Can dry aging beef and curing/fermenting/drying meat be done in same environment ? By environment I’m referring to using the same fridge or room for example. Do these processes require similar temperature and humidity ? I’d like to get a dry aging fridge, but maybe I would need two if I want to do it all (dry age beef and make salami).
Meat – Can Dry Aging Beef and Curing/Fermenting/Drying Meat Be Done in Same Environment?
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I understand the intent of the advice to always keep meat and vegetable preparation tools and areas separate is to establish a habit, to avoid the possibility of cross contamination in cases where you are not going to be cooking the vegetables as much or at all; and similarly in a catering environment to be able to visibly demonstrate that working practices are such that cross contamination cannot occur.
Your filling is basically a beef stew/casserole, so any cuts that suite long slow cooking are fine. They get cooked again while the pie is baked, so premium cuts will just be wasted
The lower grade and 'off cut' parts are what are most commonly used. Like rump, brisket, chuck, shank, neck etc
Using a bench top slow cooker makes cooking this all very easy. The beef needs to be fully cooked before making the pie. An eight hour slow cook is fine
You want the pieces to be a variety of sizes to fill out the pie shape, but make sure you have some at least the height of the pie filling. The larger pieces tend to be better, but that could be a matter of taste and culture
You need to get rid of plenty of fat before and after cooking. A mouth full of fat in a pie is not nice. There is already plenty of fat in the gravy and pastry, so trim off all you can
A good meat pie should have a solid layer of meat connected with gravy, not swimming. It should also not be so full as you can't eat it with your hands (for a single serve pie) without loosing half the contents
Puff/flakey pastry works best and holds everything together
Avoid overly strong flavoured gravies, you don't want to hide the beef and pastry taste
Before you attach the lid, place a slice of tasty cheese, or an extra generous serving of cracked pepper on top of the filling
A respectable pie looks like this - thanks to Ponsonby Pies (not made in Ponsonby anymore)
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Best Answer
No, you can't do both in the same environment because the two need very different temperatures. Dry aging beef requires a cold environment (34-38°F or 0-2°C). Curing salami needs a higher temperature (42-60°F, 6-16&dev;C) and slightly higher humidity (70-80%). Beef would rot in the temperature range you'd cure salami.