I know this is a food blog but when certain things happen I feel the need to point them out. This is a picture of my front door taken around noon today. It is still snowing and has shown no signs of slowing down. My wife wanted to go to the post office today and after trying the best I could to talk her out of it she still wanted to go so I offered to drive her. We had to leave through the garage door and made it to the end of the street before she said we should turn around and go back. I had to shovel a path through a four foot drift just to get to the car and then she decides it might not be a good Idea to be out driving. So we are tucked in comfortably at home with nowhere to go and really nothing to do and like everyone else in Minnesota just waiting out the storm. I am guessing however that I am the only one in Minnesota who will be waiting out the storm watching the Army-Navy football game and enjoying some Mocetta.
A while back I had read a blog by Hank Shaw about goat and Mocetta, Mocetta is a northern Italian dry cured goat ham. This last october I had roasted a whole goat and made a goat and squash curry for a party at a friends farm. I reserved one whole hind quarter with the intention of trying this Mocetta. Well it has been almost two months since I started the process and I am happy to say that it is done. I had to rub the quarter with a cure mix and then rotate and add more cure mix for about three weeks and then it has been hanging in the garage for a little over a month while it was drying. After it lost about a third of its pre-hanging weight it is done and I must say looks as beautiful as anything I have ever done.
The flavor is absolutely amazing and and the meat has no gamey flavor at all. I was afraid that as the meat dried it would eventually become to rich and be overpowering but it is a very mellow flavored meat and the fat melts just like butter. I have eaten a few slices and am looking forward to trying it in as many ways as I can. I am really looking forward to having my buddy who got the goat give it a try. It is truly amazing.
Looks good. Your buddy is looking forward to tasting it as well.
ReplyDeleteKeep warm.
Hey there,
ReplyDeleteYour mocetta looks awesome! So glad you liked my recipe. I never made any this year, although maybe I will do it with a venison leg...
I killed a goat in feb and decided to try your recipe as well. I have it hanging in the barm and wraped it in cheese cloth to keep out the dust etc. I'm surprised to see jcc only hung it for a month. I've been checking temp and humitity along the way and figure it will be ready in may or june I'll keep you posted
ReplyDeleteI'm making some mocetta right now. Gave it the salt rub this afternoon. Time for it to tucker down in the fridge for three weeks, then another rub down with more salt and seasonings. Then into the basement to hang until the holidays. Very exciting.
ReplyDelete