UMAi PEPPERONI, MY FIRST TRY!!

[xray]

Nice looking pepperoni, Al. I’ve been meaning to try the Umai bags, maybe I’ll give it a go during the long winter.

Like!

 

[SmokinAl]

Nice looking pepperoni, Al. I’ve been meaning to try the Umai bags, maybe I’ll give it a go during the long winter.

Like!

Thank you xray!
It would be a perfect project for a winter day.
I hope you give it a try!
Al

 

[Hauser]

I read that I should use a combo of lean beef & lean pork or just one or the other then add fatback. Well I looked everywhere & couldn't find any fat back. Every meat man I talked to said he had a guy that came in everyday & bought all their trimmings.

Oh man I thought I was the only one! I have to resort to adding low-grade bacon to all my sausage because that same guy is here in Toronto snapping up all the fatback! :D

 

[chew2475]

Ok guys I have been wanting to get into dry curing for quite some time now, but TheSausageMaker had a sale on UMAi casings & so that put me over the edge. I bought 4 packs, Bactoferm, cure #2, and their dry cure pepperoni seasoning. I read that I should use a combo of lean beef & lean pork or just one or the other then add fatback. Well I looked everywhere & couldn't find any fat back. Every meat man I talked to said he had a guy that came in everyday & bought all their trimmings. So I thought I would just grind up a butt & see what I got. I bought a little over an 8 lb butt & when I cut the bone out I ended up with 3 packages of 2 1/2 lbs. each. Which would be a good amount for an experiment.
This is the recipe I used:
2 1/2 lb. coarse ground pork butt
1/2 tsp cure #2
3 oz. SM pepperoni seasoning (not enough, next time I'll use 4 1/2 oz.)
.15 gram Bactoferm ( I used bactoferm frm 52 us, because it said it would ferment in warmer climates)
3/8 cup NFDM
1/2 cup distilled water

I practically froze the meat before grinding it & used the large plate.
Then back into the freezer for a half hour & then mix in all the dry ingredients using wooden paddles so as not to get the meat warmed up.
Next dissolve the bactoferm in the water & mix it with the meat thoroughly with my hands until it became stiff.
Next I stuffed it into the UMAi casings, I used the 32mm casings, I think next time I will use the larger 50 mm casings. Which by the way I'm going to use tomorrow to make some dry cured Chorizo. I hung the sausage in Judy's craft room which is about 79-80 degrees. The bactoferm says it will ferment anywhere from 70-90 degrees, so this seemed just right.

Here is a photo of when they were first stuffed & hung to ferment.

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After one day they are already starting to turn red.

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At the end of the second day they are really getting red.

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I weighed them all & put tags on each sausage, the recipe said to look for a 35-40% drop in weight, so I put the weights on the tags. And onto a drying rack in the fridge.

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After about 9 days they had lost about 38-39 % of their weight & I thought that they were ready.

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So here is the first UMAi pepperoni that a I have ever made. I was very surprised at the taste. I was expecting the traditional factory pepperoni you see everywhere here in the US. But what I got was a really deep beefy flavor that had ample spice, (next batch will be much spicier).

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I also found that if you let it sit at room temp for a half hour or so the flavor intensified even more. I had some smoked jalapeno jack cheese hat I thought would go with it. So I sliced some up & put the both on saltine crackers.

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Snack time!

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Well I had to just double up on the sausage & cheese!!
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And I took the casings off & vac packed them & put them in the freezer for some fantastic appetizers at a later date!

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This has opened a whole new world for me. I have a lot of time on my hands & really like to try new things especially food related. I'm very happy with the way the pepperoni turned out, and honestly when you do something for the first time you have to wonder did I do something wrong & am I going to be in the bathroom for the next 24 hours. But luckily this one turned out good & i'm really looking forward to making the Chorizo tomorrow. I know one thing for sure, it will get more spices than it calls for & it will go into the 50 mm UMAi casings.
I can only hope that the rest of my retirement will be spent doing fun things like this. Judy & I live a very simple life & we really like doing things together, especially cooking!
We have been together for about 60 years, so we kind of know what the other person is thinking!
Thanks for letting me tell my story about my first experience with the UMAi bags. If you haven't tried them yet I would suggest you give it a try!!
Al

Looks Great. Was wondering if any pepperoni recipe would work in these bags.

 

[SmokinAl]

Oh man I thought I was the only one! I have to resort to adding low-grade bacon to all my sausage because that same guy is here in Toronto snapping up all the fatback! :D

Yea I guess there must be a lot of sausage makers out there!
Al

Looks Great. Was wondering if any pepperoni recipe would work in these bags.

Yes, any recipe will work, but you need to use Bactoferm, & cure #2. Other than that any spice blend will work.
Al

 

[Gwanger]

Nice going Al
Looks good, ya did it.

al, that is some great looking pepperoni, the umai is a great inovation, eliminates the expensive curing chamber,on my list

 

[SmokinAl]

al, that is some great looking pepperoni, the umai is a great inovation, eliminates the expensive curing chamber,on my list

You are so right, I was very intimidated in making a curing chamber, but the bags are so easy & the results seem to be just as good as having a dedicated curing chamber.
Al

 

[73saint]

You are so right, I was very intimidated in making a curing chamber, but the bags are so easy & the results seem to be just as good as having a dedicated curing chamber.
Al

You have convinced me to try. I was worried about the whole curing chamber as well.

 

[SmokinAl]

You have convinced me to try. I was worried about the whole curing chamber as well.

Just go for it, it is just too easy!
Al

 

[nanuk]

The Umai keeps the mold off the outside?

And can you reuse those bags? or are they a one use unit?

 

[pc farmer]

No mold with umaI. It works and fridge temps, mold won't grow.

Can't reuse the bags.

 

[nanuk]

Thanks Mr. Farmer!

I wonder if I can get Umai bags up here, or have them shipped.
These offer an exciting new option!

 

[SmokinAl]

I'm sure you could get them shipped.
I got mine from TheSausageMaker, they had a sale on them.
Al

 

[73saint]

Al, I have a question. I just ordered everything on your list from SM. I ordered the dry cure pepperoni seasoning and cure #2, but it looks like the pepperoni seasoning label says to be used with cure # 1. Did I order the wrong thing?

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Al, I have a question. I just ordered everything on your list from SM. I ordered the dry cure pepperoni seasoning and cure #2, but it looks like the pepperoni seasoning label says to be used with cure # 1. Did I order the wrong thing?

You can use cure #2 with any mix.

 

[73saint]

You can use cure #2 with any mix.

Thanks Nepas!

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Thanks Nepas!

YW

 

[SmokinAl]

Al, I have a question. I just ordered everything on your list from SM. I ordered the dry cure pepperoni seasoning and cure #2, but it looks like the pepperoni seasoning label says to be used with cure # 1. Did I order the wrong thing?

Maybe they changed the label, but they do have 2 different pepperoni blends, one says smoked pepperoni & one says dry cure pepperoni. On the smoked pepperoni one it says use cure #1, on the dry cured one it says use cure #2. But as Rick says you can use any spice blend you want with either cure. But for dry curing in the UMAi bags you need to use cure #2.
Al

 

[73saint]

Maybe they changed the label, but they do have 2 different pepperoni blends, one says smoked pepperoni & one says dry cure pepperoni. On the smoked pepperoni one it says use cure #1, on the dry cured one it says use cure #2. But as Rick says you can use any spice blend you want with either cure. But for dry curing in the UMAi bags you need to use cure #2.
Al

Well I’ve got it all on order, just need to figure out where my craft closet will be, and pick up some non fat milk powder.

 

[mneeley490]

Nice Pep, Al! I'll have to make a batch with the Umai bags this fall. Last time I used casings, fermented & then slow cooked in my fridge smoker. I think I used the SM mix for that too, and it was very bland to my taste. Didn't taste like pizza pepperoni at all.

One thing I've noticed with hard salamies is that they don't freeze well. It changes the texture, and makes it grainy. Vac-packed and refrigerated, it will last for quite a while.