refining my skills

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kewl32

Newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2014
11
10
ok guys, i have my curing cabinet built for some genoa style all pork salami's. ive made 2 batches and everything works great. I havent had any problems with case hardening or rate of dry down or maintaining humidity. life is great, but know i have a question for someone who has been doing this awhile. i have been using bacterum spx, which workes great and i have been fermenting for 72 hours maintaining around 70 to 75 degrees. my question is how do i obtain more of that salami tang flavor. do i ferment longer or do i dry longer ( been drying to 30% loss of green weight.) or is there something in the recipe to refine. I'm going for a taste close to a filtzette or volpi salami.
 
 
ok guys, i have my curing cabinet built for some genoa style all pork salami's. ive made 2 batches and everything works great. I havent had any problems with case hardening or rate of dry down or maintaining humidity. life is great, but know i have a question for someone who has been doing this awhile. i have been using bacterum spx, which workes great and i have been fermenting for 72 hours maintaining around 70 to 75 degrees. my question is how do i obtain more of that salami tang flavor. do i ferment longer or do i dry longer ( been drying to 30% loss of green weight.) or is there something in the recipe to refine. I'm going for a taste close to a filtzette or volpi salami.
Certain cultures ferment fast some slow. Some add a tang...some add a souring flavor. The % of dextrose in your recipe is also a factor to consider when shooting for a certain tang. Want to be right on the money? Get yourself a pH meter. When you ferment your salami, leave a small ball of the meat mixture out of the casings and in the same environment. Check it in increments for pH to be sure you're getting what you're looking for. Other are gonna chime in with some more info, but here's a link to some reading on cultures and fermenting effects.

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-types/fermented-sausage/cultures
 
Thanks for the info, i've read the article and gain some insight on bacteria's, but i guess i need to find some more info on the subject. i know this is an art with some science mixed in. but im kinda skittish about playing with bacteria or dextrose amounts to experiment. The ph factor seems to be a key player here but the articles only give you a minimum ph level not to go under. to get more of what i want do i shoot for a higher ph or do i adjust up the dextrose so the bacteria has more to feed on possibly producing more lactic acid in the finish product, and does the drying of the product longer increase any flavor. maybe someone can shed a little more light on the subject. But thanks for the help.
 
Having more dextrose, or food, for the culture is a method of increasing the tang. So will increasing the fermentation temps, but be careful that some cultures won't ferment at higher temps. Some recipes will call for a higher % of dextrose than others. 

There is definitely an art to making consistent salami and such, but it doesn't have to be ultra complicated. It does however need to be made correctly and safely because it can be dangerous to yourself and others if not. So read and learn as much as you can.

Here's another link from that site that talks about sugars and how they play a part in the acidifying salami.

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-types/fermented-sausage

You might also check out this forum http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/ also. Along with SMF, it's my go to spot for anything smoked, salami, and charcuterie related.

So, to maybe answer your question, to get more of a tang you'll increase the amount of dextrose used to lower the pH further. I'm no expert, so Dave will hopefully come in and help...probably correct me :).
 
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