OK Finally received my package from the Sausagemaker. As I'm finalizing my spices, I realized I have one more question. I'm planning on splitting the difference and using 3.5% dextrose and fermenting @ 75 deg F. But my questions is: most of the recipes on this website use Sucrose in addition to the...

Good Time not to be in NYC or out on the Island.

High humidity during the fementation stage and the first three or four days after that, is critical in avoiding excessive case hardening.

I really think this ^ was the major cause. Humidity was no where near what it should have been early on and throughout the drying process.

Thanks for the...

Thanks Butterbean and Bob K! Reassuring. I'm looking forward to the art.

Don't believe table salt in Spain is the same as it is in North America. Table salt there, I believe, is typically sea salt. It was in the news a while back as having micro-plastics in it. Plastics aside, you can read where it contains 80 other nutrients of which some are surely nitrates. If I were...

:D
So between slaughter and until sausages are made and hung it's only ~5h difference. Meat is still warm when it's minced and stuffed.
it is making big difference - different pH, different water capacity, different bacterial count. If i remember correctly similar procedures where used in my...

Thank you for the background and the great advice. I will absolutely put it into practice.

Thanks Stefans

I know it's probably too late to answer at this stage, but yes you can freeze the sausage batter as long as you did not add the starter cultures. Quality may be compromised a bit, but it should turn out OK.

Thanks for the replies Bob K and redzed.

beef bung would have been better
. . . will try that next time

Second best would be pasted hog casing sheets
. . . I've tried to find these before, but could only find them in small quantities at the Canadian firm Stuffers. They don't ship outside...

In the EU it's 500ppm and in Canada only 200ppm. So who is right?

Thanks, I wasn't aware of this.

I just tasted the Dry Wors and it came out phenomenal! Just a hint of the vinegar and the hard to put your finger on gamieness of the lamb is subtle but present. I will have to try making Boerewors some time.

Have made a few changes (higher humidity, took out the fan from the cabinet and use a mould culture) this time and it seems much better. The fan may have been the issue causing case hardening - if too much airflow there can be too much drying too quickly. I wouldn't increase the humidity too much....

Hi cata-rebel,
I was hoping you would given us the exact way that you made this salami. Process is very important and often we have guys who claim that they used a particular recipe and then describe what they did, it deviates a great deal from what was in the recipe. All I can advise you here,...

Hi reddal,
It is primarily Staphylococcus carnosus that will affect the flavour and colour of the product. There has been some confusion and surprise by some when they saw a starter that was formulated to be used on the surface of whole muscle meats and it included a bacteria that produced lactic...

I gotcha thanks

if you used the amount of salt on the online version of Marianski's recipe it probably will be a bit too salty.

Just compared recipes. The online version uses 39g of salt p/kg + the cure and the book version uses 30g p/kg + the cure. I followed the book - so almost 25% less salt. Hopefully it...

I have one hanging almost the same as yours - only difference is I didn't wrap mine in anything. It's rolled like yours and has the skin off but fat left on.

It's been hanging for 9 weeks now. And it still needs to loose about 5% to get to the target weight loss. Smells great and I'm getting...

Excellent thread..!!!

yes - salt + bottle-cap - that's the method i used, worked well.

Adrian-
The Inkbird should have instructions on how to change the offset.

To Calibrate:

Thanks! Looks like mine is 2 points out. Pretty close.

It's settled then. Next batch I won't use the fan.

Thanks for the tips.

There is a very easy way to calibrate your humidity controller without a hygrometer. Search online for the salt/ziplock bag method for calibration. Mine was off over 15% and the offset wouldn’t let me adjust for that amount, so I confirmed that I needed a new sensor.

thanks

Not a difficult thing to make. Probably one of the easiest products for us hobbyists. As long as you press out the blood out of the vein that runs along the leg and salt it well, nothing could go wrong. Two and a half years for a market hog ham is a probably too long. One year to 18 months will do...

IMO - Yes - it is fat smearing.
If you are making cured and matured saucisson (without thermal finish) - yes it is problem. If you are making smoked then poached saucisson - that is small problem. Even you are freezing fat trimmings before grinding - it always possible to get that fat smearing....

Hi there,
My family are from Calabria, the birth place of Soppressata. There have been times where salsiccia and soppressata have prematurely began to form a hard skin meaning that the outside dries while the inside becomes hollow. Soppressata is named so because it is pressed under weight for a...

After hundreds of pounds of soppressata, I decided to be the nice guy and offer a buddy of mine to mix a whole batch and use the chamber. Of course, this is exactly what happened to about 10% of the batch. I had some brown lines that were very noticeable after fermentation along with some brown...

Agoracritus you may want to check State, County and city regulations. Here in New Jersey you can not sell a food product unless it's made in a commercial kitchen. In my city a food handlers certificate is required. State and County require a certificate from ServSafe.

Lou-
If they were all from the same batch I would second the mixing also.

I have a couple hanging. One is 2yrs and 4 months and the other is exactly one year younger. Thanks for reminding me. I think I'll finally cut into that older one in the next few days. And I also agree with Lou. Culatello is easier to manage and as long as you tie it properly, guaranteed success...

Thank you both. I picked up meat today and will start rolling tomorrow. I'm going to pull aside a little and do it without culture and a longer, warmer fermentation as I saw in Italy, to find out what happens. The bulk of it I will do with the BLC-007 because I know that will work.

I am just getting home from a salumi workshop in Tuscany. We spent a day at a time with 4 different small producers. The only time any of them used back fat was cubed about 1/4 , like you see in a mortadella, or whole for lardo. Everything else was made with jowl or belly fat, through the grinder....

Is that a dry cure or brine cure?

It is a dry rub.

Its always a good idea to also have a hygrometer (that can be calibrated) in your chamber also. I gave up on the digital ones as they seem to go out of their adjustment range within a year to 18 months, I have used the same analog one for many years with minimal adjustments required

None of the poultry fats will work, nor will beef tallow. They're all just too soft and will break down. You need to find something that has a lot of protein structure like fat back... IMO, brisket cap is probably a good idea.

just remove the casing, and a vacuum seal is what you need to do and put it in the refrigerated. It can help you to keep it for a long time.

Thanks Redzed.You say that storing vac packed at room temperature is not recomended. But the idea was to keep it in the curing chamber at 12-13 C, so in the same environment as before, just now vac packed. Plus, I was not talking about salami, but whole muscle cure. Does this change your...

but i'm having fun.🙂

And that is what it's all about! We all were in your place at some point.

Thanks Redzed! I will post up my progress and results once its finished.

What temp do you set yours at? The most common house setting is 0F, right? Just curious :smile: .

Thanks guys, i truly appreciate your feedback. I was able to correct the humidity issue and mold has mostly gone away, much appreciated again!

It probably is the same mold. The more you make stuff the more this will replace your native molds. I used to have a rainbow of molds that grew on the meat but since introducing 600 I haven't seen a wild mold growing on anything other than bread for some time now.

Thanks. The blade is a new addition. It was found in a box of old kitchenware at a flea market. It was in poor shape but upon closer inspection it turned out to be a chef's knife made in Germany. A friend who is a knife maker was able to transform it from a piece of junk into this. It is razor...

Hello Reddal - if you will have possibility check these articles -
- Sodium nitrite in processed meat and poultry meats: A review of curing and examining the risk/ benefit of its use - by J.J Sindelar and A.L. Milkowski - University of Wisconsin. - I have red it in - American Meat Science...

Thank you. I mixed it no different than all the other successes, so I`m thinking I am OK there. I`m thinking maybe it`s the combination of larger casings and 3 degrees cooler that`s slowingthe process. The color definitely changed and everything else seems to be right on track. Most likely just...