Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (132 page)

Optional, to flavor boiled or roast beef: ¼ cup raw sausage meat and 1 Tb Cognac

1 tsp salt

Either
¼ tsp
épices fines;

Or
allspice and mace

¼ tsp savory or oregano

¼ tsp pepper

Big pinch of Cayenne or drops of Tabasco

2 large cloves of garlic, minced or puréed

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ to ⅓ cup beaten egg (1 to 2 eggs)

(If you have chard, use green leaves only.) Blanch, squeeze, and chop the greens as described in Step 1 of the preceding recipe, and cook with the onions 2 to 3 minutes until all liquid has evaporated; greens must be as dry as possible. Blend them in a large mixing bowl with the beef, seasonings, and cheese. Beat in 3 tablespoons of egg; beat in driblets more egg, moistening only enough so that mixture will hold its shape for forming. Sauté a spoonful and taste; correct seasoning as necessary.

2)
Forming the sausages

1 cup flour on a large tray

A large frying pan full of boiling water

A skimmer

A rack, or paper towels on a tray

1 or 2 shallow, greased baking dishes

2 to 3 cups good
tomato sauce
, or Volume I, pages 76 or 78

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 to 2 Tb olive oil

Take up a 3-Tb gob of the mixture and roll into a sausage shape ¾ inch in diameter; roll in flour and set aside. When all the sausages are formed, drop half into the boiling water, bring back to the simmer for ½ minute. Dip out onto rack and continue with the rest. Arrange closely together in baking dish or dishes. Pour over the tomato sauce, which should barely cover them. Sprinkle on the cheese and dribble the oil over it.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: May be completed a day in advance to this point.

3)
Cooking the sausages—oven preheated to 425 degrees

About 30 minutes before serving, bring to simmer on top of stove, then set in upper third of oven until sauce has browned and crusted lightly on upper part of sausages, and is bubbling underneath.

Variations

Like the
caillette
mixture in the Master Recipe, Step 3, the
tous nus
mixture may also be formed in caul fat or sausage casings, or may become sausage
cakes or
meat loaf.

JAMBON PERSILLÉ AND HOME-CURED PORK

Jambon persillé
is the traditional Easter ham of Burgundy. Simmered in wine, then cut up or shredded and packed into a big bowl between layers of chopped parsley, aspic, and seasonings, each slice when served is beautifully patterned with wavy lines of bright green. It is a marvelous dish for cold lunches, supper parties, and receptions. The real Burgundian recipe is made with salt-cured ham, known in France as
jambon demi-sel;
this is the same
process used in America for the dry-
curing of salt pork. Although you may certainly use regular ham for the dish, the salt cure is so easy—all you need is 2 weeks of refrigerator space for the large bowl that holds the meat—we highly recommend that you try it. It is not only that you will have the authentic meat for
jambon persillé,
but also that you can cure a loin of pork for chops or roasting, since salted pork makes a delicious change from ordinary pork and is broiled or roasted in exactly the same way. At the same time, if you can find any hog jowls or bellies, you can also make your own salt pork.

SALAISON À SEC

[Home Dry-curing of Pork]

The object of curing pork is not only to preserve it but to give it that special maturity of taste that only comes through salting. For our purposes here, we are more concerned with taste than with preservation. There is no need for brines, vats, and smokehouses, only for saltpeter, sugar, spices, and salt. Saltpeter imparts an attractive rosy color to the meat, sugar develops its flavor and counteracts the drying effects of saltpeter, spices play their habitual role, and salt preserves the meat while it matures. The following 15-day cure is for the boned fresh ham or shoulder that may be used for
jambon persillé,
and for loin roasts and salt-pork cuts; these are all pieces, in other words, that are no thicker than 4 to 5 inches.

TEMPERATURE FOR CURING

Curing should take place at around 38 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the range of most refrigerators. At temperatures over 40 degrees, the meat may spoil before the salt can penetrate, and at below 36 degrees the salt penetration is too much slowed down.

THE MEAT AND ITS PREPARATION FOR THE CURE

For
jambon persillé
you may use either fresh ham (leg of pork) or fresh shoulder-arm; shoulder is usually cheaper and weighs around 6½ pounds, or half as much as a ham. Many markets do not carry either of these fresh pork cuts, and you will have to order them. Before curing, remove the rind, which is to be cured and cooked along with the meat, and slice off as much fat from rind and outside of meat as you easily can; bone the meat as neatly as possible so that you do not end up with any more small pieces of meat than necessary.
Render the fat
, if you wish, and use it for general cooking. Simmer the bones with vegetables and herbs as for an ordinary meat stock, and store
in the freezer until it is finally time to cook the meat. If you want to add a loin roast of pork to the cure, bone it or not, as you choose, and slice off all but a ⅛-inch layer of covering fat. Pork jowls, belly, and fatback are cut into whatever sizes you find convenient, and are cured as is, with the rind left on.

Note on meat-to-bone ratios

The amount of usable meat you will get from a bone-in fresh ham or shoulder-arm is roughly 60 per cent. In other words, a 6½-pound shoulder-arm will yield approximately 4½ pounds of meat, which, when cooked and trimmed, usually amounts to 6 cups.

Dry-salt cure for 10 pounds of pork

10 lbs. fresh pork prepared as described in preceding paragraph (include rind if making
jambon persillé
)

A glazed or enameled bowl or casserole large enough to hold meat closely packed

1½ cups salt (sea salt, coarse salt, or table salt)

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp saltpeter (potassium nitrate from a pharmacy)

1½ tsp crushed juniper berries

Either
1½ tsp
épices fines
;

Or
¾ tsp white pepper, ¼ tsp allspice, and ¼ tsp each: pulverized thyme and bay leaf

A bowl to mix salt and spices in

A large tray to salt meat on

Plastic wrap, a large plate, and a 7- to 10-pound weight, meat grinder, brick, stone, or other heavy object

Prepare the pork as described and be sure curing bowl is the right size. Stir the salt and other ingredients thoroughly in the small bowl and divide in two, reserving ½ for later salting. Starting with the largest pieces of meat, rub salt thoroughly into all sides, corners, and crevices. Pat a
¹
⁄
₁₆
-inch layer over meat and pack into bowl. Continue with the smaller pieces and end with the rind, if you are using it, placing it fat side down over the meat. Cover meat with plastic wrap, plate, and weights. Refrigerate (or place in cold room) at 36 to 40 degrees for 5 days. Then remove meat, leaving accumulated brine in bowl, resalt with reserved mixture, and return to bowl with plastic, plate, and weight on top. Refrigerate for 10 days more, turning meat once or twice to be sure everything is well salted; meat is then ready to use.