# Trying Umai Soppressata



## mneeley490 (Jul 24, 2017)

Tropics's success inspired me to try this on my own. I bought the 50mm bags, and followed the recipe provided by Umai. No spices were included, and it called for things people might not normally have, like dextrose and bactoferm T-SPX. I had the dextrose, but had to order the bactoferm.

Roughly 11 lbs of pork butt (2 butts) yesterday, ground coarse. I separated out about 25% of the butt and just diced fine, to get a more rustic texture. Also cut off the copa muscle of each to make capicola a little later. Unfortunately, the copa doesn't fit into the 50mm bags, so I have to order more. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			


















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__ Jul 24, 2017






This made 10 chubs about 10"-12" long. I only had one zip tie come loose, so I guess that's a pretty good failure rate.













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__ Jul 24, 2017






These went into an empty wine cooler that I've modified with a heating pad made for pet reptiles, connected to an analog PID. It has been a steady 75° since last night. As you can see, the humidity was 52% when I put them in. 













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__ Jul 24, 2017






Tonight when I got home, it was at 90% humidity on it's own without any water pan. I had to let it air out just a bit. It's already starting to turn color. I'll get another pic on Wednesday night.


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## SmokinAl (Jul 25, 2017)

Looks like a great start!

Al


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## tropics (Jul 25, 2017)

Thanks for the mention I used the 70s wish I bought the 50s instead of the 30s for the Pepperoni

I'll be watching

Richie


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## myownidaho (Jul 25, 2017)

Good looking start!


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## browneyesvictim (Jul 25, 2017)

Fantastic!

Does your wine cooler you are using have an evap/condenser system?

Look forward to the results!


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## mneeley490 (Jul 25, 2017)

Browneyesvictim said:


> Fantastic!
> 
> Does your wine cooler you are using have an evap/condenser system?
> 
> Look forward to the results!


This particular wine cooler does not work, so it's now just an insulated box with a window. With the addition of the heating pad, it's good for a fermenting chamber.

I have another working one that I use for a curing chamber, but it does not have a evaporator, either. Just a drain hole for condensation. Neither one was a high-end unit.


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## mneeley490 (Jul 26, 2017)

So nearly 3 days have gone by, and it looks like they're in full bloom. They will go into my garage fridge for the next few weeks. It says "No Frost" on the door, even though there is frost in the freezer compartment, so I hope it is adequate. I don't have room in my regular fridge for this many chubs, and quite likely the wife would pitch a fit if I did.













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__ Jul 26, 2017






Here's a shot of the heating pad in the fermentation chamber. It worked out pretty well.













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__ Jul 26, 2017


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jul 26, 2017)

I thought UMAi was supposed to be used in the fridge only, not a curing chamber. 

Do they have new directions out somewhere that I'm not familiar with?


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## mneeley490 (Jul 26, 2017)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> I thought UMAi was supposed to be used in the fridge only, not a curing chamber.
> 
> Do they have new directions out somewhere that I'm not familiar with?


I guess it's different for fermented sausage. I just happened to have this non-working cooler that I wanted to try out.

The instructions say:

*Hang to ferment at 65-75F for 36-72 hours

*Protect from drying airflow while fermenting

*Un-used oven with a pan of water is perfect for fermentation

*Meat color will brighten or redden to show good fermentation


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## browneyesvictim (Jul 26, 2017)

I was (am confused) as well... I thought the humidity control of the evap condenser is what you want as well as temp control. No wonder you had 85% humidity! And isn't 75' on the warm side? I thought around 50' is the target temp. I'm no aging guru and I'm just asking, and trying to learn as well.


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## pc farmer (Jul 26, 2017)

For fermented stuff you still need to hang somewhere for fermention.

Then in to the fridge after.

Rick does it all the time.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jul 26, 2017)

mneeley490 said:


> I guess it's different for fermented sausage. I just happened to have this non-working cooler that I wanted to try out.
> 
> The instructions say:
> *Hang to ferment at 65-75F for 36-72 hours
> ...



Please link UMAi recipe in your original post. 

As I said, I didn't know. I haven't been to their website lately and everything was in fridge only. 

This is a safety thing so adding the link shouldn't get you banned by the SMF overlords!


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## myownidaho (Jul 26, 2017)

UMAi does a warm temperature ferment before going into the fridge. Rick's threads reflect that.


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## mneeley490 (Jul 26, 2017)

That was from the instructions that came with the bags. I followed the instructions exactly.

It's at 4:07 in this video:  

It's also noted that you do not vacuum seal the bags any longer.

Here is the spice recipe, in case you're interested:  https://www.drybagsteak.com/recipe-homemade-salami-soppressata.php


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## daveomak (Jul 26, 2017)

I believe vacuum is still applied to whole muscle meat when using UMAI...   It's only ground meats that vacuum is not applied...   
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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## myownidaho (Jul 26, 2017)

DaveOmak said:


> I believe vacuum is still applied to whole muscle meat when using UMAI...   It's only ground meats that vacuum is not applied...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yup.


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## mneeley490 (Jul 27, 2017)

Good to know. As I mentioned, this is my first foray into Umai, and I guess I'll vacuum the capicola after the bigger bags arrive.


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## mneeley490 (Jul 31, 2017)

Hitting a snag. My garage fridge is crapping out on me. I need to get another one, pronto, or I'll have to temporarily move my beer to relocate the sausages into my min-fridge, which is not frost-free. Been searching Craigslist and OfferUp all weekend, but so far no luck. Amazing the amount of flakes on those sites.


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## mneeley490 (Jul 31, 2017)

Managed to squeeze them into the main, frost-free fridge for now. The wife is just going to have to live with it for a while.

Noticed the plastic is starting to come loose from the meat on some of them already. I take that as a good sign that they're losing weight. Firming up quite a bit, too.


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## mneeley490 (Aug 8, 2017)

Two weeks gone, and they are already very firm and pulling away from the Umai bags. Didn't bother weighing them yet. They still have a long way to go.













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__ Aug 8, 2017


















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Got the two capicola in their bags tonight.













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__ Aug 8, 2017






On the fridge side, I bought a used fridge yesterday from someone on OfferUp for $80. It was still cold when I got it; they said they just unplugged it. Put it carefully on its side into my Jeep and drove it home less than a mile, then let it stand overnight. Plugged it in tonight, and it trips my CFI outlet. Tried a different one, and it tripped the breaker. Dang!!!!! I opened the back panel to see if it was a pinched wire or something else easy to fix; nope. Whatever it is, it's deep inside the impenetrable part. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   Now I have 2 non-working fridges to get rid of.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Aug 8, 2017)

mneeley490 said:


> Two weeks gone, and they are already very firm and pulling away from the Umai bags. Didn't bother weighing them yet. They still have a long way to go.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looking Good!

Gut those two fridges and make them into smokers!


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## mneeley490 (Aug 13, 2017)

Well, garage fridge #3 was the charm. Now the sopp and capicola have plenty of room to breathe.













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__ Aug 13, 2017






The Umai bag lost its seal on one of the capicola, so I had to use another one to reseal it tonight. There were only 4 in the
"large charcuterie" package, at almost $7 each including shipping, so that can get expensive.


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## mneeley490 (Aug 21, 2017)

It's been about 3-1/2 weeks for the soppa in the fridge. I took them out to weigh tonight, and they are all at about 36%  weight loss.

At this rate, it should only be about another week or so to get to 40%. Does that % sound about right for those who have done this before?


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## myownidaho (Aug 21, 2017)

It will be more than a week, most likely. Moisture loss usually drops by almost 50% a week.


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## mneeley490 (Aug 21, 2017)

MyOwnIdaho said:


> It will be more than a week, most likely. Moisture loss usually drops by almost 50% a week.


Good to know, thanks!


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## mneeley490 (Aug 29, 2017)

Ok, one of the links hit the magic 40% weight loss mark, and I sliced it up for some folks to sample. Verdict was: Great! Classic soppressata flavor. Just a bit of tang from the bactoferm, but not enough to make it sour. Very firm texture.

Now I have another thing besides bacon that I won't be buying from the store. So just over 4 weeks from pork butt to charcuterie. That's pretty good, and I'm sold on these Umai bags. (Just wish there were someplace that sold them cheaper.)













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__ Aug 29, 2017






You can see how much volume it lost here, as the plastic sleeves don't shrink like casings.













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__ Aug 29, 2017






Nice smell and texture. Absolutely no mold or other nasties.

And a few sliced shots.













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I took these outside in the fading sunlight, but the color was still better than in my kitchen.













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__ Aug 29, 2017


















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Now I'm just waiting on the capicola. I have high expectations for it.


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## tropics (Aug 30, 2017)

Very Nice I will be slicing mine up for Sundays BBQ Points

Richie


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## daveomak (Aug 30, 2017)

Excellent job....   Looks awesome....


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## browneyesvictim (Aug 30, 2017)

Very cool! Im sure your capicola will be just as good. I am anxious to try this...Did either one of them call for using Bactoferm (T-SPX)? I might have missed it somewhere in the post.


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## mneeley490 (Aug 30, 2017)

Browneyesvictim said:


> Very cool! Im sure your capicola will be just as good. I am anxious to try this...Did either one of them call for using Bactoferm (T-SPX)? I might have missed it somewhere in the post.


Yes, the soppressata did. It is in the first post.


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## mneeley490 (Sep 16, 2017)

Sliced up one of the capicola the other day, as it was very close to 35% weight loss. I had used some Capicola seasoning from Sausagemaker on the outside. It was okay; seemed to be mostly paprika, which is probably what I would have ended up rubbing it with anyway.













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__ Sep 16, 2017






One thing about the Umai bags, is that the cuts tend to flatten out when laying down. Perhaps if they were hung like the soppressata originally was, that wouldn't happen.













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__ Sep 16, 2017






Here it is ready to go to a party, with some cheese, the soppressata, and some store-bought prosciutto. (Mine isn't ready yet.) I got a compliment that it was better than anything they had bought at an Italian market.













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__ Sep 16, 2017


















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And of course, my taste tester waiting to do her job.


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## mneeley490 (Oct 13, 2017)

Well, between friends and family, that batch didn't last long. I'm going to start batch #2 tomorrow, grinding about 18+ pounds of pork butt. I got some larger die grinding disks for my Kitchenaid grinder, so I don't think I'll have to dice any this time. Thought I'd try upping the heat just a little this batch, by doubling the red pepper flakes that the recipe calls for.


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## mneeley490 (Oct 15, 2017)

Some pics of batch #2. Unfortunately, I made one of the classic blunders, as in bringing a knife to a gunfight, or getting involved in a land war in Asia. I thought I had boneless pork butts in the freezer; turned out they were bone-in. So cutting around the bone, while the thing was still frozen (for the grinder) was quite a challenge. Lost a lot of the weight with those bone chunks discarded.

Salt and spice blend. The cure #2 is in there somewhere.






Got twelve+ chubs this time, even with losing the chunks around the bone.






And into the fermenting chamber where the reptile heating pad is once again doing its thing. Temp is 72°, and the humidity right now is 80%. They are starting to bloom nicely, and will be coming out on Tuesday night.


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## mneeley490 (Oct 19, 2017)




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