Cured Lamb
Lamb fat is much harder than muscle when at temperatures in drying/aging coolers. Chef WK, lead meat curing specialist in Alberta Canada demonstrates what happens when muscles separate.
(tw: mold)
"We tried it anyways."
Chef WK discusses how the fat cap on the lamb was too stiff. When the lamb dried, the muscles shrank. Since the fat was too stiff to budge & had little to no moisture to lose, it did not shrink with the muscle, & so the muscle separated from itself, despite the tight tying. With a cavity now in the lamb, mold had an opportunity to grow inside the product, away from eyes. Chef WK describes the taste as off, but he does not use the word bad for the meat at the edges, away from the mold. He claims the flavours become more "off" closer to the center.
This demonstrates the importance of tightly & properly tying cured products & avoiding excessive separation (chasing the rabbit) when preparing the meat.
