My first soppressata

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atomicsmoke

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Apr 3, 2014
4,313
1,235
Toronto, Canada
Had experience with dried whole muscle meats and dried "basic" sausage, but not with dry cured larger sausages (especially fermented).
This was assembled after Christmas. I used tsPX culture.

After almost 7 weeks it's at 33% weight loss.

The casing is detached in spots.


They are both the same colour...difference in shade is from ambient lighting.
On the half stick on the right there is small area with a shade of brown. Any idea what it is?

Taste a little acidic and tangy similar to what I get from Italians.Love it.
 
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It's tough to see the shade of brown you're talking about due to the dettached casing on the right side piece. I don't see anything on the interior that's brown, so I'm assuming it's on the casings. It's likely some form of mold. If it's not covering a large spot just wipe it off with a vinegar water solution.  If you're done drying, you should be able to peal away the casings and store and you please now. It looks like you might have not gotten a good and tacky meat mix before stuffing. The holes in the interior of the salami is usually a sign of that. 

The grind looks great and it's got really good color. I see zero case hardening also which is a sign of a good controlled environment. It does look and I'm darn sure taste awesome! How's the texture? Is it too soft or just right for your tastes?
 
I stuffed right after mixing. Next time I will leave it in the fridge for a day.
Texture is great. At 33% loss I expected a little harder.
I cropped the pic so the brown spot is easier to see. It could be caked paprika (I noticed that on my summer salami too). The Szeged paprika I use doesn't have silica in it (free flow agent).
 
I stuffed right after mixing. Next time I will leave it in the fridge for a day.
Texture is great. At 33% loss I expected a little harder.
I cropped the pic so the brown spot is easier to see. It could be caked paprika (I noticed that on my summer salami too). The Szeged paprika I use doesn't have silica in it (free flow agent).
I sort of see what you're talking about. I think you're guess might be right on. What were the conditions in your chamber? Are beef middles? What size?

I know when I used my UMAI bags and pulled at around 32 I think, it was definitely softer than I'd expected. When the last finally got to 40% loss, it was perfect in my eyes. The taste was that much more intense.

BTW, something I like to after mixing to get that myosin bind it to form it into a ball and punch it down a few times in my bowl. I've found it helps get any extra air out of the mixture. I've never really had an issue going straight from mixing into the casings when doing it.
 
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Looks pretty tasty to me, But I'm not an expert on sausage making

gary
 
Temperatures are below 10C and dry. I used beef middles 50/55mm. I like it on the softer side, it's just that I didn't expect...being used with whole muscles getting chewy after 30%.
Thank you and Chef W for checking it out.
 
Looks good. I have a batch I started 5 weeks ago in Umai bags and they're at 35% to 36% loss. Tried a small sample and they too seem a little soft and plain tasting so I'll wait until they get to 40% loss and try again.
 
Seems the consensus is it is getting better at 40%. I will hang a couple of sticks for further drying.
 
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Did a proper tasting with family and friends in the weekend. It was served on a board along with other charcuterie cuts. It was nice to compare with the taste of a dry sausage for instance (no culture). The fermentation takes it into a very different zone. Just outstanding.
 
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