Oh my - an Umai oops

[DinkyDoodleDoo]

I made 12 pounds of pork/beef landjaeger and stuffed them into 32mm Umai casings. I've done this a few times before, and they always turned out great, but this time I forgot to take them out of the turned-off oven after 36 hours. They were in there for 6.5 days, so I'm worried about food safety. They were fermenting at about 76-80 Fahrenheit with T-SPX. They looked ok, and they smelled ok (just tangy, and a little bit smoky from the hickory smoke powder) and there was a small amount of liquid on the baking sheets that I used to flatten them. For now, they're in the fridge to dry for a few weeks.

I won't mind if they're a little tangier than usual, but I don't want to risk eating them if the extra 3.5 days of fermentation could put them in the danger zone. Thanks for reading, and I'll abide by the experts' advice.

 

[SmokinEdge]

You had something over 150 hours of fermentation at 76-80 degrees F. That’s very long. I have no idea of your salt percentage or recipe generally. Would like to get indaswamp to chime in. He has dove deep into the science of this.

 

[DougE]

I meant to respond to this when I saw it and it's definitely in inda's wheelhouse.

 

[indaswamp]

Using the degree/hours formula...
https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-types/fermented-sausage/standards

avg. 78*F in oven - 60*F = 18*F

18*F X 156 hours fermentation = 2,808 total degree hours in the oven.

The real question is what is the pH of the salami? And how many hours did it take to reach pH5.3 or lower? How much salt did you use? Unfortunately, I can't answer whether they are safe without knowing these things.. How much sugar and what type did you use? T-SPX 'SHOULD' achieve pH below 5.3 in about 24-30 hours at those temps.

The real issue for me is the high temperature for so long. Lysteria and e.coli being the biggest concern here which is hard to control and the heat doesn't help at all. What type of meat did you use? any beef in the mix?

 

[indaswamp]

If you are confident that the pH target was achieved in a timely manner as it should then you could heat treat the sticks. Check the pH as that will determine how hot you need to take the internal temp. At pH4.5, 123*F for an hour would be sufficient. Between pH4.5-5, I'd take them to 136*F for 1.5 hours.

were it me, this would be my course of action. Vac seal and sous vide to heat treat, then dry.

 

[indaswamp]

All of the safety hurdles are important. The lesson here is that temperature control post fermentation is very important for the control of those tough microbes like Salmonella, Lysteria, and e.coli. Determining when pH5.3 has been reached is of major importance which is why I own a pH meter. I feel much better when I know.....and can track the pH drop in a salami. Cheap peace of mind really when you think about it.