# Finocchiona Salami Today....



## indaswamp (Jan 2, 2021)

I'm running through all the pork I bought making salami. I want to make Crespone but have to source a bottle of Oloroso Sherry first. Also want to make another spreadable salami called Ciauscolo, but I need to order a bottle of vino cotto for that one. Next on the list is Mortadella; I have the casings already, just need more pistachios. I will wait on that project until after I buy 2 pig heads for guanciale so I can use the trim fat in the Mortadella.  So, next on the list is Finocchiona. I have all the stuff, so It's at the top of the list now. Getting everything together now, pics. later....


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## indaswamp (Jan 2, 2021)

Here we go...
First, I toasted 1/2 the fennel seed. Then I put the other half in my spice grinder with the raw sugar to grind into a powder.

Got the meat cold then fat thru 10mm plate, lean thru 6mm plate..







Spices and salt, wine, garlic and starter culture ready.. then mixed it all in with the lean for protein extraction. Then added the cold back fat...





Final mix:







So...I almost had a couple blow outs while trussing the salamis.  two of them had weak spots. I used a trick I learned from watching the Italians at the Norcini  Institute on youtube... I took a piece of casing and made a patch.











I pricked the patch carefully before hanging to ferment. The patch casing will stick to the salami casing as it dries. I smoothed it down best I could. But it'll work.

And here they are in the fermentation trash can. should take 24-30 hours to ferment.


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## indaswamp (Jan 2, 2021)

I had to be very gentle with the salami that tore while trussing. That took a little while, but it was better than restuffing!!

Oh- had another near mishap... when I weighed out the garlic cloves to be minced, I forgot to take the clear plastic cover off my gram scale! I kept think to my self..."Man that looks like a lot of garlic for 5kg. of salami."
But I minced it all , put it in a bowl, and set it aside..but it kept nagging me...
When it came time to mix, I looked at it again...."that is too much garlic."
I rechecked the recipe...27.5g.  Nope scale said 27.5 grams when I weighed it.. Then I reweighed the garlic just to verify....Bingo. Weighed 106.27g! I immediately knew where I screwed up....dang clear cover on the scale! LOL!!!

Glad I caught that before I dumped 4X too much garlic in the salami! And the WHOLE HOUSE smells like garlic right now!! LOL!!!


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## indaswamp (Jan 2, 2021)

Matter of fact....that is the bowl of 106,27grams of garlic in the above pic!!!!LOL!!!!!


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## TNJAKE (Jan 2, 2021)

Gonna be tasty. Watching for finish


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## indaswamp (Jan 2, 2021)

....I stuffed these in 50-55mm casings. I cut 4 pieces 26" long...it was just enough. each salami weighs 1275~1350g.


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## indaswamp (Jan 2, 2021)

TNJAKE said:


> Gonna be tasty. Watching for finish


Thanks Jake. Be ready in about 5 weeks. I'll tell ya, this salami making will really keep you on your toes! So many things to be mindful of...and one of the most important is added simple sugars. Gotta account for it to know how much dextrose to add for the correct pH drop.


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## TNJAKE (Jan 2, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> Thanks Jake. Be ready in about 5 weeks. I'll tell ya, this salami making will really keep you on your toes! So many things to be mindful of...and one of the most important is added simple sugars. Gotta account for it to know how much dextrose to add for the correct pH drop.


It's on my bucket list for the far future. I Know it's something I'd enjoy doing. Gotta try my hand at sausage making first. Gonna pull the trigger on some equipment soon. Gift from trump lol


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## indaswamp (Jan 2, 2021)

Yep. No doubt about it, making fresh then smoked sausages are a key step on the road to dry cured sausages.  Looking forward to your sausage posts with your new equipment!!


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## smokininthegarden (Jan 3, 2021)

Looking good. Finocchiona is one of my favorite salamis. I need to get something hanging
in my chamber again I have been being lazy lately.

Cal


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## indaswamp (Jan 3, 2021)

smokininthegarden said:


> Looking good. Finocchiona is one of my favorite salamis. I need to get something hanging
> in my chamber again I have been being lazy lately.
> 
> Cal


Yes you do...
I'm more of a fennel guy than anise. Though the flavors are similar, I find anise can be very strong even at small percentages. Toasting Fennel sweetens it IMO. 
Salamis have been fermenting 22hours and pH is dropping; currently @ around 5.2 but it has been a little cooler in the house so it may take a little longer. I'll recheck in a few hours.


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## indaswamp (Jan 3, 2021)

Finocchiona reached pH of 5.14 @31 hours fermentation. Now hanging in the chamber with the other salamis I've made recently...from left to right, Fennel, Pistachio Lemon, and Calabrese..







And the patch held up....


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## indaswamp (Jan 3, 2021)

BTW, hot sauce bottom right....


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## chef jimmyj (Jan 3, 2021)

Impressive as usual...JJ


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## indaswamp (Jan 4, 2021)

chef jimmyj said:


> Impressive as usual...JJ


Thank you my friend! Now, we wait.....


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## indaswamp (Jan 27, 2021)

Just an update. The Finocchiona Has lost ~27% moisture. Be ready in about another week.


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## indaswamp (Jan 27, 2021)

Also, PGI for Finocchiona:
https://www.visittuscany.com/en/food/finocchiona-pgi/

It is one of the southern Italian salamis that uses belly fat for a softer salami. There are even some versions that are spreadable.


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## chef jimmyj (Jan 27, 2021)

Looks interesting...JJ


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