Homemade Sausage Making

Finally finished my curing cabinet just in time to try some Bresaola. Had all the temp and humidity controllers but been looking on Ebay for the last 12 months or so for a commercial fridge at the right price until one finally came my way.



[/img]

[/img]

I have done two Bresaola from a heifer we just had butchered. They were cured in a zip lock bag in the fridge for 16 days with the following ingredients;

1000 gr Beef (eye of round)
30 gr salt
10 gr sugar
5 gr black pepper
2 gr dried rosemary
1 gr juniper berries
1 gr dried thyme
2.5 gr cure # 2

All dried ingredients were ground up in a mortar and pestal and massaged into meat and placed into fridge. Now to wait until it has lost 35 - 40 % weight loss has been achieved.

[/img]

Forgot to mention that they were cased in 120 mm artificial casings and netted. 90 or 100 mm casings would have been better

After curing and before placing in casings
[/img]

Looks like you have a nice set-up ,good luck with the finished product..

Steve,
I agree with cogbog, a very nice looking set up. Let us all have some more info on the controllers please and purchased where?.
Cheers Mate,
Jan.

Hi Jan.
The fridge temp controller and humidity controller are a combined unit from Auber Instruments purchased direct from them. There is a cheap temp controller hooked up to a ceramic heat lamp bulb purchased from a pet shop. This is set to come on at 10 degrees celcius. The main one is set at 13 degrees with a one degree variance......fridge comes on at 14 and goes off at 13. The humidity is set at 75 % atm. The humidifier was an ebay item as was a temp and humidity monitor.

Oneills ol' pard,
It looks clean and professional! Nice going pal. I sure am glad to see the Cure in the recipe. Thank you. Keep us informed and be sure to snap a few photos. Good luck.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Hi Oneills,
Nice to have a fine day after yesterday's downpour. How's it all going over the hill there?
You have inspired me with your Bresaola. I bought 2 1kh girellos yesterday and they are now resting in their spices and herbs for the next couple of weeks. I used you recipes. Thank you!
Only problem I may have is finding a casing that they will fit into. Have to work on that.
Ursula

Hi Ursula,
Going good over here Thanks. It's a bit wet underfoot at the moment and the pigs are loving it, digging everything up in sight. I used 120mm casings but they were a bit big. I would have liked some 90 or 100 mm ones, or even should have used collagen sheets.
We will have to compare results when done. Been busy organising items and butcher for this years salami, ham and bacon. Im also going to do a couple of coppa using salt, black pepper , capsicum paste, parprika, chilli and cure #2. Have to make a quick trip to Marinos Deli in Morwell on Monday for some more pepper sauce and casings.

Ursula, since I discovered pasted dried hog casing sheets, that is all I use for my cured meats. Absolutely easy to use (with netting), they cling but not stick to the meat and more economical than bung caps. If you can source them, try them!
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... ght=pasted

Hi,
I've been trying to source these "pasted dried hog casings" here. The only sheets I can get are collagen sheets or on a roll.
May be some other OZ MEMBERS can try some distributors in their area for availability.
Cheers,
Jan.

Crusty, I suspect they are from the land of the dragon, so you are even closer to the source than we are.

Thank you, Red. Sounds like a great solution.However we are unable to source these in Oz. Jan, I've contacted Huon Distributors and they informed me that these sheets are made in China and are deemed meat products by AQIS, so for biosecurity reasons they are banned from import. Having said that, Alibaba seems to have a distribution point in Melbourne which appears to sell them (but only minimum of 3000!) I have emailed them and will let you know!
Ursula

Hi Steve,
Almost ready to put the bresaola into casings and dry.(Might have to cut them to put them into casings as they are a bit big for what I've got)
Just wanted to check what you did after you took them out of the vac packs in the fridge. Did you rinse them briefly, dry them and then put them in the drying chamber?
And is your temperature/humidity target 13degrees/75%? Or higher?
Thanks, Steve.
Ursula

Hi Ursula
I rinsed with water then patted dry with paper towelling, then cased in 120 mm cases which were a bit big. I prefer collagen casing which are much easier to use. Ive set the fridge to come on at 14 degrees and switch off at 13 and the heater to come on at12. Humidity started at 80 % now down to 70%
If your casings are too small, you can cut 2 length ways and wrap your meat in them by overlapping

Thanks Steve,
I'll do that. Will have to wait a few days longer, since my lovely newborn salamis are hogging(scuse the pun) the fermentation chamber for a few days.
Ursula