Air-dried lamb with fermented rice (koji) cure

 

Air-dried lamb with fermented rice (koji) cure

 

Swiss air-dried beef is one of my favorite cured meats, after reading Koji Alchemy, I decided to give it a go, wonderful result in just 3 weeks.

Using fermented rice (koji) in the cure helps to accelerate the process (by providing necessary enzymes), make it safer for home curing.

I used a small piece of lamb loin to test, will try it on a bigger piece of beef next.

 

Air-dried lamb, before curing

1. Make a paste with 3% (weight of meat ) each of salt and sugar, 10-15% fermented rice (with 5% salt), black pepper and minced leek (for the natural nitrate as preservative), spread all over the piece of lean meat.

2. Covered and keep in the fridge for 5 days, turning over everyday.

3. Scrape and wipe away paste, note the weight, wrap with a layer of cheese cloth, dry on a rack on the top shelf of the fridge, turnover every few days.

4. When hard enough, after losing 50% of weight, around 3 weeks, cut away the surface layer all round, and ready to serve.