In this episode we make Lonza, a type of dry cured meat (salumi) made from pork loin.

I am starting from a boneless pork loin that weighs a bit less than two pounds. The first step in the dry curing process is to make and apply the cure. This Lonza uses a simple salt cure.
• Coat the pork completely with kosher salt and place it in a zip lock bag.
• Add ~2 tsp of toasted and crushed (not ground) black pepper.
• Squeeze out the air, seal the bag, put it on a tray, and weigh it down with about 810 pounds
• Cure it in the fridge. For something this size it will take about a day. Turn it once about halfway through to redistribute the cure. (If your loin is more than two pounds then scale up the pepper and the curing time appropriately)

After the curing time is complete, prepare the loin for the drying phase.
• Wash of the cure in running water and pat dry.
• Rub with white wine
• Coat completely with ground black pepper
• Tie with twine using a butchers’ knot
• Weigh it and write the weight down
• Spray it with Bactofirm Mold 600
• Hang it in the trying chamber (see Episode 81) for 3 to 4 weeks or until it loses about 30% of its weight

Bactofirm Mold 600 is a naturally occurring mold (penicillium nalgiovese) that is easily available in freeze dried form from multiple sources on the internet. This is a harmless beneficial surface mold that wins the battle over pathogenic bacteria, protecting the meat during the drying process from harmful mold and spoilage. It is not generally considered essential when drying whole muscle (it is essential for drying ground meat products), but since my “drying cave” is a contrivance that could become infected with “bad stuff” I prefer being safe rather than getting other molds and having to remove them during drying.

After three weeks my Lonza has already lost a bit more than 30% of the weight, so it is finished drying. It will have the white powdery (not fuzzy) surface mold. Remove the string and wipe off the mold with a damp cloth. Don’t obsess over it. It is perfectly safe to ingest and won’t affect the flavor. Slice to whatever thickness you prefer. You can use a sharp slicing knife for this, put it is more convenient if you have a small home slicer.

You can store wrapped in the fridge and slice as you go, or you can just slice it all up at once, portion it into vacuum bags, and freeze until you need it. No need to freeze the slices if you plan to use it all over the next couple of weeks. It is, after all, cured and dried and so quite well preserved. The only issue with keeping it too long sliced and unfrozen is that the slices get really dried out.

Just like other “cold cuts,” serve it with some bread, cheese, and olives, or make it into sandwiches. You can also dice some up and use as a flavoring in cooking.