Salami 101

[gregs]

Salami looks to be drying ok after 16 days, also added a coppa this weekend heres to hoping they all turnout. All this is new to me.

 

[gregs]

Another pic

 

[AndrewQLD]

They look great Greg, certainly have shrunk a bit by the looks and the texture of the meat looks fantastic, can't wait to slice into these.

Andrew

 

[gregs]

Yeah Andrew, I cant wait for that day myself, wondering if they are drying out to fast.

I put your gauge in next to my humidity sensor to check that all is well, so will have a look soon and let you know.

 

[brettprevans]

One last hurdles now fixed. Bought these tonight.
The Sausage Making Cookbook
Professional Charcuterie: Sausage Making, Curing, Terrines and Pates

 

[gregs]

Well I just had to do it; I cut one of the salamis today.

This is the first time Ive attempted this and its all new to me; just have a look at it, it tastes as good as it looks.

 

[Thunus]

Well done shags :kooi:

All the way from "Piggy piggy piggy" to home made salami
Who'd have thought.

Can't wait to try some with a couple of beers.


10 minutes untill the pork rack comes out of the weber mmmmmmmmmmmmm can't wait

 

[AndrewQLD]

Looks great guys, I'll be sticking my head in tomorrow morning for a taste test.
Blue cheese pics are up here.

 

[gregs]

Well after nominating me as test pilot heres to hoping that all is well.

I now have a tangy flavour on the tip of my tongue being washed down with the help of a cascade A.P.A how good is life. :icon_drool2:

 

[AndrewQLD]

Well after nominating me as test pilot here's to hoping that all is well.

I now have a tangy flavour on the tip of my tongue being washed down with the help of a cascade A.P.A how good is life. :icon_drool2:
View attachment 39441

Keep rubbing it in Greg! And your not much better Thunus! is that a pulled pork your doing with plenty of smoke?
Enjoy the fruits of your labour guys.

 

[Thunus]

"And your not much better Thunus! is that a pulled pork your doing with plenty of smoke"

Plenty of pork pulling around here AndrewQLD B)

 

[gregs]

"And your not much better Thunus! is that a pulled pork your doing with plenty of smoke"

Plenty of pork pulling around here AndrewQLD B)

Could you guys please jerk your pork in private! :lol:

 

[Mercs Own]

Yep, 3% is what we use. Weigh it, don't just guess.

In the lead up to sausage making, I went to a course run by Vince Garreffa of Mondos the other day. Some great info passed on, including:

• 3% salt. Use of cure is optional, although required by law for the big producers.
• Use a female pig, as male pigs (unless castrated early) smell.
• Mould isn't necessarily a bad thing. Some schools of thought are that mould will prevent the sausage from drying out too quickly.
• If you have cold nights but warmish days, stick the sausages in the fridge for a week before hanging them. This encourages the formation of the mould on the sausages. When you take them out of the fridge, they will be tacky and a day or so after you hang them they'll form some mould on them, and prevent the sausage from drying too quickly.
• If you want to encourage good salami mould, take the rind from an existing mouldy salami, and put it in a spray bottle with some water for 24hrs. Then spray this on the drying snags.

Hey Kaiser, what was the cost of the course???? And what if anything did you take away apart from knowledge??

There is a course down my way this weekend but at $500 for the two days and no take home goodies I am thinking whilst it would be great to do it is a little on the expensives side.

Good job Gregs!!!

Went looking for my salami recipe today and couldnt find it!! :huh:

 

[benno1973]

Hey Kaiser, what was the cost of the course???? And what if anything did you take away apart from knowledge??

The course was $80, and was well worth the money. On the night we got big Vince talking for 4 hours and demonstrating everything, including cutting into 3 carcasses to show us the difference between the different ages of pork. Additionally, we got to eat some biltong, chorizo, coppa, dried sausage, smoked fresh sausage, smoked pastrami, along with a couple of glasses of wine and some salad. His wife also made a dessert, and we got to take home some salted pork mince (for brekky the next day), 2 italian sausages prepared, ready for hanging and drying, a section of pork belly pancetta all ready for hanging and drying, and some fresh chorizo.

 

[benno1973]

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on either of the following situations:

1. My pepper sausages have decided not to dry. The chilli sausages have dried beautifully, but the pepper sausages are hard on the outside and squishy within. It's not the environment they are drying in, as they're both hanging in the same spot. It's not the amount of salt - each pile was weighed and had an equal amount of salt applied. I think it may be the skins - we ran out of ox-runners during the chilli sausages so made an emergency trip to the butchers to buy more for the pepper ones. Its possible that these didn't get washed as thoroughly as the first batch, and still had salt on them causing the casing to dry first and trap moisture in.

Anyhow questions as follows:

• Are these safe to eat? They had around 3.5% salt added to them, but no nitrites/nitrates.
• Given that they are still safe, can I just vaccuum seal them and store them that way, or do I need to treat them like fresh sausages and freeze them?
• Is there an alternative, such as soaking them and re-drying them?

2. The chilli sausages are drying beautifully, but with 3.5% salt, they taste like eating a salt lick. I've heard of people soaking their sausages to reduce the salt and redrying them - has anyone done this? Anyone know how it can be done?

 

[Fents]

cracked a couple of mine last night and im just flawed at how good they taste. first "june" batch we thought had dried out to much but old may royce cryovaked them and they have turned out wicked, not to dry not to soft. Big hit of chilli and fennel to keep the tastebuds amused.

the other "july" batch are near on perfect, little bit more mostuire hardly any chilli and NO fennel!

any one keen for a bit of swapsie's?

 

[Mercs Own]

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on either of the following situations:

1. My pepper sausages have decided not to dry. The chilli sausages have dried beautifully, but the pepper sausages are hard on the outside and squishy within. It's not the environment they are drying in, as they're both hanging in the same spot. It's not the amount of salt - each pile was weighed and had an equal amount of salt applied. I think it may be the skins - we ran out of ox-runners during the chilli sausages so made an emergency trip to the butchers to buy more for the pepper ones. Its possible that these didn't get washed as thoroughly as the first batch, and still had salt on them causing the casing to dry first and trap moisture in.

Anyhow questions as follows:

• Are these safe to eat? They had around 3.5% salt added to them, but no nitrites/nitrates.
• Given that they are still safe, can I just vaccuum seal them and store them that way, or do I need to treat them like fresh sausages and freeze them?
• Is there an alternative, such as soaking them and re-drying them?

2. The chilli sausages are drying beautifully, but with 3.5% salt, they taste like eating a salt lick. I've heard of people soaking their sausages to reduce the salt and redrying them - has anyone done this? Anyone know how it can be done?

The fact that both salamis are the same - salt, drying conditions etc would point to the skins as you said - how ever what liquids did you use in the salamis? were they the same - wine? Paprika paste?

If they are dry on the outside and squishy in the middle I would say they are a lost cause - if they are squishy it could be because they are still wet and havent dried as the same time as the skins or it could be that they werent stuffed firmly and they are squishy due to air pockets in them also either way the end result is the same - BIN THEM.

If the skins are hard then moisture can no longer get out - they will not dry and could in fact turn nasty I wouldnt risk mucking around with them. How long have they been hanging? This is my opinion and I am no expert - there are guys here that know more than I (Fents what say you or your Italian connections?) Why dont you ring and ask the guy you did the course with for his opinion if you havent already.

 

[Fents]

sorry guys i cant offer advice im still a novice but yea if the liquids were all the same (merc knows the deal, wine and paprika paste ) then they should have dried evenly which leaves you with the skins problem. i wouldnt be trying to rehydrate at all, if in doubt throw em out.... bit of meat is not really worth 2-3 days in bed crook in the guts and shitting at both ends or worse no more shitting at all ever again...dead.

edit - cut one open and compare the "softness" to your good chilli ones....if there is any airholes/pockets defiantly piff them.

 

[Mercs Own]

Peels, Kirem, AndrewQld???? wot say youse?

 

[benno1973]

Yeh, thanks guys. Liquid added to both was just wine, although this wasn't measured so could have been different for the chilli than for the pepper. They have been hanging around 3 weeks, so I'd say that they are not going to dry any further, given that the skins are dry.

Just so you know, the question about being safe to eat wasn't meant as eating them in their current state. I'd cook them and use them that way. Possibly in pasta sauce or soups or something like that. Actually, before thinking of the possible risks and posing the question, I cooked one up and added a tin of tomatoes and it tasted great! However if the general consensus is that they aren't safe, I'll bin them.