This one was a long time a coming....I've been researching for years on how to make salami. Thank you to all on SMF that have answered my questions and helped me out with suggestions. The recommendation to get the Marianski books was some of the best advice I received.
I say that this was a 'project' because well, it was. I went through 3 refrigerators/freezers (freebies thought) before I found one that would work. Then I had to set it up. Once that was done and I ran it a while to learn how it responds, I ordered all the stuff to make salamis. It finally all arrived friday afternoon, but with the stores being hit pretty hard from people stocking up because of Covid-19 virus, I was out of luck finding any pork butts Friday. Feeling totally discouraged, I decided to take a venison roast out of the freezer and make a bresaola.
A stoke of luck changed my plans once again when I scored a twin pack of Boston Butts Saturday morning that the store had pulled out of the back and put out in the freezer case. On sale for $0.99/lb too!
So here I go after working up my confidence and wrapping my head around the ins and outs of salami making....
Mixed up the Mold 600 the night before so it would be ready to go the next day. Then I flushed the casings and put them to soak in distilled water with a little vinegar. Also mixed up the spices, salt, and cure #2 the night before. I'm doing 5 Kg. Of pepperoni.
After cleaning everything very well and sanitizing, I broke down the pork and removed all veins, intramuscular fat, and tough connective tissue then weighed out what I needed. Put in freezer to chill along with the grinder head to chill below 35*. Then it was go time. I measured out the Flavor of Italy starter culture in 1/4 cup of water. I had to redo this step because I used tap water not thinking...though I am very familiar with making smoke sausages, I had to stay on top of things to make sure I did not screw up a step working with the live cultures. And I was a clean freak the entire time....
Used the 4.5mm plate for both the fat and lean meat. After the grind it was time to mix in the spices, salt, cure #2, and the started culture.. I mixed by hand very, very thoroughly.
Up close...
It smelled out of this world awesome! I like the hint of wine....
Next it was stuffing the beef middles. These were pre cut and tied, not what I usually use for andouille, but it was all they could get. The first two links were slightly under stuffed, but the last 4 were perfectly stuffed, just enough to stretch the casing a little and push some liquid through it. The sausages are about 18-20" long and 2~2 1/2" diameter. They should shrink to a nice size once they dry.
I wanted to show you guys this... it's my italian casing pricker. I picked up that idea from one of the youtube videos I watched of Italian butchers making salamis. It worked great! Just some heavy duty needles pushed into a wine cork with needle nose pliers.
Once stuffed, time to truss the salamis. This took some time to do, about 15-20 minutes per salami, but those knot classes in boy scouts along with watching an Italian do it on youtube, and I got the hang of it pretty good. They are not perfect, but I like the rustic look. The beef middles had some curves to them after stuffing. I was able to straighten them out with the trussing for the most part. The last two came out straighter than the first 4 after I got a feel for the tying. After tying, it was time to weigh the salamis and make tags, then brush with mold 600. Once that was complete, I hung the sausages in my fermentation trash can so the meat could continue warming to room temp. internally. Then I cleaned up the kitchen.
And after cleaning, I moved them....here they are hanging in the chamber to ferment @75* and 90% humidity...
I am using my drying chamber as a fermentation chamber to help inoculate the inside of the chamber with mold 600 along with the salamis. Should get a pH drop below 5.3 in 24-30 hours. I'm really looking forward to sampling these!!! But I gotta wait!
I say that this was a 'project' because well, it was. I went through 3 refrigerators/freezers (freebies thought) before I found one that would work. Then I had to set it up. Once that was done and I ran it a while to learn how it responds, I ordered all the stuff to make salamis. It finally all arrived friday afternoon, but with the stores being hit pretty hard from people stocking up because of Covid-19 virus, I was out of luck finding any pork butts Friday. Feeling totally discouraged, I decided to take a venison roast out of the freezer and make a bresaola.
A stoke of luck changed my plans once again when I scored a twin pack of Boston Butts Saturday morning that the store had pulled out of the back and put out in the freezer case. On sale for $0.99/lb too!
So here I go after working up my confidence and wrapping my head around the ins and outs of salami making....
Mixed up the Mold 600 the night before so it would be ready to go the next day. Then I flushed the casings and put them to soak in distilled water with a little vinegar. Also mixed up the spices, salt, and cure #2 the night before. I'm doing 5 Kg. Of pepperoni.
After cleaning everything very well and sanitizing, I broke down the pork and removed all veins, intramuscular fat, and tough connective tissue then weighed out what I needed. Put in freezer to chill along with the grinder head to chill below 35*. Then it was go time. I measured out the Flavor of Italy starter culture in 1/4 cup of water. I had to redo this step because I used tap water not thinking...though I am very familiar with making smoke sausages, I had to stay on top of things to make sure I did not screw up a step working with the live cultures. And I was a clean freak the entire time....
Used the 4.5mm plate for both the fat and lean meat. After the grind it was time to mix in the spices, salt, cure #2, and the started culture.. I mixed by hand very, very thoroughly.
Up close...
It smelled out of this world awesome! I like the hint of wine....
Next it was stuffing the beef middles. These were pre cut and tied, not what I usually use for andouille, but it was all they could get. The first two links were slightly under stuffed, but the last 4 were perfectly stuffed, just enough to stretch the casing a little and push some liquid through it. The sausages are about 18-20" long and 2~2 1/2" diameter. They should shrink to a nice size once they dry.
I wanted to show you guys this... it's my italian casing pricker. I picked up that idea from one of the youtube videos I watched of Italian butchers making salamis. It worked great! Just some heavy duty needles pushed into a wine cork with needle nose pliers.
Once stuffed, time to truss the salamis. This took some time to do, about 15-20 minutes per salami, but those knot classes in boy scouts along with watching an Italian do it on youtube, and I got the hang of it pretty good. They are not perfect, but I like the rustic look. The beef middles had some curves to them after stuffing. I was able to straighten them out with the trussing for the most part. The last two came out straighter than the first 4 after I got a feel for the tying. After tying, it was time to weigh the salamis and make tags, then brush with mold 600. Once that was complete, I hung the sausages in my fermentation trash can so the meat could continue warming to room temp. internally. Then I cleaned up the kitchen.
And after cleaning, I moved them....here they are hanging in the chamber to ferment @75* and 90% humidity...
I am using my drying chamber as a fermentation chamber to help inoculate the inside of the chamber with mold 600 along with the salamis. Should get a pH drop below 5.3 in 24-30 hours. I'm really looking forward to sampling these!!! But I gotta wait!
