinado a entusiastas ou até mesmo a profissionais . Livro de grande ajuda no dia a dia de um cozinheiro que se interessa pelo bom gosto com seriedade.

It appears that the author is now settled with how charcuterie works and this new book on Salumi is delivered in a definate state of mind it's as if he's said outloud "I'm not going to rush this, I'm not going to overcomplicate this, I'm going to enjoy this". When I first read this book I recognised imediately the simplicity that will be its power. Well done to the authors, I'll include a copy in my classes. Marc-Frederic Le Charcutier Anglais

Lots of useful info