Dry Cured Salami

[Kickass]

First, I owe this 100% @passedpawn who’s post, I’d go back and reread every couple of months until I decide to pull the trigger and assemble a drying chamber.

Salami (Finocchiona) - curing in the Chamber of Meatiness

I used a recipe posted online here,
Salami Recipe - How to Make Salami | Hank Shaw with minor tweaks.

Here are some pictures from that first batch.

 

[Kickass]

Today we made our second batch, a calabrese style salami from this fantastic source: Salami Calabrese

This batch was done with beef casings rather than hog casings used in the first batch. The hog casings were smaller than desired.

Although not authentic to Calabria, I crushed some dry Chili’s de arbol, which I use a lot in the kitchen.

Started by hydrating some noble mold
Then cut, ground, stuffed, and hung some meat!

In total, 3kg of pork curing away.

 

[passedpawn]

Nice job!!!

1. Looks like you got a great covering of the white mold. That's one of the critical things. If you end up with blue or green or black mold on them, and especially if the bad mold breaches the skin, you're done. Did you observe places on the sausage where the white mold wouldn't grow? I believe those are fatty areas. The fat seeps through the skin and inhibits the mold growth. Not sure if there is a way to get around that, and if it is even a problem. As I mentioned in my threads, the problem was mostly at the bottom of the sausage where the melting fat seemed to migrate.
2. Did you do any pH tests? I was pretty paranoid about getting the pH down quickly.
3. Looks like you have an Inkbird humidiy/temp controller. I bought one of those but haven't put it into use yet. Thoughts?
4. How much weight reduction did you achieve? I reduced 40%, which I think is just about right. However, I might go 5%-10% more next time and get it really hard.
5. Christmas lights are not quite as good as my lava lamp, but I'll give you credit for the seasonal ambience

Now you've got me yearning to get another batch going!

 

[Kickass]

@passedpawn, All of this is from a complete amateur, I'm reading and learning as I go:

1. Regarding the mold. I think there were some bare spots because the salami only cured for about 2 weeks. The hog casing were pretty narrow and I hit 40% weight loss in 14 days. I've since bought a speed controller to slow the fan but suspect this timeline is appropriate for the diameter, especially considering I had not case hardening.
I didn't notice any of the fat issues that you mentioned but I'll be more observant. You probably say in your post but I don't remember, did you use belly or back fat? I've read a lot that suggests back fat over belly fat for consistency and melting temp issues.

2. I didn't use a PH tester. I fermented at 72 for three full days. My wife subjected me to a rigorous 3 day poison regiment where I ate increasing amounts. Only after that would she partake.

3. I really like the inkbird setup. I suspect the humidity reading is 5-7% low based off the three monitors i have in the chamber.

4. I also went to 40% weight reduction and am pretty happy with that.

5. As far as ambiance, your lava lap easily surpasses my xmas lights.

 

[Mr. Vern]

Christmas lights are not quite as good as my lava lamp,

brilliant! I came for the salami and left with an awesome idea. Easier than a bulb in a can as the can is prefab. Now I am off to the basement to seek out that old base... My inkbird arrives tomorrow for my fermenting chamber.

Humistats/hygrometers are not extremely accurate but since you have temperature control I would assume the inkbird plots R.H. easier, pretty smart on their part IMO. I've done temp control for a while and couldn't pass on a 50% sponsor discount for a normal Heat/Cool package

@Kickass my buddy just got a grinder, I've always wanted to do Salami it looks like you are on the right path! I hope to join the ranks soon!

 

[passedpawn]

@passedpawn, All of this is from a complete amateur, I'm reading and learning as I go:

1. Regarding the mold. I think there were some bare spots because the salami only cured for about 2 weeks. The hog casing were pretty narrow and I hit 40% weight loss in 14 days. I've since bought a speed controller to slow the fan but suspect this timeline is appropriate for the diameter, especially considering I had not case hardening.
I didn't notice any of the fat issues that you mentioned but I'll be more observant. You probably say in your post but I don't remember, did you use belly or back fat? I've read a lot that suggests back fat over belly fat for consistency and melting temp issues.

2. I didn't use a PH tester. I fermented at 72 for three full days. My wife subjected me to a rigorous 3 day poison regiment where I ate increasing amounts. Only after that would she partake.

3. I really like the inkbird setup. I suspect the humidity reading is 5-7% low based off the three monitors i have in the chamber.

4. I also went to 40% weight reduction and am pretty happy with that.

5. As far as ambiance, your lava lap easily surpasses my xmas lights.

How did batch #2 turn out? I'm making a batch after Christmas with increased casing diameter (65m) - worried about drying the bigger size without hardening.

 

[Kickass]

How did batch #2 turn out?

it went ok. Two things contributed to a less than desirable end state. 1, I think I added a little too much wine which increased the weight so when I hit my weight loss % I assumed they were done. They were a little soft but no big deal. 2, I didn’t really know how to store them so I put them in ziplock bags and tried to purge as much air as possible then stored in the fridge. After about a month in the fridge, they were starting to get funky...in a rotten meat way.

That said, the flavor (until it got funky) was great.

I’ll be doing the same batch soon and will allow them to dry a little more and will research properly storing them.

 

[passedpawn]

it went ok. Two things contributed to a less than desirable end state. 1, I think I added a little too much wine which increased the weight so when I hit my weight loss % I assumed they were done. They were a little soft but no big deal. 2, I didn’t really know how to store them so I put them in ziplock bags and tried to purge as much air as possible then stored in the fridge. After about a month in the fridge, they were starting to get funky...in a rotten meat way.

That said, the flavor (until it got funky) was great.

I’ll be doing the same batch soon and will allow them to dry a little more and will research properly storing them.

I vacuum-bagged mine. They store fine that way. Ziplock bags are not airtight - no bueno.

There's this little italian deli near me that has cured sausages hanging all over the place, right out in the open. I wonder how long they hang there like that. I might take one of the sausages I make and just hang it somewhere in my house, unprotected, and see what happens. It needs to be well above dog-leap height though!

 

[Kickass]

How long have you kept them in a vacuum bag?

 

[passedpawn]

How long have you kept them in a vacuum bag?

I don't remember - been a few years since I made them, but not that long. I'm pretty sure they did not change at all inside the bag.