# Good books on cured meats?



## Tyler520 (Oct 16, 2018)

Was wondering if anyone could recommend books/authors in the subject of cured meat?

I have a few from Ruhlman, the Marianski Bros, and Steven Lamb who all seem to have big followings and respect - however, I've heard stories that Ruhlman has had to revise his books in the past because some of his recipes had been deemed relatively unsuccessful and unsafe ( my only cirticism of his recipes is that they tend to wander far off the 'traditional' path from time to time. Others seem to be highly critical of Lamb because he doesn't use nitrites/nitrates.

I guess everyone has their camp?


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I have the Ruhlman, but haven't made much from it. I have a Garde Manger textbook from the Culinary Institute of America. I mostly do fresh sausage, not cured though.


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

I’d love to hear more about the Ruhlman story. His corned beef is on the salty side but never heard about unsuccessful/unsafe recipes.

For traditional cured meat recipes I’ve found Klutas’ “Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing” to be quite useful.


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## Tyler520 (Oct 16, 2018)

brianshaw said:


> I'd love to hear more about the Ruhlman story. His corned beef is on the salty side but never heard about unsuccessful/unsafe recipes.
> 
> For traditional cured meat recipes I've found Klutas' "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing" to be quite useful.


apparently, enough people reported that some of his salumi recipes went rancid that it became the primary impetus for issuing the revised edition of his Charcuterie book


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Oh dear… sadly I have a first edition copy. I really don’t like the idea of having to buy the revised edition. I hope that he posted errata somewhere. I’ll hunt for that.


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## Tyler520 (Oct 16, 2018)

brianshaw said:


> Oh dear… sadly I have a first edition copy. I really don't like the idea of having to buy the revised edition. I hope that he posted errata somewhere. I'll hunt for that.


I believe he has them on his website. The trouble will be figuring out which recipe was updated. I've seen several cheap copies of the revised edition on some of the bigger used book websites like thrift books and abe books


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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

I got the ruhlman book, first edition, and I definitely have some queries about the amounts of cure he uses. Some are severely overdosed!
Recommended books:
Marianski "home production of quality meats and sausages". They also have a good website and forum
Meatsandsausages.com
https://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/index.php?sid=69ad11fa3a6df726885ddd6d408f8f3e

I also really liked "charcuteria, the soul of Spain" from Jeffrey Weiss. It focuses solely on Spanish meats, but is a real beautiful book with great recipes and explanations.


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## jaycobb1045 (Mar 6, 2012)

I am new to home curing and got my start with Ruhlman's Charcuterie. The first project I tried was bacon, using his ratios and a modified salt box method. For my first try ever I was happy enough, but it was definitely on the salty side. Better for use in a dish than to eat on its own. Does anyone with more experience in this area have tips for me? Is it more likely to be a ratio problem or a cure length problem? My next step is to do some controlled tests, but I'd appreciate any input.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

There are a number of online bacon calculators for percentages and measurements based on the weight of the belly slab. Check a few different ones to gauge their agreement with each other. There are even low sodium ones.


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## Tyler520 (Oct 16, 2018)

jaycobb1045 said:


> I am new to home curing and got my start with Ruhlman's Charcuterie. The first project I tried was bacon, using his ratios and a modified salt box method. For my first try ever I was happy enough, but it was definitely on the salty side. Better for use in a dish than to eat on its own. Does anyone with more experience in this area have tips for me? Is it more likely to be a ratio problem or a cure length problem? My next step is to do some controlled tests, but I'd appreciate any input.


I've now done dozens of slabs of bacon and pancettas since originally posting this. Rhulman's ratios actually seem to be on the low side for salt compared to many other recommendations. I would experiment with just soaking in water after you're done with the cure. Start with half an hour and adjust from there.


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