Top products from r/Charcuterie

As far as I know, there aren't any mini-fridges specifically designed for curing meats. The closest I have found is a digitally controllable wine fridge. The downside is that it only goes up to 65ºF, but I ferment my salami at 70ºF. I've written a blog post about modifying my fridge for curing.

As for meat grinding, if you already have a kitchen-aid, the best thing to start with is the meat grinder attachment. Don't bother getting the stuffer attachment because it's terrible. It's really worth the money to buy a dedicated stuffer. I use this one, but I'm considering upgrading to the 15lb stuffer.

As for books, I like The Art of Making Fermented Sausages and Charcuterie. But note that The Art of Making Fermented Sausages uses T-SPX bacteria in it's recipes where Charcuterie uses F-RM-52. Curing with T-SPX takes around 30 days, where F-RM-52 is around 2 weeks (IIRC). I haven't tried curing with F-RM-52 yet. The Art of Making Fermented Sausages is very "food science" based, so it contains charts and graphs about pH levels and how they related to humidity and temp, etc. Charcuterie has more recipes than just Salami, and is more similar to a recipe book.

Good luck!

This is the recipe that i ended up with, most of the info i obtained from the book

'Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing' https://www.amazon.com/Great-Sausage-Recipes-Meat-Curing/dp/0025668609. I honestly would recommend reading the book before making any sausages it gives you all the info you need.

1.5kg pork trim

1.5kg pork butt

Curing salts according to weight

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon ground pepper

1.5 tablespoons white sugar

1 chicken stock cube

1.5 cups milk powder

Hog casings

Grind pork initially through the biggest plate and then again through smallest plate.

mix in seasoning( not milk powder) mixed with cold water( helps distribution).

Chill mix and then emulsify in food processor with milk powder and ice cold water to help the processer and keep the mixture cold, best to do this in small amounts

Stuff into the casing and allow to dry for a few hours and smoke at low temp until nicely browned and dry. We used simple low tech barrel smoker.

Since no one's commented in a day, I just wanted to say this book just came out a couple months ago, so likely not many have looked at it yet. But he's chef of a couple excellent restaurants, and looking through the recipes, he has a decidedly world-wide cuisine, taking inspiration from Europe, Southeast Asia, Mexico and many other places. He even has a recipe for New Jersey style pork roll (Taylor ham), beloved breakfast sandwich meat. So there's plenty in there to delight even an experienced cook.

The indispensable book remains Ruhlman's Charcuterie. If your friend already has that, I recommend Fatted Calf's In the Charcuterie.

I put together my own curing chamber after falling into the rabbit hole of this subreddit. In total it cost me about $175.
Materials:
Temp Controller
Humidity Controller This humidity controller is much cheaper than other options I saw, you will have to wire it yourself, but it works great!
Ultrasonic Humidifier, I got one for $35 on Amazon.
Humidity Monitor
I simply browsed Craigslist for a suitable full size fridge, and managed to get one for $40. This is the one I got
Let me know if you have any questions Id be happy to help!

I got my start mainly from Hank Shaw's awesome blogs entries at https://honest-food.net/ as well as

http://mattikaarts.com/blog/meat-curing-at-home-the-setup/

Wine fridges usually operate in a ~45-55 degree range which is a perfect temperature for curing meats

Add in a better humidifier controller such as

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001OLVNUK

and an ultrasonic humidifier such as

https://www.amazon.com/Ultrasonic-Cool-Mist-Humidifier-Whisper-quiet/dp/B013IJPTFK

and you're 99% there!

Craigslist / Kijiji is your friend

i normally start with like 75%-80% for the first week or so then drop it down to 70% for the rest of the aging. This allows the meat to dry out slowly at first so the casing doesn't harden and trap in moisture which can lead to spoilage. I think it is important to get an adjustable hydrometer and calibrate it so you know your actual humidity and not assumed. However, if your meat didn't spoil but just hardened around the edges, you can vacuum seal the end result for a couple weeks and it will even it out and improve the mouthfeel.
this is a good hydrometer and this is a good calibration kit

Ruhlman is ok but not the best by far. If you want a good comprehensive book then grab Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages by the Marianskis. It's not a flashy overproduced book so will cost less then Ruhlman, and it's a lot of theory with few full recipes but that's the point, if you understand the theory the recipes don't matter. Following a recipe blind is a great way to screw up since there's so many horrible and inconsistent recipes available with the internet, it's better imo to learn what you are doing and devise your own recipes, or at very least have the ability to proofread recipes you find online and be able to correct them if need be.

This is the dehumidifier I was thinking about. It doesn't have a compressor and I've read others post about using ones like this with the Peltier technology with success. Hopefully it'll work out.

If I upgrade to a larger chamber I'll probably spend a little extra and get a better controller too. But for a first one I'm hoping this works out.

frankfurters are usually sheep, yes.

That westin will be way better than stuffing with the kitchen aid, and I have one but no longer use it because I upgraded to this which super awesome but not lower in price.

Recipe appears to have worked out great! Mixed the sausage well so the texture is far better than the last batch, and I used a new stuffer that was way better than a kitchenaid attachment.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000SQDTRC/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1381381881&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

I bought the STX turbo force and love it! Great quality and wonderful customer service. We used it last week to grind about 60 lb of meat and it didn't skip a beat...wonderful consistent grind. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0012KJBR0/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1371999994&sr=8-2&pi=SL75

That looks wonderful. A charcuterie trip to Spain is definitely on my bucket list. What got me thinking about it was reading this book Charcuteria: The Soul of Spain. It's a truly wonderful read if you're into this kind of thing.

Sure!

The River Cottage Curing and Smoking Handbook is what I used as a reference. It's great.

I'm going to have it in my basement for the winter where it is cold and dry. I'm the spring I'll probably move it to my in-laws basement which doesn't get humid in the summer. I'm just going to source meat hooks on Amazon, there are a bunch.

As to sourcing the leg, I'm lucky in that living on the Vermont/NH border there E many organic farmers around. And I'm lucky enough to have one that will do this stuff with me. I would probably start with farms in your area and then move to butcher shops. Ask for rear leg with the trotter attached.

Hector Kents book is really good and I'm surprised it isn't on this sub's list. Kent hits a great balance of breadth, depth, and explanation/teaching.

Dry-Curing Pork: Make Your Own Salami, Pancetta, Coppa, Prosciutto, and More (Countryman Know How) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1581572433/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ddWYCbG1MD6EN

I never did love the Rulman Charcuterie book. Marianski's book about fermented sausages is really good.

I've not tried dry-cured meats, but here's a stuffer for $40US. I just use my grinder to stuff the sausages I make (bratwurst, andouille, boudin) and it works just fine. The piston press stuffer really shines for emulsified sausages like bologna and franks.

As for recipes, I have this book and this one and they are fairly comprehensive. Read the Ruhlman first for the broad strokes, then the Marianski for some more in-depth theory and practice, along with what seems like a thousand recipes.

Bacon is the easiest place to start, since it doesn't involve as much work or special equipment as sausages — you just add a curing salt mix to a pork belly, stick it in the fridge for 7 - 10 days, flipping it daily to redistribute the cure. Of course there are a few variations on this, and you can smoke it at the end, but that's the gist of it. Recipes are easy to find online.

If you really want to get into fermented sausages, you're looking at a much more involved undertaking, since this generally requires a curing chamber with controlled temperature and humidity for a period of weeks (in addition to the meat grinder and sausage stuffer you'd need for other sausages).

Check out the Charcuterie Resources Master List in the sidebar for a master list of charcuterie resources. Another book that is not listed there (I believe it came out after the list was compiled) is Salumi by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn, which is primarily concerned with dry curing and does get into fermented cured meats as well.

Do yourself a favor and buy this book. The first half of the book is all about food science related to meat drying and curing. The recipes are based on mass of ingredients and is really the only way to go. I have several books on charcuterie, but the Marianski brothers' books are the absolute best.

Also, get a decent scale that will measure to 0.1 gram and you will be fine.

Start with a whole muscle cure, like a Coppa. The tricky part is finding the right environment to dry it properly. We have drying chambers that have humidity and temperature conditions that are ideal for slowly air drying cured products.
The best book for really learning the how's and why's is...
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Production-Quality-Meats-Sausages/dp/0982426739

If you are smart and what to learn the reason why you do everything you do - https://www.amazon.com/Home-Production-Quality-Meats-Sausages/dp/0982426739/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1487389744&sr=8-1&keywords=Marianski


Maybe my Favorite Sausage Recipe - http://honest-food.net/sweet-italian-sausage-recipe/

If you want a good recipe book - https://www.amazon.com/Great-Sausage-Recipes-Meat-Curing/dp/0025668609/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=N71RD112GDYKRZQMXN9G

Like most members here, I started out with a KA grinder and sausage stuffer. The sausage stuffer was the first to go. One batch, and I saw how absolutely terrible this was. I got a LEM 5lb stuffer and have never been happier. Trust me, it's worth every cent.

In terms of grinder, the KA worked fine...it got the job done, didn't take too long, and was reliable. The problem for me was that I felt like I was burning out the KA motor. It always sounded really stressed when I sent the meat through, and it's my girlfriend's KA, so I didn't want to burn the motor out. So, after much research, I got this: http://www.amazon.com/STX-TURBOFORCE-3000-SERIES-ATTACHEMENT/dp/B0012KJBR0

Awful, cheap sounding name? Yes. Amazing grinder? Absolutely. This thing tears through 5lb of meat in about 2 minutes. I'm sure that the LEM grinder is better, but it's twice the price, and I really don't think it's twice the value. I have had this grinder for about 6 months, and I have had no problems. Even with almost completely thawed meat, it grinds it right up. It also has metal parts instead of plastic, so cleanup is MUCH easier and more satisfying than the KA.

I just ordered this one, it's pretty well-reviewed, hopefully it will make bacon day a lot easier.

Hard to give advice without knowing more details (e.g., size of fridge).

Normally I'd say don't bother fixing your rig, just go to craiglist and get a used fridge or upright freezer, but I don't know if you can do that.

Problem with a non frost-free fridge is condensation, which will make humidity hard to control.

Some people gauge humidity with a pan of salted water. A better way would be a saturated solution like these.

I use this dehumidifier, not 100% happy but it works for me. The ones I'd like to use are more for room-sized curing chambers.

You can also use it for ageing cheese, that requires high humidity :)

Temp Controller
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011296704/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_dYnVAb99AN5JX

Humidity Controller
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FQKXRXA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3YnVAbW8V1DHG

DeHumidifier
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H0ZDD2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SZnVAbTSHMSQT

Humidifier
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D0POS7W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_m0nVAbD00AGKP

Small Fan (on a timer, runs for 30 minutes every 2 hours or so)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WM7TRTY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_V0nVAb8XD3K7Q

Heater
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P7U259C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_E1nVAbC6R49Z3

I got an old fridge on Craigslist for $25 that I thought was a small personal fridge but turned out to be about 6 cubic feet (perfect for hanging). I’m not sure of the brand actually (maybe Kenmore). So far I’ve done a Bresaola and a Copa, both have turned out great!

You will need a meat thermometer. Something like that. Your task will be twofold: first - to bring the internal temperature to 155F and second - to give your meat some smoke. Normal smoker temperature range is between 150F and 275F. You will have to decide what temperature to use depending on thickness of your meat. If sausages are too thin you will reach 155F internal very fast (you don't want to go over 160F as it will overcook your meat). That would be a problem as you need 2-3 hours of reasonably heavy smoke to give your meat smoky flavor. In this case you will need to keep your smoker temperature as low as you can (150F for example). Smoke your sausages for 2.5 hours, than raise temp to 175F and finish the cooking. If you are smoking the whole ham, it can take 6 to 7 hours to cook it through in a 250F smoker. I would recommend to smoke it for 3-4 hours max and then finish cooking without smoking. You can smoke it for 7 hours but it can be too much. Depends on your preferences.

Edit: The book I'd recommend to anybody who wants to cure and smoke meats. It's like the sausage making bible.

Getting a dedicated stuffer makes a world of difference in the quality of your product, and the ease of making the product.

This meat grinder is on sale right now, and while it runs a bit loud, it is a quality product.

Lem 5lb stuffer is a little on sale as well.

Get both, and you're sitting around the 300$ budget mark!

I do not have experience with the two books you mentioned, however I own “Charcuterie” which does go in depth with sausage making, and has some great recipes. I highly recommend it.
Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393240053/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QevPDbWDMND63

I did a pancetta in a wine fridge. Turned out great. I recommend you invest in one of these so you know what's going on in the fridge. I used a small of water with a sponge in it to regulate the humidity.

I picked up this Chef's Choice, on sale IIRC, but am really happy with it. I've done down to 1mm for jerky (too thin tbh) but haven't tried charcuterie yet, as I'm still learning.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058VCYWS/

I meant Charcuteria, by Jeffrey Weiss, concerning the Spanish tradition, not the more popular ruhlman book. The Spanish panceta in it is not that far off the Italian mark, but it includes garlic and a pimenton rub-down before casing.

It's recipes are far less safety-oriented than Ruhlman's, too. It's a great cookbook.

By which I mean they won't make salt-lick.

Stick with it, I have found that my humidifier and humidistat has not been necessary. Whether dry aging beef or curing 10# of chorizo, high RH has been my battle. I let the wine fridge do the temp regulation and have a CPU fan pushing through a filter with a filter on the other side providing pass through. Things that have proven necessary: Timer for fan- a real PITA to figure out how to program but great: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H4XP7QS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
RH meters that can be calibrated: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H6CZQE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

LEM makes a great 5 lb stuffer. I use it for relatively small runs, and it cleans up really easily. Some people use it without mounting it to the counter, but I like the extra stability, so I mounted mine to an extra cutting board so I can still move it around.

You can't go wrong with Michael Ruhlman, here's a revised version that has excellent recipes and everything you need to know.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393240053/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393240053&linkCode=as2&tag=primalcajun-20&linkId=36e3d3f53527c4493068a33f323534a0

I use an inkbird hygrostat and a small dehumidifier in my curing chambers. I know you are using a mini fridge, but that dehumidifier is really small and holds the humidity level at 75% pretty consistently.

The Rulman book is great. You should check out the Kutas book. It is pretty much the sausage bible. It is more technical and less grocery store/kitchen friendly, but very, very informative.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0025668609

constant air flow + pork + salt

​

I think this book is great

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607747871/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053

I really enjoyed this book and learned enough from it to adjust recipes more to my taste. I hear it recommended all the time and my chef buddy said every chef he worked for owned this book.

By the way, in the end i bought a very small dehumidifier, and it works pretty well.
http://www.amazon.com/Eva-Dry-Edv-1100-Eva-dry-Electric-Dehumidifier/dp/B000H0ZDD2/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1415902924&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=defhumidifier
Although, in hindsight, i probably should have gotten a slightly larger model.

Check out this blog:

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/ - especially the posts about setting up a curing chamber.

Buy these books:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0982426712/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/175-9483040-3085932

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0393058298/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Buy supplies from this site:

http://www.sausagemaker.com/


This should get you started. The two books have plenty of recipes and knowledge to keep you busy for a lifetime. Learn about the process and practice. Ask specific questions you may have. The recipes are the easy part and widely available, figuring out how to adjust the recipe to your liking is the hard part.

Michael Ruhlman's books are the best I know of: Charcuterie and Salumi

The one you're linking to is a heating controller, to be used with a heating element to keep temperature up.

Here's one that does both heating and cooling. I don't have personal experience with it, but this would be more like what you'd want to convert a fridge into a curing chamber.

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Itc-308-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat/dp/B011296704/ref=pd_sbs_328_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B011296704&pd_rd_r=VG3NE5E8RAZBZZVKYZ2T&pd_rd_w=HwiY4&pd_rd_wg=NUioI&psc=1&refRID=VG3NE5E8RAZBZZVKYZ2T

Definitely not. Get #2. Dry curing meat is not something you should mess around with unless you have a solid understanding of what exactly is going on. I highly recommend you read this book before attempting to make your own:

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Fermented-Sausages/dp/0982426712/ref=sr_1_2?crid=CVNVBNWTJHH3&keywords=fermented+sausage+book&qid=1573243675&sprefix=fermented+saus%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-2

This seems like a solid choice without breaking the bank. If its approved by Asians making hot pot foods, its gotta be pretty legit. Thst shit is taken seriously.

This is a solid start, I highly recommend!

Charcuterie

"Eva-Dry Dehumidifier" on Amazon. You can also try "Gurin Dehumidifier"
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=eva-dry+humidifier

 

I have this one (it's not too big: 6.8 x 8.5 x 14)
http://www.amazon.com/Eva-Dry-Edv-2200-Eva-dry-Dehumidifier-Mid-Size/dp/B001QTW6KQ

 

Smaller one (which probably means it's takes longer to lower humidity)
http://www.amazon.com/Eva-Dry-Edv-1100-Eva-dry-Electric-Dehumidifier/dp/B000H0ZDD2

 

To give you an idea what to expect when the dehumidifier turns on, here is a chart -- I have a bunch of temp/humidity sensors connected to an Arduino that uploads to the cloud and keeps history :)

• http://imgur.com/DLmhnrv
  
• The lines in the 76-80 range are humidity.
  
• The lines in the 52-57 range are temperature.
  
• When humidity reaches ~80, the dehumidifier turns on and pulls it down to ~77. Though the dehumidifier turns on @ 80, you can see there's a slight lag in moisture reduction because humidity climbs to 82.
  
• It takes 5 minutes to lower the humidity from 80 to 77.
  
• When the dehumidifier kicks on, it's generating heat so the fridge gets warmer which you can see in the temperature stair-stepping. Implying that your fridge will cycle slightly more often (in my case hourly).
  
• The really big dips down in humidity are when the fridge cycles (cools). It temporarily sucks all that moisture but it quickly returns :)

Thanks, i'll end up picking that up. What are your thoughts about... Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated) ?

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0SX7GN8QX81S3J2HTGE1

Others on here will tell you, Ruhlman is more of a coffee table book.
This is the true meat bible.

I'm a fan of [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420214600&sr=8-1&keywords=Charcuterie) and this

1.) You'll most likely need to modify a fridge, there are plenty of resources to do that in this subreddit. 2.) Buy some books and understand the process first. Start with a whole muscle cure before salami. 3.) Nitrates are not dangerous if you are using the recommended amount, and you should be using them.

Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Breeze-Electric-Dehumidifier-Portable/dp/B01DC5PPWM/ref=pd_sim_200_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01DC5PPWM&pd_rd_r=867fd5b4-cac6-11e8-b2bf-cf80deb9a4ab&pd_rd_w=xB0nl&pd_rd_wg=U4qJ8&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=CTSJ89K3MGQ2QJ4A9E1F&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=CTSJ89K3MGQ2QJ4A9E1F

would be fine, but i've seen cheaper ones that are the same exact model, its just the same product from china rebranded by several american OEMs. shop around a bit, i didn't dig hard for that link.

This mofo has never steered me wrong, and is great for both grinding and stuffing.

http://www.amazon.com/STX-INTERNATIONAL-STX-3000-TF-Turboforce-Attachment/dp/B0012KJBR0

Polcyn & Ruhlman's 'Salumi' book ( https://www.amazon.com/Salumi-Craft-Italian-Dry-Curing/dp/0393068595 ) has a detailed guide to breaking down a whole hog as well as recipes for the main whole muscle cures. (https://miro.medium.com/max/1494/0*1FDvSWCuwj1m2WfS.jpeg)

Straight outta the Charcuterie book

Books. You need them.

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053

http://www.amazon.com/Salumi-The-Craft-Italian-Curing/dp/0393068595

http://www.amazon.com/In-The-Charcuterie-Sausage-Confits/dp/1607743434

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Sausage-Recipes-Meat-Curing/dp/0025668609

The sequel. Drops August 27th!

Dry Curing Pork by Hector Kent

https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Curing-Pork-Pancetta-Prosciutto-Countryman/dp/1581572433

Is this the one you used? https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Curing-Pork-Pancetta-Prosciutto-Countryman/dp/1581572433 I have the one from Michael Ruhlman but I haven't got too much into that one yet because its so NOT for begginers

Why not the River Cottage Curing book instead of just the meat one?

Would this work for temp control?

Johnson Controls A19AAT-2C Freezer Temperature Controller https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002EAL58/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_1j1FwbY9VRKHE

http://www.amazon.com/DAYTON-1UHG2-Dehumidifier-Control-Plug/dp/B001OLVNU0

I use this and this

I use this small dehumidifier because it works in low temps.

https://www.amazon.com/Eva-dry-Edv-1100-Electric-Petite-Dehumidifier/dp/B000H0ZDD2/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=1WGBGEK5JUV0P&keywords=eva+dry+dehumidifier&qid=1551123603&s=gateway&sprefix=eva+dr&sr=8-4

And I have that on a humidity controller set to turn it on above 75 Rh.

https://www.amazon.com/Humidity-Controller-Inkbird-Humidistat-Pre-wired/dp/B01J1E5LWM/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=2RVTXNZLC15DS&keywords=humidity+controller&qid=1551123716&s=gateway&sprefix=humidty+&sr=8-5

The fridge is on a temp controller that turns it on above 57 and shuts it off at 55degrees

https://www.amazon.com/Century-BNQ-T7B-Digital-Cooling-Controller/dp/B01LZV591B/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?crid=1NXIEB0MA228Z&keywords=temperature+controller&qid=1551123886&s=gateway&sprefix=temperature+&sr=8-13

I don't really want to get in a fight about it, but IMO that's an awful book for recipes. It's incredibly inconsistent, and some are wildly off. Cool pictures. Cool text. Awful recipes.

Here are a few suggestions of mine. Pictures and prose aren't so exciting, but the recipes and techniques are rock solid.

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Production-Quality-Meats-Sausages/dp/0982426739?ie=UTF8&qid=1468252524&ref_=la_B001JRXURI_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Fermented-Sausages/dp/0982426712/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468252549&sr=1-1&keywords=art+of+fermented+sausage

https://www.amazon.com/Charcutier-Salumiere-Wurstmeister-Francois-Paul-Armand/dp/0615720846

When people say "Ruhlman's" recipe, are you talking about https://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8? Should I just ignore the bad reviews of it?