Venison Bresaola
Meat, salt, and some spices. This dry cured charcuterie is just about as simple as it gets and really amplifies the flavor of the venison. The quality of the meat is the most important part- lean, well trimmed, and handled properly. There are so many reasons why proper field care of meat is so important, especially for anyone hunting in warm climates or seasons. This is one of them.
This is really one of the easiest of the dry-cured charcuteries to make- it’s the perfect beginner’s charcuterie. That being said, making it for the first time was a little nerve wracking. Seeing blooms of mold on the first batch of bresaola scared me, even though I knew it was safe. Double checking resources and finding some assurance from charcuterie maker groups online, I wiped some of the mold off and proceeded with the waiting game. After a few weeks, our first bresacolas were pulled from the netting, sliced, and we each had a taste. It was deep, with a rich venison flavor and just the right amount of funk on the finish. If you have any Chateauneuf-du-Pape, pour yourself a glass.
Check the bresaola every few days and wipe off any mold that isn’t white with a cloth and vinegar. IF you get any dark or blue mold, trash it, not worth the risk. Some greenish mold may form, remove it but keep an eye on it. Trust your nose- if it smells like spoiled meat, or has an ammonia smell, get rid of it.
Venison Bresaola
As always, we use metric measurements and go by percentage weight for our sausage recipes. We do this to make the recipes easy to scale and replicate exactly, batch after batch. To measure your ingredients, first weigh the meat you are using, and then calculate the weight of all the other ingredients based on the weight of the meat.
Prep time: 30 minutes active, several days inactive
Yield: Varies
Ingredients:
100% venison outside round, trimmed of all fat and silver skin (backstrap would work great)
3.7% salt
2.0% sugar
0.4% rosemary, fresh minced
0.5% thyme, fresh minced
6 juniper berries, crushed (use 6 whole berries per whole muscle)
Method:
Mix the salt and spices, split in half by weight.
Rub one half on the cure on the venison, making sure to evenly coat all surfaces. Place in a ziplock bag or non-reactive container and cover. Refrigerate for 7 days. Daily, rotate the meat in the container or flip the bag over.
After 7 days, remove the meat from the container, drain off the liquid, and apply the second half of the rub. Place back in the refrigerator and cure for another 7 days, agitating/rotating daily.
After the second cure, rinse with cold water and pat dry. Tie up or use butcher’s netting. Weigh and hang in the curing chamber for around 3 weeks, or until you hit 30-35% weight loss.
