Homemade Sausage Making

Wow it's been so quiet on here. Isn't anyone making anything?
My Genoa, Sopressata and Coppa are coming along fine. I got the humidity perfect on the chamber. Two weeks in so far. My small country ham came out of the salt and got one run of smoke with the A-maze-N tube and it's in getting a second smoke now. My other country ham still has another month in the salt.

I cut my first ever Salami 28 days and 35% weight loss, needs more drying time as the texture for me is too soft
Its a Salami Cacciatore from Len Poli's recipe

In as much as I would like to be making sausages, I've been stuck in cold and snowy Montreal. Tomorrow off to a ski resort in New Hapshire and will be picking up an order of some starter cultures and specialty casings from the Craft Butchers Pantry. I'm really looking forward to making a Jesus de Lyon in hog bungs using Texel SA-301 http://www.francoisvecchio.com/wp/wp-co ... A-3011.pdf

I weighed one of the sopressa's and its down 10% in 2 weeks. Luckily I have enough salami on hand that i"ll be able to wait 3 months for this load to really age and mature.

Red what is a Jesus Salami? Is it so dry it can part the waters? LOL

fatboyz wrote:Red what is a Jesus Salami? Is it so dry it can part the waters? LOL

Well, I never looked at it that way, but if that's the case, I'll be able to ride my bike from my house to Sechelt if it would work! Anyway, the quick and dirty on this sausage is here: http://www.france-voyage.com/gastronomy ... es-539.htm

Red, that looks like a real nice salami. Might have to put that on to make list.

fatboyz wrote:Red, that looks like a real nice salami. Might have to put that on to make list.

You should! After all, sausage making can be a religious experience!

I see that you have a nice coat of mould on your salami. Did you use the Mondostart mould to get it going? And I'm curious why the ham needs another month on salt? Are you using the equilibrium method?

Red I did use the mondostart.
For the hams, the one that I have the pic of (shoulder) is just hanging now. The other one behind it hasn't been in the salt for too long yet. From the recipe (youtube video for country ham) says two months curing time in salt for a whole leg ham. This is my first try at country hams. The video was done by the University of Kentucky. The recipe was just salt, brown sugar, and pepper.

Fusion5567 wrote:I cut my first ever Salami 28 days and 35% weight loss, needs more drying time as the texture for me is too soft
Its a Salami Cacciatore from Len Poli's recipe

35% is only a guideline. Different cuts of meat have different amounts of water and are affected by fat, age of the animal and part of the carcass. If you use fresh meat it will also have more water than frozen. Your salami will now dry slower and develop more flavour. Try it at 38% loss, at that stage it can make a noticeable difference.

redzed wrote:

Fusion5567 wrote:I cut my first ever Salami 28 days and 35% weight loss, needs more drying time as the texture for me is too soft
Its a Salami Cacciatore from Len Poli's recipe

35% is only a guideline. Different cuts of meat have different amounts of water and are affected by fat, age of the animal and part of the carcass. If you use fresh meat it will also have more water than frozen. Your salami will now dry slower and develop more flavour. Try it at 38% loss, at that stage it can make a noticeable difference.

Yes Red thank you, i have put it back in the chamber with the other 2 i made, i need more patience. Should i try to cover where i cut it? the cut is on the bottom open right now

Naw, just leave it and when ready to try take a sharp knife and trim it off.

That looks good Colin! Your new chamber must be working well as there is no sign of dry rim. Are you using the fridge side of the side by side?
Along with weighing you can aso gently squeeze to tell how they are drying, you will get the feel for it after a few batches.

Bob K wrote:That looks good Colin! Your new chamber must be working well as there is no sign of dry rim. Are you using the fridge side of the side by side?
Along with weighing you can aso gently squeeze to tell how they are drying, you will get the feel for it after a few batches.

Thanks Bob, Well i had the wine cooler dialed in so good i just left them in there, the side by side will be used for my next project which i hope will be a Coppa.

So what a difference a few days make.
Nice mild flavor and texture is just right for my taste.
Afternoon snack today