I Have A Question

[Bob K]

Mike-
Welcome to the Forum!

What recipe are you using? The Marianski recipe is just the opposite 70% pork and 30% beef. pepperoni is traditionally a lean sausage, fat was not added. However we are used to it being a sausage with a higher fat content. I find it best use 60% pork, 25% beef, and 15% back fat, especially for pizza. Don't leave out the Anise!!!



Pepperoni


Pork 60%
Beef 25%
Back fat 15%

Per 1000 gram (1 kilo)

Salt 25 grams
Cure #2 2.5 gr
Dextrose 4 gr
Sugar 3 gr
Black Pepper 3 gr
White Pepper 1 gr
Hungarian Paprika 8 gr
Fennel 3 gr
Anise 2 gr
55k Cayenne 2 gr

Tspx or Culture of choice
55-60mm Beef middles
Note: All spices are Ground

Use the directions on the Marianski site http://www.meatsandsausag...s/pepperoni-dry

[Africantanman]

Hello everyone. It's been a while since I've posted.
So I have just pulled a batch of fuet with pine nuts after 5 weeks. I used TD-66 as the starter culture and Mold 600 as the surface mould and quite frankly I am very very happy with batch apart from one thing: the salami tastes great but there is quite an overpowering cheesy/mushroomy flavour. I've searched high and low for possible reasons (the internet has not been forthcoming) but I have a feeling it might be my starter culture. It is one of the very few you can get here in South Africa unfortunately, and I have a feeling I would have not gotten such a pronounced cheesy taste to the salami had I used T-SPX or Flora Italia. Am I on the right track with this? Or is there another reason for the taste. Thank you for your help!

[redzed]

Actually I would think that T-SPX and Flora Italia would have given you a stronger funky traditional salami flavour than TD-66 which is intended to be used in fast fermented Northern European products. However, there are many other factors that come into play, and the starter culture is just that, a "starter". It's what you do with it that makes the difference. You wrote nothing about the process, type of meat you used, grinding, fermenting, casings and maturation parameters. You will have a stronger funky flavour if you ferment at a slower, cooler temp and dry at higher temps. Excessive mould growth will also result in more enzymatic activity and affect the flavour. Fuet is a thin sausage so if you had a lot of mould on it there is a higher level of meat to surface contact and the salami will have stronger flavours. If you describe your process in full, maybe we would be in a better position to analyze what was going on.