Whats the maximum allowable %fat in slow dry cured salami?
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 21:23
I was making the Salami Nola from Marianski's Art of Fermented Sausages and made a huge error. The recipe calls for 50% lean pork (butt,ham) and 50% regular pork trimmings (butt). Well, since it was late (and I was working on 7 different salamis that day) I screwed up and made the mixture with 50% trimmed butt and 50% fat back. I got a good grind using the 10mm plate and near frozen cubed meat and fatback, but I will admit that it was quite fatty just as you would expect with those ratios. I proceeded any way and used the correct amount of cure #2, T-SPX, and seasoning for my 1Kg batch and stuffed them into 50mm Umai casing.
After 66 hours of fermenting at 68F and 50%RH the salami only shows a minor to mid amount of color. So, heres my question. Im wondering if there is not enough water in the mixture to allow the T-SPX to perform its function because there is so little meat and so much fat? Im thinking about Aw, etc. I don't know, maybe the meat is coloring but its got so much fat in the salami you can't see it?
Any thoughts about whether or not these are fermenting properly (and will be safe) and are worth curing? I don't yet have a pH probe/meter since this is my first attempt at making salami, although I made several successful batches of fresh and smoked cooked sausages. So, Im using documented techniques and careful observation of color to determine if fermentation is proceeding properly.
Thanks again for all your guidance for a "fermenting newbie"!
Cheers, Ronbo
After 66 hours of fermenting at 68F and 50%RH the salami only shows a minor to mid amount of color. So, heres my question. Im wondering if there is not enough water in the mixture to allow the T-SPX to perform its function because there is so little meat and so much fat? Im thinking about Aw, etc. I don't know, maybe the meat is coloring but its got so much fat in the salami you can't see it?
Any thoughts about whether or not these are fermenting properly (and will be safe) and are worth curing? I don't yet have a pH probe/meter since this is my first attempt at making salami, although I made several successful batches of fresh and smoked cooked sausages. So, Im using documented techniques and careful observation of color to determine if fermentation is proceeding properly.
Thanks again for all your guidance for a "fermenting newbie"!
Cheers, Ronbo