Salami 101
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hairofthedog
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looks like the salami swaps a goer so far we have 4 of us i recon 5 would be a good limit
1. hairofthedog
2. peels
3. mercs own
4. kirem
anyone got an idea as to where & when we should meet someones house or a pub ?
just consuming a salami & esb atm perfect combo :icon_drool2:
1. hairofthedog
2. peels
3. mercs own
4. kirem
anyone got an idea as to where & when we should meet someones house or a pub ?
just consuming a salami & esb atm perfect combo :icon_drool2:
You are welcome to do the swap in Mildura, or I'll put my contribution in a postbag
AUHEAMIC
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I asked the question and as much as I would like to I wont be able to make it up to Mildura. I guess there is no rush for the swap as our salamis are preserved. It is likely you will get to Melbourne any time soon?
I'll be in Melbourne for the wine show, normally a whirlwind of of tastings and dinners.
AUHEAMIC
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Is the wine show in October? Im happy to offer my place (Diamond Creek) for the swap.
My wife looked at the first batch of salamis (10kg) and said that wont last a year you better make another lot. So round two tomorrow.
I am sorry, I just wouldn't have the time to do a swap meet. I am more than happy to drop my salami in the CBD when I am down for the show or post them down with a return post bag.
If you want to do a swap meet without me or my salami then I am happy to drop out.
If you want to do a swap meet without me or my salami then I am happy to drop out.
Mercs Own
blabla
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For Vacuum sealing your salami have a look at my other post here
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...mp;#entry497654
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...mp;#entry497654
hairofthedog
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fents learning the way of the salami :lol:
benno1973
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Total newbie question here...
My neighbour's family makes salamis every year down in Harvey where it's pretty cold during winter. This year, he took lots of notes so we could try it ourselves. Due to kiddie commitments and the like, we're running pretty late this year. We agreed that we'd be pretty happy to make the sausage (he does the fennel/chilli ones as well) and freeze them wet, to be roasted in the oven which (from experience) is awesome. I'd rather do this than kill myself and my family with some sort of bug. But the questions I have are:
1. Is it too warm to dry a few? I'm in Perth and we're having minimums of 9-11C and maximums of around 17-19C. I would guess that this is too warm. It's a bit colder in my shed, but not much.
2. Can I use my fermenting fridge? Someone did a test recently with some salt water for humidity and a fan to circulate air, but not sure what the outcome was?
3. Can I just hang them in my shed (next winter, if it's not appropriate this winter)? It's a single car garage with a concrete floor, pretty cool temps, but I'm worried that there's not enough air flow. Do I need a fan blowing over them, or just a lot of room for the air to flow around them? The shed is closed up for most of the day. Otherwise would they be better hanging outdoors in my decking area, where there's shelter from the rain and strong wind, but enough air flow?
Thanks for all the advice so far!...
My neighbour's family makes salamis every year down in Harvey where it's pretty cold during winter. This year, he took lots of notes so we could try it ourselves. Due to kiddie commitments and the like, we're running pretty late this year. We agreed that we'd be pretty happy to make the sausage (he does the fennel/chilli ones as well) and freeze them wet, to be roasted in the oven which (from experience) is awesome. I'd rather do this than kill myself and my family with some sort of bug. But the questions I have are:
1. Is it too warm to dry a few? I'm in Perth and we're having minimums of 9-11C and maximums of around 17-19C. I would guess that this is too warm. It's a bit colder in my shed, but not much.
2. Can I use my fermenting fridge? Someone did a test recently with some salt water for humidity and a fan to circulate air, but not sure what the outcome was?
3. Can I just hang them in my shed (next winter, if it's not appropriate this winter)? It's a single car garage with a concrete floor, pretty cool temps, but I'm worried that there's not enough air flow. Do I need a fan blowing over them, or just a lot of room for the air to flow around them? The shed is closed up for most of the day. Otherwise would they be better hanging outdoors in my decking area, where there's shelter from the rain and strong wind, but enough air flow?
Thanks for all the advice so far!...
Mercs Own
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I would say it is too warm in Perth to make salami's. My brother lives in Cottesloe and he would love to make salami but I keep telling him it is not going to work. That said go and talk to some Italian locals and see what they say as maybe they have it worked out but from what I know - and it is not much - the ideal temp for hanging salami's is in the 10 - 12 degree range. Heer in Melbourne all the people making salami wait for june July and then bang everyone is getting pork and casing etc and making them but they wait for that windo temperature wise.
I dont know if it is possible to do the fermentation fridge thing as it would take a fair bit of work to sort out the right humidity and keep it constant for the 2 - 3 weeks that the salami need to hang. Again ask around and see if any one locally has done it.
I hang my salami's in my garage which is a double car type. I come in and out of the garage with the car, some times the door is up for a while whilst doing stuff outside etc. If it was very windy outside I would not open the garage and be as casual about it as the wind can dry them out too quick. Also I would put the car in the garage until it had cooled right down as I didnt want it raising the temp in the garage. Your garage maybe okay regarding air flow - my garage has the double door and then two house doors so there is plenty of draft with out too much air flow. Last year however we had lots of wind right when I wanted to make salami so I held off for a couple of weeks until the wind passed and then made them. A friend of mine didnt wait for the wind to pass and he lost his salamis that he made as they dried out too fast - most went in the bin.
If you had a house with a cellar that stayed at a constant cool temp you could possibly do them but air flow may be a problem - you need some but not too much. No way would I hang them outside and no way would I make them in Perth unless the temp was down around the 12 - 14 every day.
Do some research with locals who are making them if you can find any.
Cheers and good luck
Mercs Own
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Cool, meet up with Kaiser and introduce him to some of them and get the low down. When you do let me know because my brother would kill to be making his own!
Bongchitis
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Hi all,
Just read Mercs post about the temp controlled fridge and it is easy to keep the humidity up. I have grown gourmet mushrooms (which require high humidity) in my temp controlled fridge by having a tray of moistened pearlite at the bottom of the fridge. For those that don't know, Pearlite is used in Hydroponics primarily but it serves to lighten and airate soil and is great for this use due to its porosity and thus high surface area. It is very much like pumus... volcanic rock. A high surface area for evaporation means a fast transition to a humid environment after opening the door and letting the moisture out. The problem is that it works almost too well and can generate humidities in the 90's. A mixture of half dry and half moist (not wet) should be a bit better (or just put less in!) and to maintain the moisture just mist the pearlite every couple of days with a dilute sanitiser solution to prevent nasties growing in there. I don't think this is such a big deal as you would be checking more often than that anyway.
This is how I plan to make my cheeses too when I finally get around to it.
On second thought, wouldn't the moisture from the salami in such a confined space maintain a high humidity?... Maybe. I have a humidity meter and could sus it out if anyone is interested.
Edit: Engineers can't spell
Just read Mercs post about the temp controlled fridge and it is easy to keep the humidity up. I have grown gourmet mushrooms (which require high humidity) in my temp controlled fridge by having a tray of moistened pearlite at the bottom of the fridge. For those that don't know, Pearlite is used in Hydroponics primarily but it serves to lighten and airate soil and is great for this use due to its porosity and thus high surface area. It is very much like pumus... volcanic rock. A high surface area for evaporation means a fast transition to a humid environment after opening the door and letting the moisture out. The problem is that it works almost too well and can generate humidities in the 90's. A mixture of half dry and half moist (not wet) should be a bit better (or just put less in!) and to maintain the moisture just mist the pearlite every couple of days with a dilute sanitiser solution to prevent nasties growing in there. I don't think this is such a big deal as you would be checking more often than that anyway.
This is how I plan to make my cheeses too when I finally get around to it.
On second thought, wouldn't the moisture from the salami in such a confined space maintain a high humidity?... Maybe. I have a humidity meter and could sus it out if anyone is interested.
Edit: Engineers can't spell
benno1973
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Merc, Katie and Bong -
Thanks for the reply. The Italians making sausages that I know are all down south or inland in the hills, where the temps are much cooler than up here. The butcher I spoke to said that if we left it till the end of August, then we may as well not do it as it'd be getting too warm. And with the warm weather we've been getting here in Perth recently, I'd say it's probably not an option to dry them. Maybe early June might've been fine, but it looks like we've missed the boat.
Having said all that, we've got 50kg of pork on order from the butcher, and sausage making Saturday is going ahead as planned. We're making a few different styles (chilli, pepper) and we'll probably freeze most fresh for oven roasting, but I'll still hang a few in a couple of different locations to see how they turn out. I just read on Len Ploi's site that he uses a converted chest freezer with a dish of water in it to keep the humidity up. Pearlite's a great idea - I have a hydro shop down the road and was just about to buy some for a hydroponics setup anyway. Can't hurt to give it a go with a few of them to see how well/evenly they dry, although I'll be pretty cautious tasting them initially! We're also making a bunch of fresh bratwurst, so should be a busy day.
Bongchitis - can I PM you to find out more about growing gourmet mushrooms? I've done a bit of research to find out what's required, and I'd love to know what sort you're growing and how you did it?
Thanks for the reply. The Italians making sausages that I know are all down south or inland in the hills, where the temps are much cooler than up here. The butcher I spoke to said that if we left it till the end of August, then we may as well not do it as it'd be getting too warm. And with the warm weather we've been getting here in Perth recently, I'd say it's probably not an option to dry them. Maybe early June might've been fine, but it looks like we've missed the boat.
Having said all that, we've got 50kg of pork on order from the butcher, and sausage making Saturday is going ahead as planned. We're making a few different styles (chilli, pepper) and we'll probably freeze most fresh for oven roasting, but I'll still hang a few in a couple of different locations to see how they turn out. I just read on Len Ploi's site that he uses a converted chest freezer with a dish of water in it to keep the humidity up. Pearlite's a great idea - I have a hydro shop down the road and was just about to buy some for a hydroponics setup anyway. Can't hurt to give it a go with a few of them to see how well/evenly they dry, although I'll be pretty cautious tasting them initially! We're also making a bunch of fresh bratwurst, so should be a busy day.
Bongchitis - can I PM you to find out more about growing gourmet mushrooms? I've done a bit of research to find out what's required, and I'd love to know what sort you're growing and how you did it?
Ill ask a guy I work with his parents live in Hamilton Hill and they do them every year. Ill ask when they do them.
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