Soppressa

LOUSANTELLO · Post by **LOUSANTELLO** » Wed May 11, 2016 22:48

I watched a video of someone making soppressa. The ingredients looks almost identical to soppressata although it's in a much larger casing. Apparently they take 4-5 months to cure. They are anout the size of a coppa. Do you use a beef bung?

Post by **Bob K** » Thu May 12, 2016 01:04

Is there a link for the video?

LOUSANTELLO · Post by **LOUSANTELLO** » Thu May 12, 2016 01:24

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uTBG5yRKrZI

Post by **Butterbean** » Thu May 12, 2016 04:43

Looks like they are using both beef bungs and middles. Did hear him correctly. Did he say he uses 22% salt so with 115 lbs of meat he added 24 lbs of salt? And salt dissipates as it cures?

LOUSANTELLO · Post by **LOUSANTELLO** » Thu May 12, 2016 10:48

I heard that too. I just went back and rewinded. Hes says 22% twice, but he did say 2%. When he was sitting at the table doing the calculation, he ended up with 2.4 pounds of salt for 115 pounds of meat.

Post by **Bob K** » Thu May 12, 2016 18:59

Just what BB said the large ones are bungs and the smaller middles.

Hey, you could press it and have a giant soppressata

The pressing also aids in drying, the large diam. casings do take a long time to dry and are prone to dry rim if you try to rush things......

Redzed used a bung for this Spaniata Romana and pressed it, it looked great!!

http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=7652

LOUSANTELLO · Post by **LOUSANTELLO** » Thu May 12, 2016 23:42

My dad used to take 2x12's with holes drilled every 18 inches along the edge. They used to stack multiple boards on top of each other and use threaded rods to increase the pressure for pressing. This was obviously done in a cellar with 15-20 soppressatas on each tier. When I made mine, every day i would just five them a squeeze by hand until they remained oval. Any suggestions how to press thr big stuff in the chambers?

Post by **Bob K** » Fri May 13, 2016 01:40

redzed wrote: Butterbean wrote:
Redzed, could you talk a little about the pressing? I was wondering if you used wood and if so was it sealed wood or raw wood and any issues you need to be careful of when pressing.

One of these days I will get around to building myself a proper press. What I used for this project was very simple. I pressed the spaniata between two large polyethylene cutting boards. I had to place 60lbs of weight on this particular sausage before it would have any effect.

LOUSANTELLO · Post by **LOUSANTELLO** » Sat May 14, 2016 12:02

I found this person in the video on Facebook. He lives in Toronto. I received an invite the next time I am in town and also received an invite the next time the family makes them. I am definitely making the trip. The whole thing reminds of watching everybody in basement of our home making hundreds of pounds in a weekend.

Post by **redzed** » Sat May 14, 2016 15:59

I watched parts of the video and it looks like a fun get together. The guy most probably was a bit nervous with the interviewer and camera and made a couple of gaffes with the 24% salt content. The stuff would be inedible if you actually added that amount. We notice things like that right away but what if someone inexperienced was looking for a recipe?

What spoiled the video was the interviewer who talked way too much, asked dumb questions, and failed to do some research about sausage making before doing the project. A lot of the things he said were just downright stupid. I would have liked to hear some of the old boys giving us some background, technique and tips on making the soppressa. They are the ones who should have been the stars of the show. Lou, if you visit this family during their next sausage making event, I hope you take lots of pictures and share with us what you learn from them. After all, the main reason that this forum came to existence was to bring back the traditional ways of making sausage.

I could not reply earlier about your question regarding using beef bungs to make soppressata as I took some time off and with the great weather went camping. My Spaniata Romana is a type of soppressata and I have had very good luck with making it in a bung, The latest weighed 13lbs and I pulled it a few weeks ago after 31/2 months. Will post pics tonight.

LOUSANTELLO · Post by **LOUSANTELLO** » Sun May 15, 2016 03:23

Redzed, with your pics, make sure you leave me a recipe. I have the bungs and the meat is due here Wednesday. Thanks

LOUSANTELLO · Post by **LOUSANTELLO** » Thu May 19, 2016 12:30

Well, I made 11.5 kilos of mix last night and they are stuffed into 3 bung caps averaging 3.5-4 kilos each. I hung them in the mini fridge fermentation chamber and noticed this morning that the interior temp is 67 degrees F. I offset my controller 3 degrees for now thinking it will creep to 70. Should I take it to 73? i am using 007. The last time i fermented, it only took 30 hours to reach 5.0 ph. Thoughts?

Post by **Bob K** » Thu May 19, 2016 12:44

Since that culture works fast I would leave them at 70°, It takes a while for the temp to rise on the interior in large casings so there may be more of a lag than you are used to with the middles, so don't be surprised if the Ph drop is slower.

Did you press them yet? The faster you press them the easier it is, before they firm up from the salt and cure.

LOUSANTELLO · Post by **LOUSANTELLO** » Thu May 19, 2016 13:17

I did not press them yet. I am getting the netting today , so i will net them. The smaller ones I made 4 months ago, I trained them with a slight squeeze daily until they held shape. I think at this point that temp and humidity is more important than pulling them and pressing them? There's no way I have the room in the mini frige for a press of any kind. Even with the smaller ones I made earlier, it took a while for the rubbery consistency to hold the flattened shape. Thoughts?

LOUSANTELLO · Post by **LOUSANTELLO** » Thu May 19, 2016 14:02