Homemade Sausage Making

That looks great Lou! If you vac seal that and leave it in the (regular) fridge another 2-4 weeks the dry area around the edge will soften

I have 2 more of these hanging, but they did not press AS flat as this one. They are still a little soft, so I left them in the chamber, probably for another 2-3 weeks. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Just a couple questions here. This is on my to make list in the next few weeks. That Landjaeger press I built should work great for pressing. My question is should I net it before pressing? can I press it during the fermentation? I have the ability to maintain a 70F temp, but not sure how the RH would be in the press? my guess is there won't be much affect from a humidifier. If I put plastic in the press like I do Landjaeger it should be quite moist and the RH right up there. Also, after fermenting are you adding surface culture before going to the curing chamber?

I netted mine immediately and I pressed them in the curing chamber after fermentation using 3/4" boards with threaded rods line with wax paper. I really only pressed them for a week tightening the bolts by hand once a day.

Are you planing on making a traditional caliber sopressa or Lou's SUPER SIZE?

My favourite large diameter sopressa is the Spaniata Romana.
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... c&start=15

Fermented for a little more than 2 days. Because it did not fit in my curing chamber I pressed it at a temp of around 16C for 3 days. I netted it after the pressing and before hanging in the chamber. And yes, it is very important to keep the bung moist during the pressing. Larger diameter products need more time to dry and mature, so you need to do everything you can to prevent case hardening. I had mine shrouded with plastic and also sprayed the exposed sides a few times with distilled water during the pressing. Just before netting and hanging I washed it with a luke warm water solution. That cleaned off any fat deposits and other unwanted surface formations and created a clean field for the mould to develop.

Bob, I'm not sure what normal size is. I have beef middles and caps. Which would be best?

When I used the beef middles, I didn't even press them. They werr small enough that I just have them a squeaze every other day once they got a little rubbery. They wont hold at first, then they started taking shape. I've done the soppressata in beef middles and sopressa in beef bungs. Even though I ised the same recipe, the flavor and what you use them for are completely different. There's a place for both of them. The larger were definitely pressed.

It would be best for you to use the middles. Around 60 mm. That way they will fit into your press and chamber.

Sounds good. That way I'll be able to eat them sooner too since they won't take so long!

Lou I've noticed with a number of sausages that just changing the size and type of casing makes a huge difference. My salametti was in a hog casing and it was so so, and I stuffed the rest of the batch into 65mm fibrous with only an addition of peppercorns. Made a beautiful salami and what a different taste than the salametti.

P.S what's the difference between Sopressa and sopressatta?

When I was young and my family made it in beef middles, they always called it soppressata. There's an italian guy I met last year and they cut up 2 pigs with 11 brothers, uncles and relatives. The similar process and recipe my family used many years ago, except stuffing in beef bungs, they called soppressa. That's all I know.

fatboyz wrote:P.S what's the difference between Sopressa and sopressatta?

Here is a good explanation: https://www.delallo.com/article/sopresse-sopressate/#

Here's mine in the press and then the chamber after pressing/fermenting