Why the drying time difference?

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Fishhead
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Why the drying time difference?

Post by Fishhead » Tue Dec 20, 2016 17:56

I am new to this forum and relatively new to making fermented sausages. That said, I have been making fresh sausages and cured meats for the past 30 years.

Since fermented and dried sausage are very different from what I have been making, I have reading as much as I can about the process. I bought a copy of "The art of making fermented sausages" by Stanley and Adam Marianski.

On page 210 there is a recipe for Salami Finocchiona and on page 211 there is a recipe for Salami Genoa. These two recipe are very similar. However, one has some beef while the other does not. One has 10 g sugar and the other 15 g sugar. Otherwise they have the same total weight, same culture, same ferment time, temperature, and humidity, and same drying temperature and humidity. They are both to be stuffed in the same casings.

However, one calls for a drying period of 30 days, while the other specifies 2 to 3 months, but both have the same target of 30%-35% weight loss.

Is there an explanation that I have yet to grasp as to why the drying time estimate would be 2 to 3 times longer for the Salami Genoa, when everything else appears equal?
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Bob K
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Post by Bob K » Tue Dec 20, 2016 21:22

Welcome to the forum!

On your sugar question, the finocchiona recipe calls for .2% dextrose and .2% sugar and the genoa recipe has .2% dextrose and .3% sugar. The difference in total sugars between the two is .1%....not a lot. The difference in sugar amounts in fermented sausages will relate to taste, as the more sugar added the more tart or acidic the taste will be. In this instance , not a lot.

As far as the drying time difference it could be a typo or the fact that Genoa is usually stuffed into larger caliber casings in the 75 to 90mm range as opposed to the 55-60 listed in the recipe.

There is an Art to making dry cured sausages and the recipes are only guidelines and are not etched in stone. The basic safety hurdles however should always be observed.

Hope that helped.
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redzed
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Post by redzed » Tue Dec 20, 2016 21:45

Hi Fishhead and welcome to the forum! We are glad to have you join us and a fishhead is always a good addition to a bunch of meatheads! :lol:

I looked at the recipes and indeed there are discrepancies there. Reason for more sugar in the Genoa than in the Finno might be that the Genoa is to have bit more tang, be slightly on the sour side. Having said that, with my experience with T-SPX, 2g/kg of dextrose and 2g/kg of sucrose would be the correct amount for both. Usually 3g of dextrose only is fine, but since T-SPX is also able to convert sucrose to lactic acid (not all bacteria can do that), it is a good idea to use it. The bacteria takes a bit longer to convert the sucrose and slower acidification helps in better colour formation and enhances the flavour and texture. And I have never had to wait 72 hours for the pH to drop to 5.2, fermenting at 20-22C. Usually 36-48 hours was enough.

The drying period for the Genoa is definitely incorrect. But there are many factors that will affect the drying time. The first and is the type of meat and the age of the animal. Second is whether fresh or frozen meat was used. Frozen meat will have lost water so the salami will finish sooner. Higher amounts of salt will also dry the product faster. And then there are the types of casings used, the temp, relative humidity, air movement in the chamber and amount of mould formation. Again, from my experience it takes anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks for the sausage to lose approximately 35% of weight. So there really is no given time when it will be ready. Squeeze, smell and weigh as it dries. Record the weight of the salami right after stuffing, make sure that you have humidity as high as you can during the fermentation phase and then dry at 80%.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Fishhead
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Post by Fishhead » Tue Dec 20, 2016 21:46

Thank you that does help. As written the recipe was puzzling, but a typo on either the drying time or size of the casing, both explain the time difference. In the end I will be using weight loss as my guide.
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