I have been doing venison salami for a few years now. I had a castrophe the other day.
I wasn't watching the stuffing process closely. I was doing the cranking. The casings weren't tight. They were pretty loose.
Anyway, they were smoked for app 3 hours in my homemade smoker/cooker from a freezer. (see roll call page) The smoke comes from an external source. After a thourough smoking, I cranked up the cooker and cooked for app 4 hours at 200 to 210. Once the internal temp reached 160, it was shut off and salami was removed.
Castrophe moment now hits me. Since they weren't packed tight, they were full of water. It looked like a balloon. This was a frustrating sight to see. My solution was to pin hole them and let them drip. I hosed them off to cool and rehung them in cooker with door open. They cooled off nicely and the excess moisture was gone by morning.
This saved them, but it could of avoided if the casings were stuffed as tight as you can get them. Some simple things like this can ruin a good batch of salami.
Anyway, they were smoked for app 3 hours in my homemade smoker/cooker from a freezer. (see roll call page) The smoke comes from an external source. After a thourough smoking, I cranked up the cooker and cooked for app 4 hours at 200 to 210. Once the internal temp reached 160, it was shut off and salami was removed.
Castrophe moment now hits me. Since they weren't packed tight, they were full of water. It looked like a balloon. This was a frustrating sight to see. My solution was to pin hole them and let them drip. I hosed them off to cool and rehung them in cooker with door open. They cooled off nicely and the excess moisture was gone by morning.
This saved them, but it could of avoided if the casings were stuffed as tight as you can get them. Some simple things like this can ruin a good batch of salami.