# Spanish Chorizo on Deck! First Salami in the New Maturing Chamber!!!!



## indaswamp (Jul 29, 2022)

So excited!!!! First salami in the new chamber! That is the project for this weekend, been looking forward to this for 6 months! Looking forward to the first salami in my chamber has been what has kept me pushing forward through the frustrations of the build. I chose Spanish Chorizo for a few reasons...1-It is on my list of new salamis to make. 2-It does not traditionally use beneficial mold coverage, and being a new chamber the flora has not been well established yet so this will help to keep the salami clean. 3. It is a small diameter salami which is preferred when dialing in the settings on a new chamber.

I have 5# of pork back fat and 11# of pork loin I just picked up from the grocer. Will start bright and early in the morning for those that want to ride along. I'll be using Cajuneric's Spanish Chorizo recipe here:

https://twoguysandacooler.com/spanish-chorizo/


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## tbern (Jul 29, 2022)

that is going to be so good!!   good luck, hope everything goes as planned for you with your new chamber!


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## indaswamp (Jul 29, 2022)

tbern said:


> that is going to be so good!!   good luck, hope everything goes as planned for you with your new chamber!


Thanks tbern!


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## indaswamp (Jul 29, 2022)

So....looking at the sugars in ground paprika...
https://www.eatthismuch.com/food/nutrition/paprika,203/

0.8g total sugars in 6.9grams of paprika. That is 11.59% sugars in paprika powder.

simple sugars:
0.2g glucose
0.5g fructose

double chain sugars:
0.1g sucrose

Eric's recipe calls for 25grams of paprika. That's 2.9grams of sugars per kilogram of meat paste....more than enough to fuel fermentation so I will not be adding any dextrose. And this is adding mostly simple sugars.


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## indaswamp (Jul 29, 2022)

Will also be using T-SPX to slow fermentation down to keep the pH from dropping to low. This worked extremely well when I made the last batch of Calabrian Soppressata.


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## indaswamp (Jul 29, 2022)

A little more digging into the sugar content of paprika....

I am finding some places use 0.2g of sugars in paprika powder. For the recipe I am using, that would be about 0.9grams/kilogram mince. So I'm going to go middle of the road and use 1 gram/kg. dextrose. Still using T-SPX culture though...
I'll have 2-4g./kg. of available sugars.....we'll see what pH I get....


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## Sven Svensson (Jul 29, 2022)

I understand your excitement. We’re all excited for you, too. This has been a long haul for you but it’s been filled with passion for this art. I’m looking forward to seeing all the projects you’ve had to delay by creating that incredible chamber. Even though you could have just bought a chamber, sometimes the journey is as much fun as the destination. It was great watching you plan, troubleshoot, adapt, and pivot on this project. 

Congratulations!


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## LoydB (Jul 30, 2022)

I share your excitement, I just got my chamber back up a couple of weeks ago! I also have a chorizo hanging now, looking forward to your progress pics.


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## BGKYSmoker (Jul 30, 2022)

Cool beans

I gotta get mine going.


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## crazymoon (Jul 30, 2022)

IDS, I'm in!


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## indaswamp (Jul 30, 2022)

Well, the meat and fat is chunked and in the freezer now. Had to wait for the fat I bought to thaw as it was frozen solid. Put it in the refrigerator overnight. Got the spices weighed out and sitting on go. I also went to the grocer first thing this morning to pick up another loin...had enough fat to do a 20# batch so that is what I am making.

Did some more research on paprika and 10% is the common accepted sugar percentage in paprika powder so with that, I am backing off on the dextrose to 0.5g/kg. instead of 1g./kg.; still using T-SPX though.

I am also going to make some chorizo sticks....with about half of the mince; the other half will be in 32-35mm hog casings.


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## sawhorseray (Jul 30, 2022)

Gonna be a great ride, I'm in! RAY


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## indaswamp (Jul 30, 2022)

O.K.! Let's do this!
The grind through 6mm plate...






The seasonings, salt, cure #1, and I added 5ml/kg. chianti red wine.





After mixing I added the TSPX culture.










The Zamorano sticks..





The Coil of Chorizo..





The Zamorano sticks inda fermentation can...





I thought I'd try my hand at making a long chain of thin salami like they do with Cacciatore. Apparently Zamorano comes in many shapes and sizes so I thought why not? I've got the room now for odd shapes and odd lengths in my new chamber and I wanted the practice...





Well, when I was stuffing I was thinking...stuff tight because I was doing salami. Was not thinking at all....should have stuffed loose like I do for fresh sausages that will be twisted. First 6-7 went great, then busted 3. Had to slow down and massage the links to get the crease for the twine.





Ferementing now @69*F so should be about 30-36 hours with T-SPX.

Oh- and left-over beer and onion brat on a bun for supper...


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## indaswamp (Jul 31, 2022)

@19hours fermentation @69-72*F we are at pH 5.3....will check it again later tonight.


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## indaswamp (Jul 31, 2022)

Just checked the pH @ 8pm and we're down to 5.1.... gonna check it again in about 2 hours.


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## bauchjw (Jul 31, 2022)

I’m excited for you! I can’t wait to see how it turns out! So awesome that you did the build yourself! Impressive and inspiring as always!


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## indaswamp (Jul 31, 2022)

Two hours later and the pH had dropped to 5.05...





...so time to transfer to accelerated drying in my old chamber. Fermentation was a little fast for TSPX, but the temp. in my kitchen did climb to 74*F so that had to speed it up. Set the temp. in the old chamber 47-53*F to stop fermentation; RH% 74-80% for 24 hours. Will drop the RH 5% for the next two days, then reverse and increase the RH 5% for three days. At that point, should be ready to go to my new maturing chamber!


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## indaswamp (Aug 10, 2022)

The Chorizo sticks are done...










Took them down to 45% weight loss. Great spice profile. Young salami flavor. The 32-35mm salami will be another 2-2.5 weeks yet to dry. They are down to 22% weight loss.


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## crazymoon (Aug 11, 2022)

IDS, Those babies  look awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!


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## indaswamp (Aug 11, 2022)

crazymoon said:


> IDS, Those babies  look awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!


Thanks you crazy! I was really pleased with how they dried...no dry ring at all....


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## LoydB (Aug 11, 2022)

Man, those look great. Congrats.


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## checkdude (Aug 11, 2022)

Looks great!  I want to try this next but since I don't have a curing chamber I'll be using the umai bags and my spare fridge. Fingers crossed.


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## SCBBQ (Aug 12, 2022)

Those look incredible!  I'm about to do a huge batch next week so will have to get back in the swing of things..


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## indaswamp (Aug 15, 2022)

So these sticks were close to 60/40 lean to fat. That is one reason why the pH dropped as low as it did.


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## indaswamp (Aug 27, 2022)

The 32-35mm Chorizo is done today. Took it down to 40% weight loss.


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## indaswamp (Aug 27, 2022)

I am extremely happy with the way these 32-35mm salami dried! Very even with very slight dry ring. The Chamber has been appropriately named....Norcini Nirvana!


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## TNJAKE (Aug 27, 2022)

Keith that looks amazing bud


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## indaswamp (Aug 27, 2022)

TNJAKE said:


> Keith that looks amazing bud


Thanks 

 TNJAKE
 ! I can't even see the dry rim in the picture...it is more pronounced in actuality, but nowhere near what it was in my old chamber letting salami hang to maturity. That chamber will be used for dry aging beef and venison (it has a refrigerator setting), cure equalization in whole cuts, and accelerated drying of salami and salumi prior to transfer to the new larger maturing chamber.


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