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Krakowska
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Post by Krakowska » Wed Jan 15, 2014 15:00

Been making homemade pizza for a number of years now and been doing various versions of sauces, toppings but most of all the dough recipe.

Here is one in which the WD site had a huge influence, which has to date, the best pizza we ever made.

A shout out to My "Partners" here at WD:

Pizza has the "Ross Hill" recipe for dough. (Best we have made yet)
Has the homemade bacon "Sons of bees" Cw recipe, (Really tastes good on pizza)
Italian sausage recipe by Stan Marianski suggested by Cw.
Cannot buy anything like this anywhere!!!
Just wish I would have had some wild "Shaggie" mushrooms to lay on top :razz:

Thanks to ALL,
Very Much Appreciated
Fred
(One of these days I will try pepperoni, just don't have the equipment to "dry cure" or knowledge yet to get into a science like this)

http://imageshack.com/a/img513/4554/8h2x.jpg

Sorry fellas, "NEW" Image Shack!! Cannot figure out how to post picture directly to forum. WHY must there be "adjustments" when old process was fine!
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Post by HamnCheese » Wed Jan 15, 2014 15:18

Fred,

THAT is an amazing pizza! Did you cook it on a pizza stone?

Lynn
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Post by Bob K » Wed Jan 15, 2014 18:38

Nice lookin Pie Fred!

I have been on the home Pizza making trail now for a REAL long time.
What oven temp did you cook that at?


It sounds like you have a smoker so you can make Marianski,s semidry pepperoni .... http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage ... i-semi-dry
it is awesome on pizza! And not hard at all to make.

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Post by sawhorseray » Wed Jan 15, 2014 22:26

Bob K, thanks for posting that pepperoni recipe, it looks great and I'm gonna make me some! RAY
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Post by sawhorseray » Wed Jan 15, 2014 22:40

Would 46mm natural hog casing be adequate for this pepperoni? What type of casing is the pic of the pepperoni hanging in your smoker Bob? Looks awesome! RAY
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Post by Bob K » Wed Jan 15, 2014 23:09

For me those would be perfect Ray. I used 1 1/2" 38mm fibrous casings the 1 3/4 46mm would be better as there is some shrinkage.


He He don't make less than 10lbs....it won't last long.
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Post by Igor Duńczyk » Thu Jan 16, 2014 01:38

Hi Bob,

Do you actually use the F-LC starter culture as prescribed in the Marianski,s semidry pepperoni recipe, because with that amount of sugar and dextrose I´d presume that it could end up quiiiiite tangy (?) But perhaps that just adds up to the :razz: ´ness of it ??

Also did you ever try just for the fun of it to dry one like a real matured salami without subjecting it to heat treatment?
Wishing you a Good Day!
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Post by Krakowska » Thu Jan 16, 2014 02:38

Hi Gang, Nope, No pizza stone and was at 425 degrees in an electric stove. Thank You to ALL.
Fred :cool:
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Post by Chuckwagon » Thu Jan 16, 2014 17:40

Hi Fred,
You wrote:
(One of these days I will try pepperoni, just don't have the equipment to "dry cure" or knowledge yet to get into a science like this)

This is a post on "Project P" from last year. It uses T-SPX culture and drops the acidity to proper levels in 2 days! No waiting, my friend... and plenty of tang for pepperoni. Here is a link to the project: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5113

Sausage makers... if you have had experience making fresh sausage, cured-cooked-smoked sausage, and perhaps a few others... and you feel that you have the skills to venture into making "fermented sausages", then join us in this project. Get a real jump on the project by reading, "The Art Of Making Fermented Sausages"... by Stan and Adam Marianski. It's available from Bookmagic.com.

T-SPX is so quick, if you live in a moist area, you may not even need a curing chamber. However, to build your own "curing chamber", read the material in "Project A" (salami). It's in the Microbiology Of Meats forum. The specifications for the curing chamber are exactly the same for this project.

- Project "P" Pepperoni -
Dry-Cured Italian Pepperoni (Using T-SPX)


In a dry-cured sausage like pepperoni, we are going to purposely spoil the meat... but it will be controlled spoilage - (fermentation). In the meat, we`ll use lactobacillus and pediococcus, feeding on sugar (carbohydrates) to produce lactic acid. This beneficial bacteria competes for nutrition with undesirable spoilage bacteria and pathogenic bacteria of several varieties. Of greatest concern are staphylococcus aureus, clostridium botulinum, listeria monocytogenes, escherichia coli, salmonella, clostridium perfringens, campylobacter jejuni, shigella, and bacillus cereus.

The acidity produced by the lactobacilli renders the meat safe to consume as it increases to a point between 3.8 and 5.5 on the pH scale. Bacteria simply do not do well in an acidic environment. As the lactobacilli increases the acidity in meat, the pH drops to a point and becomes safe to consume.

The acidity of a sausage is determined by the amount and the type of sugar placed into the recipe. The speed of the fermentation period is increased as the temperature is increased inside the chamber. It ceases when no more lactic acid is produced. This happens when there is no more sugar available to the lactobacilli. It will also stop when the temperature is lowered below 53°; F., or heated beyond 120°; F. Fermentation will also discontinue when there is no longer free water available to the lactobacilli. In other words, if the sausage dries too quickly due to either (a.) low humidity, or (b.) too fast an air speed, while in our fermentation chambers, fermentation will cease. We must also remember to use a specific amount of nitrate/nitrite to combat any possible clostridium botulinum. The toxins of the spores are deadly. Measure carefully.

While the lactobacilli go to work increasing the acidity, we must contain the growth of the pathogenic and spoilage bacteria somehow. The most convenient method is to simply lock up or "bind" their water supply. This is accomplished by the use of salt, and a prescribed amount will bind their reserve. As the "water activity" drops to a point below Aw 0.86, a meat product has dried enough to consume safely.

You may be wondering why the salt doesn`t affect the lactic acid-producing bacteria also. Well, it does... but not to the same degree. Lactobacilli and pediococci are somewhat resistant to salt. Not only that, but they perform rather well having a limited water supply.

Summing it all up, we allow the sausage to ferment as lactic acid microorganisms go to work producing acid. This is where we get the "tang". When it reaches proper acidity, it become safe to consume. While this is happening, we also start drying the sausage to achieve a point below .86 Aw. All this takes time... time in which pathogenic and spoilage bacteria may also grow in number by competing with the food supply. As we "bind" their supply of water, they start to die and the beneficial bacteria eventually take over. So... in essence, there are TWO things going for us. Acidity and dehydration. Both work! They`ve worked for thousands of years. But they MUST be controlled.

Let`s make a traditional air-dried, fermented, pepperoni made from 70% pork and 30% beef. Pepperoni is lean and Stan Marianski`s recipe contains less than 30% fat. This is a "slow" fermenting sausage with more subtle flavor and less "tang" than a quickly fermented pepperoni. Italian pepperoni is not smoked.

Stan Marianski`s Dry-Cured Italian Pepperoni
(11 lb. formula)

140 g. salt
12 g. cure #2 (do not use cure #1 in this recipe)
10 g. powdered dextrose
30 g. sugar
15 g. black pepper (freshly ground - coarse)
30 g. paprika
13 g. anise seeds (cracked) OR 15 g. fennel seeds
15 g. cayenne pepper
0.6 g. (1/4 tspn.) Bactoferm™ T-SPX culture
----- Bactoferm Mold-600

Directions:

Preliminary steps: Keep a logbook! Record everything you do. Write down dates, times, measurements, etc. Believe me, you`ll refer back to it several times during the process. Save your notes for the next batch. They will be invaluable. Don`t ignore this step. It only takes a few seconds to write down the information you may really need later on.

Thaw the Bactoferm™ T-SPX and Mold-600 following the directions on the package. Measure .6 gram (1/4 teaspoon) of the culture and mix it with a little warm, distilled water. Follow the directions and allow 12 hours for the "lag phase" - the time necessary for the penicillium nalgiovense bacteria to "wake up".

Follow these steps carefully. There is no room for compromise. Stick to the recipe!

1. Grind the pork and beef through a 3/16" plate.
2. Mix all ingredients with the meat.
3. Stuff the meat firmly into beef middles or 2" fibrous casing.
4. Weigh the sausages (green weight) and record it in a notebook. Spray or dip sausages using Bactoferm Mold-600
5. Ferment the sausage at 68°; F. in 90% humidity for 72 hours.
5. Dry the sausage at 55°; F. in 85% humidity, decreasing to 80% humidity in 6 to 8 weeks.
6. Weigh the sausages after the 6th week. A yield of 70% should be achieved with a shrink of 30%.
7. Store pepperoni at 50-59°; F. in 75% humidity.

OK pepperoni lovers... start grindin` and stuffin`! And for goodness sakes, WASH YOUR HANDS! :mrgreen:

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Last edited by Chuckwagon on Fri Jan 17, 2014 00:45, edited 1 time in total.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by Krakowska » Thu Jan 16, 2014 18:08

Fascinating Chuckwagon. Really looking forward to slowly get into this. Humidity down here is normally in the 60s (today 49% 55 degrees) Going to order the book mentioned and my son will be coming down from Buffalo in 3 weeks. He can buy the needed chemicals from the Sausage Maker when I read the book and see exactly what I need. Thanks for the effort and time You and ALL who help Us novices. Very excited to get into this advanced stage of sausage making. Very Much Appreciated,
Fred :cool:
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Post by Bob K » Thu Jan 16, 2014 18:22

Igor Duńczyk wrote:Hi Bob,

Do you actually use the F-LC starter culture as prescribed in the Marianski,s semidry pepperoni recipe, because with that amount of sugar and dextrose I´d presume that it could end up quiiiiite tangy (?) But perhaps that just adds up to the :razz: ´ness of it ??

Also did you ever try just for the fun of it to dry one like a real matured salami without subjecting it to heat treatment?
Igor-

Yes I used F-LC and followed the recipe exactly. Yes it is quite tangy however: In the US that is what we expect pepperoni to taste like......and I would bet that most of the US members of this forum would have to agree.
On the other hand once you have experienced the taste of slow fermented, dry cured products, you say wow, this stuff is worth the effort we all put into it. and that is why most of us are here.

I also made a summer sausage with a similar sugar ratio (1. dextrose and ,5 sugar and F-LC culture) and that came out way to tangy for my taste...but other folks around here loved it.

No I never tried to make that recipe dry cured.
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Post by Igor Duńczyk » Thu Jan 16, 2014 23:03

Thanks for your answer Bob.
It´s ususlly a good feeling to have assumptions confirmed :wink: and actually Danish industrially produced Pepperoni is usually quite tangy too (...too much so for my taste) but that is also an effect of the fast production methods employing fast starter cultures which enables sliceability even if loss of moisture has been minimal (a good way to keep price down :???: ) So an opened package of Danish pepperoni can turn into a mouldy affair in a matter of days if left outside of the frigde.
I guess it isn´t THAT bad in the US :roll:
Wishing you a Good Day!
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Post by Bob K » Thu Jan 16, 2014 23:11

Chuckwagon wrote:Hi Fred,
You wrote:
(One of these days I will try pepperoni, just don't have the equipment to "dry cure" or knowledge yet to get into a science like this)
Here is a "Semi Dry Cured" pepperoni using a culture. It really doesn't require any special equipment. And because it's done in two days, you don't have to worry about mold etc. It requires no special knowledge either. Just follow the directions at the bottom of the recipe.


Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Cw I think you posted the Dry cured recipe and directions
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Post by Chuckwagon » Fri Jan 17, 2014 00:44

HaaaaOOooopppps.... Thank you! :wink:
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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