Homemade Sausage Making

I’m back after a 4 year hiatus but still defeated in my salami hobby. I’m going to give it another try, but I just ask- for salami, what is the preferred culture ? I see a safe pro flc and more options these days but when I did make salami I never got the funk always a very acidic one. I followed Ruhlmans book and chuck said the whole books was off. Hope to hear from you guys soon. Back to the hobby

There is only one reason why your salami was acidic, and that is too much carbohydrate. Many of the early recipes in books such as Ruhlman, those on the Len Poli site ask for 2 or 3 times as much sugars that are necessary to lower the pH to the 5.3 -5.0 range. Marianski also had higher amounts in early publications and on his website, but has since lowered them. Achieving the correct balance is based on many factors, but the rule of thumb is 3g/kg of dextrose, which usually results in a pH drop to 5.2 - 5.0. You can use any medium or slow fermenting culture to do that. And get yourself a pH meter so that you know what is happening and make adjustments in successive batches.

I have an apera meter now. What’s a good recipe book ? I had ruhlmans books but never came out right.

Best book for someone just starting this craft IMO:

The Art of Making Fermented Sausages, by Stanley and Adam Marianski

VERY thorough book with just enough technical stuff so you understand it.

Here's a book by the Marianskis that has lots of recipes indexed alphabetically, and by type and country of origin.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/09904 ... 7405755814

Pretty much the same (or similar) recipes are on-line here:
https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-recipes