Lomo Embuchado (take one)

Lomo is the Spanish word for loin, I used a quality Pork loin for this recipe.  Forgive me for the lack of prep pictures here, I deleted them on accident.  I will make sure this does not happen next time.  So on to what you will need.

• 5lbs (2268 grams) Pork loin
• 60 grams Turbinado Sugar
• 9 grams Pink Salt
• 9 grams Black Tellicherry peppercorns Toasted
• 9 grams Fennel seed Toasted
• 9 grams Coriander seed Toasted
• 45 grams Kosher salt
• 9 grams Spanish Paprika, sweet
• 10 grams Garlic chopped (approx. 3 cloves)
• 3 grams Thyme leaves
• 3 grams Cayenne pepper

Toast the peppercorns, fennel seed, and coriander until fragrant.  Put in a spice mill and pulverize.  Mix the sugar, salt, the toasted spices, pink salt,  paprika, garlic, thyme cayenne, and coat all sides of the pork loin evenly, not forgetting about the ends, reserving a third of the spice mixture for a second cure application.  Put pork loin in a nonreactive container, I use my Food Saver and seal on the low, moist setting.  Refrigerate for 7 days.  After 7 days, apply the reserved spice mixture and refrigerate for another 7 days.  Rinse the pork and Tie with butchers twine.  Put into cure chamber at 57-60 degrees F, and 70-75% RH for approximately 45 days.  By this time your meet should be firm to the touch and smell sweet.  If your meat has developed any white mold, you can wipe with a clean towel dipped in a white vinegar and distilled water solution.

You can see a couple things in the photos above.  One is the instant water loss from the cure rub.  And also I used the left over thyme sprigs I had and put them on the loin with some extra smashed garlic.  I am one to say that you can almost never have to much garlic.  Probably one reason those damn vampires leave me alone.

This is day one in the cure chamber. The Guancaile was happy to have some company after being left alone for a week.

I was getting very excited here.  This is the Lomo after one week in.  you can see it has shrunk a little and deepened in color.  The Guancaile next to has really gotten better color.  The  little bits of white mold looked great....... And then we had an EPIC FAIL.

Somehow the Lomo became free of its hook and crashed violently down in the cure chamber causing a chain of events that would seal its fate.  The Lomo knocked over my piggy shaped humidifier causing it to spill water and the Lomo sat there stranded in a puddle of distilled water hours before I got home.  If it only had a life alert bracelet this would have never happened.  I came home all excited to see my hanging charcuterie, to give it a squeeze and document the weights, temp, and humidity.  But by that time it was dead.  I will take up this challenge again and dominate the Lomo Embuchado curse that I went through.