Salami 101

[Katherine]

Has anyone tried smoking salamies to cure them

yes

worked quite well... nice flavour

 

[Sprungmonkey]

Sounds interesting anyhow Mercs. Working in the smallgoods industry I have never heard of a "naturally - no starter culture" fermenting salami. Far too risky, espeically commercially. Asked a few guys around here and none of our guys have heard of it. One of the guys mentioned an Austrian variation of the salami which involves fully cooking after fermentation - it is called a summer sausage. I guess it sounds a little simiar to dry curing like Proscuito excepting with proscuito it is a whole muscle which is rubbed in salt and therefore the risk is minimised, but with a minced product any contamination / pathogens are mixed thoughout the salami.

As far as stopping fermentation in salami - its exactly the same as that for brewing beer. It isn't necessary to stop fermentation. It stops itself (or virtually) when the cultures can no longer survive in the environment they have created. For salami's it the lowered water activity and lowered pH and for beer its alcohol.

Anyhow Im not saying don't do it (I wouldn't) but I would definately be cautious. Making salami safe is a risky business - just look at the Garibaldi incident

 

[Kleiny]

Has anyone tried smoking salamies to cure them

Yep just waiting on a mettwurst recipe from my oma she and opa made back when they first got to Aus from Germany
Last time i talked with her she said i would have to build a smoke house / box and while im at it make her some smoked ham / bacon

they used to get a whole pig and make all different small goods from it

 

[horner34]

Has anyone tried smoking salamies to cure them

I couldn't get mine to light :lol:

 

[Mercs Own]

Sounds interesting anyhow Mercs. Working in the smallgoods industry I have never heard of a "naturally - no starter culture" fermenting salami. Far too risky, espeically commercially. Asked a few guys around here and none of our guys have heard of it. One of the guys mentioned an Austrian variation of the salami which involves fully cooking after fermentation - it is called a summer sausage. I guess it sounds a little simiar to dry curing like Proscuito excepting with proscuito it is a whole muscle which is rubbed in salt and therefore the risk is minimised, but with a minced product any contamination / pathogens are mixed thoughout the salami.

As far as stopping fermentation in salami - its exactly the same as that for brewing beer. It isn't necessary to stop fermentation. It stops itself (or virtually) when the cultures can no longer survive in the environment they have created. For salami's it the lowered water activity and lowered pH and for beer its alcohol.

Anyhow Im not saying don't do it (I wouldn't) but I would definately be cautious. Making salami safe is a risky business - just look at the Garibaldi incident

The Garibaldi incident should never have happened. They are a large commercial producer and should have had all the safety and health things in place so it didnt happen. My three daughters have eaten salami ever since they were very young and as a parent we trust big producers to get it right. Sometimes things dont go right and some innocent family pays a way to high price for that.

I havent made my salami yet because the conditions here in Melbourne arent right. Firstly we have had too much wind which would dry the outside of the sausage way too fast and second we havent had the cold temps we need. My garage is averaging about 12 degrees which is higher than I want or which is healthy for making good salami. What we need is a couple of 8 degree days but they dont look like happening. I will keep an eye on the weather and hopefully the right conditions will come along. I may still make some but up the salt and keep a good eye on how they dry - I dont really want to make and lose 10 kilos of the prescious stuff but if it isnt right I wont bite!

Lastly in observing what is happening in Australia re food safety I am confused. They - the regulating authority - seem to be making it harder to commercially produce food stuff and small goods in the old fashioned way instead pushing through laws demanding higher security (greater cost) and more chemicals and additives (higher cost in $ and health) yet the old fashioned way is probably safer, cheaper and the more healthy option. case in point in Australia the regulations to make salami and proscutio mean fermentation and chemicals etc etc yet they have only recently allowed proscuittos from spain and italy to come into australia that are made the old fashioned way. in short you cant make them here like that it is against the law but you can import them??????? Food safety is a good thing but like political correctness has gone way over board. Sadly accidents will always happen that is just the way of life. When was the last time some one ddied from a badly made lamington?? but now you have to get a liscence to serve them at a church function.

Should I trust my salami?? Should I trust garibaldis?

 

[AndrewQLD]

Merc,

Is there any reason why you couldn't dry the salami in a temperature controlled fridge set at 8?

I ask because there is no way I will ever see an 8 day here in Bundaberg let alone a couple.
I am sure I have read somewhere about doing this but I can't remember where.

Andrew

 

[Mercs Own]

Merc,

Is there any reason why you couldn't dry the salami in a temperature controlled fridge set at 8?

I ask because there is no way I will ever see an 8 day here in Bundaberg let alone a couple.
I am sure I have read somewhere about doing this but I can't remember where.

Andrew

Andrew I have been reading about doing this and when I mention it to my butcher he looked pretty non plussed and yet you think with all the fridges etc they would do it. There are three factors that you would need to get right: temp, humidity and air flow. Temp is no problem as you could set the fridge to 4 degrees. Humidity is an issue as you need a humidity of 70% or so I have read. In one of my sausage cook books they say if you fill a tray with salt and then add water and keep it topped up it will give you a humidity of 70% - I need to read more on this. Air flow could be an issue as you need the right air flow so as to dry out the salamis evenly, too fast and the slami will dry on the outside and not in the middle (no good) too slow and the they will take too long and therefore be open to bacterial growth (no good)

Some one I think on here (was it you Devo?) tried doing a salami in a fridge and it didnt work out. If the weather doesnt work out maybe I will try a small batch in the fridge and see what happens - I have an old two door commercial fridge so it may work. Maybe some more discussion is needed with my various salami making friends.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I do tend to think airflow would be the limitng factor, as you just wont get it in a fridge. You need gentle airflow, not a breeze or wind

I remember at home (Leeton..which along with Griffith has a LARGE Italian community) we would kill steers in winter, and let them hung outside over night, wrapped in a sheet with out any issue before taking them to the chiller in the morning......Note...beef that has been hung for 2-3 weeks before butchering is awsome in flavour and texture...ours used to go ruby red-black before cutting..

The Italian co-contributors would also do the Salami's in winter and hang them in the shed, away from the breeze and in the dark for about 6 weeks, then deliver them by hanging them up under the verendah. Lucky it was cold enough not to be an issue.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Not quite salami -

But yesterday I whipped upa batch of toulouse sausages. I am gettiing a bit of practice in with the mincer/filler on fresh sausages before, I attempt a salami. The tolouse sausages are to use as ingredients in a Casulet.

Needed some pork belly for the sausages... and I bought a kilo and a bit when I only needed 150g, so I turned the rest into proto-bacon. Rubbed it down with honey and lots of good salt and its curing in the fridge right now. Turn it every 2 days for a week or so, then a bit of smoking to finish it off. mmmmm bacon.

If the bacon works, I might have a go at ham/pancetta/prosciutto. Oh... does anyone know where I can get the curing salts in australia. Buggered if I can find them. So a source for Prague powders #1 & #2 would be great, or perhaps just some saltpetre (potassium nitrate)

Need em for hams etc - and I also wouldn't be adverse to putting a little in the salami just to be on the safe side.

I know where to get the Prague powder in a pinch, but I would rather not get it from the States - and its equally silly to get straight saltpetre from the UK. But i cant find it here.

Just need it to get a little colder now.....

Thirsty

 

[AndrewQLD]

Andrew I have been reading about doing this and when I mention it to my butcher he looked pretty non plussed and yet you think with all the fridges etc they would do it. There are three factors that you would need to get right: temp, humidity and air flow. Temp is no problem as you could set the fridge to 4 degrees. Humidity is an issue as you need a humidity of 70% or so I have read. In one of my sausage cook books they say if you fill a tray with salt and then add water and keep it topped up it will give you a humidity of 70% - I need to read more on this. Air flow could be an issue as you need the right air flow so as to dry out the salamis evenly, too fast and the slami will dry on the outside and not in the middle (no good) too slow and the they will take too long and therefore be open to bacterial growth (no good)

Some one I think on here (was it you Devo?) tried doing a salami in a fridge and it didnt work out. If the weather doesnt work out maybe I will try a small batch in the fridge and see what happens - I have an old two door commercial fridge so it may work. Maybe some more discussion is needed with my various salami making friends.

A small 12 volt computer fan would probably work well to get the air circulating, but I think the main problem will be your humidity. I might try your salt water pan idea in my fermenter fridge and see what effect it has. I'll report back tommorrow.

Andrew

 

[Sprungmonkey]

The Garibaldi incident should never have happened. They are a large commercial producer and should have had all the safety and health things in place so it didnt happen. My three daughters have eaten salami ever since they were very young and as a parent we trust big producers to get it right. Sometimes things dont go right and some innocent family pays a way to high price for that.

I havent made my salami yet because the conditions here in Melbourne arent right. Firstly we have had too much wind which would dry the outside of the sausage way too fast and second we havent had the cold temps we need. My garage is averaging about 12 degrees which is higher than I want or which is healthy for making good salami. What we need is a couple of 8 degree days but they dont look like happening. I will keep an eye on the weather and hopefully the right conditions will come along. I may still make some but up the salt and keep a good eye on how they dry - I dont really want to make and lose 10 kilos of the prescious stuff but if it isnt right I wont bite!

Lastly in observing what is happening in Australia re food safety I am confused. They - the regulating authority - seem to be making it harder to commercially produce food stuff and small goods in the old fashioned way instead pushing through laws demanding higher security (greater cost) and more chemicals and additives (higher cost in $ and health) yet the old fashioned way is probably safer, cheaper and the more healthy option. case in point in Australia the regulations to make salami and proscutio mean fermentation and chemicals etc etc yet they have only recently allowed proscuittos from spain and italy to come into australia that are made the old fashioned way. in short you cant make them here like that it is against the law but you can import them??????? Food safety is a good thing but like political correctness has gone way over board. Sadly accidents will always happen that is just the way of life. When was the last time some one ddied from a badly made lamington?? but now you have to get a liscence to serve them at a church function.

Should I trust my salami?? Should I trust garibaldis?

Garibaldi was a high tech facility - lots of new very shiny equipment and they got it wrong -- infact not only once but twice (most people didn't hear about the first incident). That guy got away with murder.

Don't know if I understand what you mean by making smallgoods the old fashion way. Salami traditionally is a fully fermented, matured product. Proscuitto is a little different - it is dry cured product and some manufactures use a lacto producting culture on the outside of the muscle. Both these products have been made in Australia for ages.

As far as our food authorities making manufactures put chemicals/addatives in products to make them "safer", donno if I agree. This is driven by consumers (including Woolies and Coles) wanting more shelf life out of products for lower prices hence the requirement to add certain preservatives or bulk ingredients to products to meet consumers demands.

 

[AndrewQLD]

A small 12 volt computer fan would probably work well to get the air circulating, but I think the main problem will be your humidity. I might try your salt water pan idea in my fermenter fridge and see what effect it has. I'll report back tommorrow.

Andrew

I found the humidity in my fridge set at 9 was 40%, I added a bowl with 1.5 lt of water and 300g of salt mixed in and after 24 hrs the humidity was 95% and stayed that way for the next 24 hours.

I think an RH of 95% might be a little moist for Salami (perfect for Blue cheese) so I have halved the solution to see if that makes any difference, I'll also add a small fan as well.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Katherine]

Not quite salami -

But yesterday I whipped upa batch of toulouse sausages. I am gettiing a bit of practice in with the mincer/filler on fresh sausages before, I attempt a salami. The tolouse sausages are to use as ingredients in a Casulet.

Needed some pork belly for the sausages... and I bought a kilo and a bit when I only needed 150g, so I turned the rest into proto-bacon. Rubbed it down with honey and lots of good salt and its curing in the fridge right now. Turn it every 2 days for a week or so, then a bit of smoking to finish it off. mmmmm bacon.

If the bacon works, I might have a go at ham/pancetta/prosciutto. Oh... does anyone know where I can get the curing salts in australia. Buggered if I can find them. So a source for Prague powders #1 & #2 would be great, or perhaps just some saltpetre (potassium nitrate)

Need em for hams etc - and I also wouldn't be adverse to putting a little in the salami just to be on the safe side.

I know where to get the Prague powder in a pinch, but I would rather not get it from the States - and its equally silly to get straight saltpetre from the UK. But i cant find it here.

Just need it to get a little colder now.....

Thirsty

My partner picked some prague powder up not so long ago (took him awhile to find it also) .. I'll find out where for you.

 

[Mercs Own]

I found the humidity in my fridge set at 9 was 40%, I added a bowl with 1.5 lt of water and 300g of salt mixed in and after 24 hrs the humidity was 95% and stayed that way for the next 24 hours.

I think an RH of 95% might be a little moist for Salami (perfect for Blue cheese) so I have halved the solution to see if that makes any difference, I'll also add a small fan as well.

Cheers
Andrew
[/quot

Great work Andrew! How did halving the solution go?

 

[Mercs Own]

Finally made my salami today!! My butcher got in two legs which he boned and mince for me. I went down for the event and then tipped in my magic spice blend gave it a good mixing and brought it home to rest (ferment apparently) in the fridge for two days.



This arvo I got it out and stuffed it into 43m casings with the help of my eldest daughter. 10 kilos of pork went into 43 salami.

They are now hanging in the garage (quite smelly say the kids, but that is the wet skins)

Now I have to wait and hope and watch that they dry evenly.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

nice, very very nice. Need to pull my finger out and get ready to do this.

Thanks Merc

 

[hairofthedog]

pics look good as merc ill post some pics of the capracolas im making with my mates 80 year old italian father in law

 

[Mercs Own]

I took pictures of my latest salmi drying but havent posted them yet - I will when I find the camera. That said I have now eaten three of the salami and they are as good as I expected them to be!! They hung for three weeks and I could possibly have taken them down after two and a half weeks but they were still a little soft in the middle. That extra two days really firmed them up. I like them on the firm side and then sliced thin with a bit of good cheese and a beer.

I started with 43 hanging and now I have 39 all cryovaced and ready to be eaten over the next year. I will give some away to family and friends and already look forward to next years batch!

now where is that camera - pics coming!

 

[Mercs Own]

Ladies and gentleman start your mincers! Yes the time is again upon us - well in Melbourne anyway. The temperature has dropped enough that we can now place our orders for a couple of pig legs - once boned out etc should yeild around 15 kilos of meat and 38mm skins.

Unfortunately I blew my mincer up making buffalo sausages so I am out to buy another one today - yes I will buy another sunbeam. I looked into buying a pofessional bench top machine but they range between 600 - 1200 bucks - which I dont have so $170 for a new sunbeam and I will be right. Be picking up the pork next week and the salamis will be hanging within a few days of that!

Anyone giving it a go I wish you happy mincing, stuffing and hanging!

ps I still have 6 sticks of last years salami in the fridge and it is eating beautifully.

 

[brettprevans]

god i wish i has somewhere to hang salami. oh well will just have to wait until we move. so i guess next winter.