Dry cured Bresaola
Making your own bresaola is a great way to get into home cured charcuterie. The beef is dry cured with herbs and spices before air drying for several weeks. The anticipation of finally getting to cut and taste your first slices can be intense, but it is well worth the wait!
Ingredients
1.2kg Silverside of beef (ask your butcher to trim off all the sinew)
250g Coarse sea Salt
200g Dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp Juniper Berries
1 Tbsp Black Peppercorns
1 Tbsp Fresh Oregano
2 Sprigs Rosemary, stripped from the stem
5g Salt Peter*
You will need – Muslin cloth, butcher’s string
Method
In a pestle and mortar, bash together the junper berries, peppercorns and herbs until well crushed and bruised. Combine with the Salt, Sugar and Salt Peter in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
Set half of this mixture aside to use later. The remaining half, place into a large freezer bag with the beef, give it a good massage to make sure its fully coating the beef and place in the fridge. Every day, turn the bag over, after a week remove from the bag and give it a quick wipe down with kitchen roll, add the reserved half of the dry cure mixture to a new freezer bag with the beef and place back in the fridge, repeating its daily rotation for another week.
Remove from the fridge, give a good wipe down with kitchen roll. Tie a series of butcher’s knots along the length of the beef, wrap and tie in a sheet of muslin. Weigh the beef and make a note (The bresaola is ready when its lost approximately 30% of its weight.)
To air dry the beef, it simply needs to be hung (horizontally) somewhere consistently reasonably cool (10-15C) and ideally with a slight draft and with some humidity. A utility room or pantry with a window ajar is great depending on the time of year, you could also place a small fan in the corner of the room. I’ve used my garden shed before (the door is broken so the draft is taken care of!) The length of time it takes to dry will vary depending on where you hang it, but it should be ready 2-4 weeks. You can remove any mould (perfectly normal!) with a clean cloth and some white wine vinegar. Slice wafer thin and serve with lemon and homemade pickles.