# Question about starter culture?



## Billymons (Apr 29, 2019)

Is there a problem after I stuff the casings that I refrigerate them over night until I take them to where my fermenting chamber is the next day. The cold won’t kill the culture will it. I’m using the Bactoferm T-SPX to make some salami. Thanks.


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## daveomak (Apr 29, 2019)

*Due to the limited shelf life outside of a freezer, we can not ship this outside of North America.*

For slow/mild acidification. Less acidity and no sour flavor; enhances the aromatic flavor and appearance of fermented meats. Also assists in moisture removal and the breaking down of Nitrate into Nitrite for more efficient curing. If using T-SPX for traditional method of drying this culture will not provide food safety through lowering pH level but, it will help lower aW. Use for products needing at least one month's time for drying and do not ferment with this product over 75°F.

• Net Weight: 25g(per packet)
• Usage: 25g for 200kg(440 lbs)
• Instructions for making 10 lb. increments included.
• Storage: In Freezer (<2°F)
• Freeze Dried Culture
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Bactoferm™ B-LC-007 is a patented culture blend capable of acidification as well as preventing growth of _Listeria_. The culture produces pediocin and bavaricin (think of them like a kind of “antibiotics”) that keeps _Listeria monocytogenes_ at safe levels by the additional hurdle thrown at it.

It is recommended to use this culture at low fermentation temperatures between 64-75ºF for the production of European style products with very low acid profiles.

This culture makes T-SPX obsolete due to all the additional beneficial strains that come with it. You want the added yeast and both cocci strains for flavor development predominantly, and this blend has it all. Because the fermentation temperature is low as well we suggest this culture is a game changer by offering so much more than T-SPX. This blend offers added Listeria protection, where T-SPX does not. Both forms of cocci bacteria work together in developing the characteristic flavors of fermented sausages, while also reducing the residual amount of nitrite in your product due to their secretion of enzymes that cause the reduction of the residual nitrite in the sausage. So you end up consuming less in the final product than using a culture blend with these beneficial bacteria. B-LC-007 is truly a superior culture to use for low temperature fermentation. 

This blend contains:


Debaryomyces hansenii – a yeast which inhibits rancidity, is lipolytic, suppresses acidity (tang), and for flavor development
Lactobacillus sakei – produces lactic acid, produce bacterocins, and aids in the prevention of Listeria
Pediococcus Acidilactici – produces lactic acid, produce bacterocins, and aids in the prevention of Listeria
Pediococcus pentosaceus – is lactic acid producing, and proteolytic
Staphylococcus carnosus – develops flavor, improves color stability, proteolytic, lipolytic, tests positive for nitrate reductase activity
Staphylococcus xylosus – develops flavor, improves color stability, proteolytic, lipolytic, tests positive for nitrate reductase activity
Sold in a 50g bag which is enough to ferment 495# of meat.

Use 0.022% the weight of the meat. Meaning, measure your meat in grams, then multiply the weight of your meat by 0.00022. This number is the proper amount of culture to add to you meat.

To disperse evenly we recommend hydrating the culture for 25 minutes in 60 mL of distilled water. For every 5# of meat use 30mL of distilled water to hydrate and disperse the culture. It is best to add the culture when spiced meat is in chunks, mix around, then grind to desired particle size. Mix evenly after grinding.

Storage:

Always store your cultures below 1ºF for a shelf life of 18 months. If stored above 41ºF the shelf life is 6 weeks.


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## Billymons (Apr 29, 2019)

Looks like the later is the better option but I’m stuck with the TSPX that’s what The Sausage Maker and the recipe recommended to me so that’s what I bought. It’s my first time doing the cured meat so it will be a learning experience. Thanks


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## Billymons (Apr 29, 2019)

Using this recipe.

https://honest-food.net/basic-salami-recipe/


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## Saline_Smoker (Apr 29, 2019)

Billy,

As most sources suggest mixing in the culture slurry to your mince right before stuffing, I'd be inclined to say you won't want to do this if you can avoid it. Quickly re-reading some parts of Marianski's books, I can't find any exact reasoning, but I figure stuffing it then refrigerating it may not be good for the health of the T-SPX bacteria strains (will it kill it all outright, probably not - will it put it at a disadvantage due to temperature shock, probably yes), and will certainly add additional lag phase to the fermentation while your sausages warm back up again, allowing other unwanted bacteria to possibly take a foothold (in the process eating up some of the sugars you added specifically for the T-SPX to eat) before the beneficial bacteria in the T-SPX has had a chance to start working at around 65ºF.

That said, some guys here may have done this before and had it been fine, but unfortunately, I can't give you any first-hand experience here as I've always just mixed in the culture slurry right before stuffing then put the sausages directly into the fermentation area. But all that said, I'd avoid doing it if at all possible - better safe than sorry.


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## Billymons (Apr 29, 2019)

I think rather then refrigerate, I will just hang them in my house (68degrees) over night and then off to the fermenting chamber. Although my humidity will only be maybe 40% I think I’ll be alright.


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## Saline_Smoker (Apr 29, 2019)

Billy,

I think this is the better option. That's a good temp too.

To help keep the humidity up until you get them where they're going, you can always bag them loosely or put them in a sanitized Rubbermaid bin and mist with a spray bottle filled with sterilized/distilled water periodically.


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## Billymons (Apr 29, 2019)

That’s a good idea. Thank you


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## Billymons (May 10, 2019)

Just about two weeks and the salami is down 30% I will give it one more week and then I will give it the taste test to see if I want to continue this journey. The Fermentation went great and I’ve been able to control the temp and humidity reasonably perfect. I  used a Ranco temperature controller to regulate temperature for the fermentation and the curing. To Dehumidify or add some heat I use a very tiny Honeywell Heatbud desktop heater. It’s nice because it has anti tip safety and low watts. To Humidify I use a Crane 1 gallon humidifier. The first several days I was battling high humidity which would make sense, a lot of moisture in the meat also the meat was dripping pretty good a stinky vinegary smell  which I understand is normal during fermentation. Right now my temperature has been tracking anywhere from 55 to 60° and my humidity anywhere from 70 to 80%. I did use the mold 600 which seems to be working good. Everything looks and smells OK so far.


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## Billymons (May 10, 2019)

Well I cut one open and I’m not pleased. They lost a little over 30% of their weight still looks a little raw inside I’m gonna let it go another week and see what happens not happy so far, even though I followed all the guidelines. And a little bit of a sour smell not sure if that’s normal or not.


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## daveomak (May 10, 2019)

When making the sausage, did you add any water ??  That amount needs to be subtracted, from the original weight, BEFORE you start measuring for weight loss..
Usually about 40-45% weight loss is normal....  By the way, the meat is raw...


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## Saline_Smoker (May 10, 2019)

Billy,

My $.02 is your humidity may actually be too low. 30% weight loss in two weeks is _*super*_ fast unless those sausages are really small in diameter. See that dark ring around your sausage, that means the outside is drying too fast, not allowing the inside to lose moisture (aka case hardening). You want a nice slow, even loss of moisture.

Are you sure your Inkbird is calibrated correctly? If you've not already checked it against another hygrometer or tested it with one of those 75% RH calibration packets they make for cigar humidors, I'd suggest you do. My best guess is it may be off and it's actually dryer in your chamber then you think it is. The Inkbird I have is off by 8% RH - so it's indeed something that needs checking here and there.

As for getting these back on track, the best thing to do is to vacuum seal them all for a week or two (I'd err on the high side here), allowing the moisture in the sausages to evenly redistribute itself throughout. Then once you're sure your RH readings are indeed correct, you can rehang them if you'd like to dry them further.


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## daveomak (May 10, 2019)

Which casings did you use ??_

Finally, I prefer using really wide hog casings instead of beef middles, as is customary in Italy. Why? They’re easier to cure, and are still plenty wide enough to get a nice slice
Now you need to dry your sausages and turn them into salami. Hang them in a place that is about 50°F to 60°F with about 80 to 90 percent humidity. In most cases you will need to put a humidifier under your links. I also spritz them with water once a day for the first 2 weeks. After the first week of hanging, drop the humidity to 70 to 80 percent. On the third week drop it again to 65 to 70 percent and hold it there until a total of 5 to 10 weeks has elapsed since the salami went into the chamber_.


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## daveomak (May 10, 2019)

Billymons said:


> I think rather then refrigerate, I will just hang them in my house (68degrees) over night and then off to the fermenting chamber. Although my humidity will only be maybe 40% I think I’ll be alright.



_To ferment your links, you will need to keep them warm and moist. I do this by putting a humidifier under the hanging sausages and then tenting the whole shebang with big garbage bags that I've sliced open on one end. I also use a water sprayer to spritz my sausages a couple times a day. Doing this prevents the casings from hardening. Keep your sausages hanging at room temperature (65 to 80°F) for two to three days._


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## Billymons (May 11, 2019)

No water was used in the salami, just 1/3 cup wine. I used small hog casings so maybe 35mm. I thought starting out smaller would be good for the beginner. I have several temp and humidity monitors in the chamber so I am pretty sure I’m within +/- 5% humidity. I thought 30% in two weeks was fast too, but these salami’s are very thin. We will see in a week or so. Thank you gentleman.


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## Cajuneric (Sep 2, 2019)

Hi Billymons, How did they turn out.  Were they too tangy.  I recall that you used tspx.  Tspx can ferment most sugars so if you added dextrose, wine, and table sugar there's a good chance your ph dropped to below 4.6.  Not a bad thing but it can produce a "sour or Tangy" quality to the salami.  Most recipes I have found will call for too much sugar.  

I have a video on my YouTube channel on how to calibrate your equipment.  Yours is probably right on track but humidity controllers are very finicky and depending on the quality of the controller it might be off by several points.  

Something else to consider in your chamber might be airflow.  Salami only needs very gentle air movement.  Too much air flow will cause the outside of the salami to dry too fast.  That was my problem in the beginning...  Just some thoughts..


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## Billymons (Sep 2, 2019)

I didn’t even try them. They lost more weight and still didn’t look correct in the middle. They also had a little sour smell that scared me off. It went in the garbage. I thought I did everything correct, and I had back ups for my back ups to check temp and humidity. I didn’t have any airflow in the chamber, just opened and closed the door several times a day, maybe that was it.  I’m done with curing meats.... for now. To much baby sitting and making sure things are perfect. I guess if I had more time on my hands I’d try it again someday.


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## Cajuneric (Sep 2, 2019)

So sorry to hear that.  Salami making is truly a wonderful and rewarding craft.  The chamber can be a beast though that needs a little troubleshooting in the beginning to keep the conditions perfect.  Once you have it dialed in though it basically takes care of itself.  If you ever get back on that horse be sure to reach out.  BTW..   Just so you know failure is inevitable (in the beginning) when making salami....  It's our best teacher!!


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