Venison Prosciutto

Remember this gory post back here? (After seeing it my sister cried) Since then a small doe's hind quarter has been hanging in the basement wrapped in cheese cloth. Every now and again I'd go down there and inspect. Humidity was generally around 40%, and the temp hovered between 45 and 50. From curing duck breasts in the past, I knew density was an issue, so I'd occasionally give the thing a poke to see how it was coming along. In general, I tried to ignore it.

Yesterday ignoring the hanging meat proved futile. I was helping a buddy store some stuff in my basement so that he could go off to play mercenary and fight pirates. Even to him, the sight of a cheese cloth covered hunk of flesh was startling. So after his things were all packed away I smelled, poked, and prodded the curing venison. It seemed good to me.

And there it is, in all it's deery glory. It was all very simple and remarkably unscientific. I tried reading up on the process on the interweb, but didn't have much luck. I spoke to a guy around here who has cured a pig leg or two, and that was helpful enough--particularly one tip involving lard--but still, no details abound. So screw it, I just covered the thing with salt for three days (see bottom pic) and put it in the fridge. After three days I brushed all visible salt off with a paper towel and coated the thing in a mixture of about equal parts ground coriander, juniper berry, and black pepper. I also rubbed it with pork lard, paying particular attention to the area where the bone was kind of sticking out (see next pic down).

That was it. It just hung in the basement for about a month and a half. There were no nitrites, nitrates, deep tissue massages, or otherwise pampering. And I don't think I'll do it any differently when I do this again. I'm curious about using a lard/flour paste instead of just lard, and maybe sea salt instead of regular kosher salt. But then again, if it ain't broke . . . .

Now it's just a matter of figuring out what to do with all of it. Like porcine prosciutto, a little goes a long way. Radicchio salad w/ pine nuts, parm, and a lemony vinaigrette?

Looks fine to me (except for those weak knife skills--I'll blame the lack of a suitable slicer).

Getting ready for a three day slumber in the fridge.