Making Smallgoods Salamis etc

[CBH Australia]

I've been reading about making Salami and other Sausage etc.
I am thinking of the traditional Salami made on pork and fermented to preserve it. Done right it does not need a starter culture but it's a safeguard to use it. Apparently it dies affect the flavour but I won't know unless I made a comparable salami with and without.

I'm a fan of Ham, Bacon and other proccessed meats.
After some reading I'm thinking about doing Salami and I also like Metwurst which I believe is cooked in a smoker.

Any good advice or good recipes to share?

It seems like 2.8% salt is about right , herbs and spices are to taste and adding a cure or starter is optional . 20% fat is required and about a 30% loss of weight on. Dehydration

I know you can cook Salami too but that would have to change the taste and end result

Anyone go the whole hog and use natural casings? Italian families in Australia will buy a live pig to make Salami keeping the intestine for casings etc

I recently harvested some Venison and thinking of could use that in Smallgoods .

 

[Jörg Krüger]

Try making droeewors as well

 

[425SCHADE]

I finally got into it last winter, made up salami, prosciutto and ham. I have a lump of pork in brine as we speak, it will be ready for the smoker on Saturday (5 x days soaking) but with rain forecast more likely Sunday.
I then recycle the brine for smoked fish, chicken wings etc.
I get a lot of my gear from Smoked & Cured and they have a good range of recipes and tips.

I've also been getting into dry aging of steaks and roasts and it does enhance flavour's. Remember all of this is a lesson in patience

I'll send you a few notes I took from the early stuff.

www.smokedandcured.com.au

 

[CBH Australia]

Sunday is looking good if you are in Dubbo on Saturday
Now to look into that store you mentioned.

 

[sgt_zim]

check out the YT channel "2 guys and a cooler." It's all about making cured meat.

I made some venison salami recently based on that channel. Not sure how you could acidify the meat (pH should be between 4.9 and 5.2 at the end of the cure) enough without using a culture grown for such things. And the meat *really* needs to be modestly acidic like that to inhibit growth of Clostridium botulinum - the bacterium responsible for botulism.

The other important step is the drying. Temps are ideally 60-70F and humidity should be high so the meat doesn't dry out too fast. A bit cooler won't hurt. My refrigerator won't get any warmer than 47º F. The goal of the drying is to remove about 35-40% of the moisture in the meat after it has cured for 12-24 hours. This means you need to weigh it about every week. Under optimal conditions, this drying takes about 6 weeks.

All of their (2 guys and a cooler) recipes are formulaic - you plug in the weight of the meat, the recipe tells you the proportions of spice and starter culture to use.

For best results (so that it looks like actual Italian-made salami), the ground meat you stuff in the case needs to be about 25% fat. I grind the meat with a fine blade, and the fat with a coarse blade. For the vension salami I made, I added 3 parts venison and 1 part beef fat. Pork fat would probably have been a better choice, but it was still damned good salami, a bit firmer than normal on account of the lower humidity and temperature in my refrigerator than is optimal.

 

[putter97127]

Sausagemaker.com is a great resource. They have articles on how to make dried and smoked meats as well as plans for building smoke houses and drying/fermenting chambers.

If you can source natrual casings, they are by far the best for small diameter sausages.

This book is pretty awesome as well


Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393240053/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_F8QC0BJN7PGBVK13QJF5.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Lucky to have a Swiss-trained Metzgermeister for my neighbor of 30 yrs. He knows how to make it ALL! While I like his landjaeger/summer sausage the best, he makes pepperoni sticks (like slim jims) and all of the traditional german and polish (and PA-lebanon/ring bologna etc.) wursts. Two things come to mind...the Best ones are smoked and they sell (commerical) spice blends for every product. I generally have him make 1 entire deer into summer sausage (as it's so good and requires no refrigeration when out and about) and other wursts (which the other 75 y/o German widow neighbor is onto me about! She has it on her calendar to come say "Hi" just after the hunting season!) LOL I don't have the time this year, but I've helped him make the stuff...It's not difficult. Rough cut meat, add spice blend, grind, feed into hopper to stuff casing, then smoke (or boil, etc. depending upon product.) You're making me hungry <gets more from freezer downstairs>...Can even make loose (no casing stuffing-just the contents) sausage in ready-to-cook portions.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Go w/ the no-preservatives (Nitrites, Nitrates, etc. etc.) spice blends and you'll live longer! You can make the Mettwurst in the same manner as described above, but they just "cold smoke" the real deal. I think traditional smoker would be really good!

 

[sgt_zim]

meh. there are more nitrates in celery than in cured meat.

 

[Ryan]

meh. there are more nitrates in celery than in cured meat.

Yep, that's why so many foods have celery on their ingredients lists now.

 

[rookhawk]

I've been reading about making Salami and other Sausage etc.
I am thinking of the traditional Salami made on pork and fermented to preserve it. Done right it does not need a starter culture but it's a safeguard to use it. Apparently it dies affect the flavour but I won't know unless I made a comparable salami with and without.

I'm a fan of Ham, Bacon and other proccessed meats.
After some reading I'm thinking about doing Salami and I also like Metwurst which I believe is cooked in a smoker.

Any good advice or good recipes to share?

It seems like 2.8% salt is about right , herbs and spices are to taste and adding a cure or starter is optional . 20% fat is required and about a 30% loss of weight on. Dehydration

I know you can cook Salami too but that would have to change the taste and end result

Anyone go the whole hog and use natural casings? Italian families in Australia will buy a live pig to make Salami keeping the intestine for casings etc

I recently harvested some Venison and thinking of could use that in Smallgoods .

I've done it a few times but I know nothing about the preservatives content. Here in the States we often pre-buy the package that includes the "cure" (I assume nitrates).

I really, really like "Land Jaeger" meat sticks. They can be consumed wet or hung to dry and were originally made for literally "country hunters" that could throw a few in their pocket and eat them that day or next week.

I've written my receipe on this forum for biltong if you're interested in a whole-muscle option and not just a ground product.

I've not yet made South African / Dutch "dry woerst" but it seems fairly simple and is very delicous.

 

[sgt_zim]

I've done it a few times but I know nothing about the preservatives content. Here in the States we often pre-buy the package that includes the "cure" (I assume nitrates).

I really, really like "Land Jaeger" meat sticks. They can be consumed wet or hung to dry and were originally made for literally "country hunters" that could throw a few in their pocket and eat them that day or next week.

I've written my receipe on this forum for biltong if you're interested in a whole-muscle option and not just a ground product.

I've not yet made South African / Dutch "dry woerst" but it seems fairly simple and is very delicous.

Yeah, the nitrates/nitrites are in the curing salt.

 

[CraigV]

Sounds like a fun, tasty project. I use Waltons for my casings. It's sometimes difficult to find fresh casings (the only way to go), and they seem to have the next best thing. They are packed in salt, so read and follow the directions.

Never done Salami, but have made lots of Italian, Polish and Brats. Be careful, once you make them, and they are fresh out of the smoker, you'll eat till you get the "meat sweats".

I usually "google" a couple of recipes, pick the flavours I like best, and use the spies that are my favorites. When I have it, I use wild boar for pork element (usually about 50/50 boar and venison). When I can't get it, I use a pork shoulder or Boston Butt. About 20% fat sounds right. I also go to my local butcher and get pork or beef fat in 10lbs bags, just to make sure I have enough fat content. I've learned that keeping the cubed meat just above freezing (especially the fat) helps it grind better, use a small grinder plate - less chunky bits, and add some ice to the mix while grinding. I didn't use to do that, and with the smoking, the sausage would sometimes come out dry. The ice add's just enough moisture to the mix that after smoking they are still really moist.

Most importantly, let us know how it turns out!

 

[Still alive]

Read, read, read everything you can then just do it. Once you learn about curing salt #1 and #2 you’ll be fine. I use packets to add flavor. I also have a nice fridge to ferment and then cure. Makes a world of difference. I dry age all my beef. Just taste so much better. Write down everything you do so you can make corrections/ additions. Buy a digital scale to. Then just sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor

 

[CBH Australia]

I've done it a few times but I know nothing about the preservatives content. Here in the States we often pre-buy the package that includes the "cure" (I assume nitrates).

From what I have read there are nitrates and nitrites in commercial mix for making various fresh or cooked sausage.
If you want to develop your own recipe you use curing salts available readily.

Starter cultures can be used to start good bacteria on stuff to be fermented. (Uncooked Salami varieties) It's an additive that is kept frozen.. it's optional but a safeguard. Possibly adds $10 cost over the batch.
Many pre mixed blends available here for different varieties and then you can add spices to taste of required.
Just looking to make it the best I can

 

[425SCHADE]

The starter cultures are a good idea with respect to safety, as is thorough inspection of the product during the initial warm & humid stage. If not using an exterior mould promoter wiping down with a vinegar solution can ward off bad moulds. Beware the green and black mould!

 

[CBH Australia]

Yes, I heard the Wogs use vinegar. I did not know about green and black moulds but I guess they don't look good and that should alert me .

I'm thinking hygiene is crucial and the rest is using the right recipe.

A bit of reading yesterday bought up a lot of interesting things and premix ideas.

I would like to develop a good recipe of like a traditional home made Salami.

I was told 2.8% salt from an Italian source, the rest is to taste I think. They don't seem to have a recipe.

I like continental sausages the type made on pork with no meal. One butcher used to hot smoke these for resale as Beersticks. Very nice.

 

[rookhawk]

We may be divided by a common language here on the forum. In American-speak if you’re talking about moulds I’m thinking of charcuterie that is covered in white penicillin spores. I have a steak dry-ager here and to make charcuterie, I just use the spore starters and disable the UV light to foster more growth. That’s pretty simple provided you have a dry-ager so you can set the humidity and temperature precisely so you don’t kill your dinner guests. 38F at 78% humidity is how I age meats. UV light on for steak aging, UV off for the remainder.

Jamon is easier though, I leave this baby on the counter and carve slices off when I pass by.

 

[C.W. Richter]

i've seen those commercial rooms where they just let the white mold grow all over the meat (it happens on my landjaeger if i let it sit too long. 'never got me sick, but if all white it creeps me out.) LOL

 

[CBH Australia]

@rookhawk we refer to both as mould.

We also are taught penecllin came from a mould.

If you think of a bathroom that has no exhaust you might get mould growing in the corners or the grout lines. Black green probably white too.

Bread will get green mould after a few days or a week

We can also by Salamis with the white mould or try make it.

Looks like you have done a lot, I've always hoped to. A meat ageing cabinet would help to make different things in any season.
The Italians here make fermented Salamis in Winter. That's starting in June for us.
That's what I'm hoping to do. Make a simple salami without too much expense or equipment.