Homemade salami and other cured meats

[02ebz06]

That's the hardest part! How is your aging chamber handling temp and RH?

Averages 55F for temp and 75 for humidity.

[Bill/CDMX]

Averages 55F for temp and 75 for humidity.

Did you have to add additional humidifier/dehumidifier?

[02ebz06]

No, the only thing that is adjustable is temp and 60F is the max setting, which gives you a 55F average.
It has 2 fans blowing continually, and third above the water tray, that I have yet to see turn on.
Doesn't mean it doesn't turn on to pull humidity from the water in the pan, I just haven't seen it. 
Does a decent job  holding the humidity with fans and no dehumidifier.

[Bill/CDMX]

No, the only thing that is adjustable is temp and 60F is the max setting, which gives you a 55F average.
It has 2 fans blowing continually, and third above the water tray, that I have yet to see turn on.
Doesn't mean it doesn't turn on to pull humidity from the water in the pan, I just haven't seen it. 
Does a decent job  holding the humidity with fans and no dehumidifier.

Sounds good! Main thing to watch out for is that product will throw off the most moisture in the first few days. Also, too much moving air will dry out the outside too quickly, preventing moisture from escaping from the inside. What diameter casings for your pepperoni? Thicker sausage will be more prone to this.

[TXCraig1]

That's beautiful.

[Pete-zza]

That's beautiful.

Peter

[foreplease]

Genoa Salami described in the first post of this thread is now complete. 2 months dry curing, 40% weight loss:

That looks fantastic! Enjoy.

[02ebz06]

Sounds good! Main thing to watch out for is that product will throw off the most moisture in the first few days. Also, too much moving air will dry out the outside too quickly, preventing moisture from escaping from the inside. What diameter casings for your pepperoni? Thicker sausage will be more prone to this.

40-43mm casings.

[parallei]

Genoa Salami described in the first post of this thread is now complete. 2 months dry curing, 40% weight loss:

That sure looks good, Bill!

[Bill/CDMX]

Guanciale on Cacio e Pepe pizza - drizzled with rendered guanciale fat. Carbon oven 925F fiesoli rotating deck, ~50 seconds Guanciale was fried up before baking on pizza.

[Bill/CDMX]

Sad to report the nduja is going into the trash. Oil from the Calabrian chile paste leaked out of the holes in the casing, creating air pockets under the casing. Most of the product seems unaffected, but there are spots in the air pockets that have been contaminated with undesirable mold. I could probably just cut away the parts that look bad, but even with really wide margins, I just don't feel comfortable eating it or sharing it. It's a shame because it smells awesome, but I won't risk making someone sick or worse. If I make nduja again, I will make sure the chile paste is completely drained before adding to the mix.

[02ebz06]

That's too bad. All that work.

I just moved my 2nd batch of pepperoni to the aging chamber.   PH at 4.61   I'll keep a better eye on it than I did the first batch.
First batch was edible, but texture like a pepperoni stick you get in the store, only very bland.

[Jon in Albany]

That sucks. Ive had a few things that didn't cure how I wanted. It's a lot of work for no payoff.

[stickyD]

Genoa Salami described in the first post of this thread is now complete. 2 months dry curing, 40% weight loss:

Nailed it!

[Bill/CDMX]

Latest project: Weisswurst, poached in broth.  Not sure whether I'll put this on a pizza. Plan to roll it inside a buckwheat crepe, mustard and onion jam. The recipe called for some minced pork skin ground into the mix. I didn't have any, so I subbed some chicharrones.

[Elchimi]

Latest project: Weisswurst, poached in broth.  Not sure whether I'll put this on a pizza. Plan to roll it inside a buckwheat crepe, mustard and onion jam. The recipe called for some minced pork skin ground into the mix. I didn't have any, so I subbed some chicharrones.

Looks good! Weißwurst needs to be eaten before11:00 am

[Bill/CDMX]

Looks good! Weißwurst needs to be eaten before11:00 am

With beer!

[Elchimi]

Latest project: Weisswurst, poached in broth.  Not sure whether I'll put this on a pizza. Plan to roll it inside a buckwheat crepe, mustard and onion jam. The recipe called for some minced pork skin ground into the mix. I didn't have any, so I subbed some chicharrones.

Looks good! Weißwurst needs to be eaten before 11:00am.

[Bill/CDMX]

Started a batch of Saucisson Sec French Salami - basically a close relative of the Genoa Salami that started this thread. It will be done fermenting today with a pH of 4.9, then into the curing chamber for about 60 days until it loses about 35% of its weight. A couple of random thoughts/tips so far:

- Even though the Genoa salami was very good when it was done dry curing, in the past couple of months it has improved. I guess the proteins continue to break down into their constituent amino acids, adding interesting flavors. I think these may be lost on a pizza, although I always had the salami as the top layer. Maybe putting it underneath the other toppings would preserve these flavors. The pepperoni seems a far better choice for pizza.

- Make sausage more often. Sausage uses unique equipment and skills. The more frequently I make sausage, the more comfortable I am; the process goes much faster and smoother. Of course this applies to most everything good in life.

- Clean up immediately. When I made sausage yesterday, I had to run out before I had a chance to clean up. It usually takes about 20 minutes for me to clean up everything. It took well over an hour to finish washing and sanitizing yesterday.

- Know the capacity of your mixer and stuffer so that you make the optimum batch size. The project becomes a PITA if you have to break the process into multiple batches.

- Make the biggest batch your equipment can handle in a single pass. These products hold and freeze well. 

[Bill/CDMX]

Vietnamese Nem Nuong (sort of).

This fresh sausage is supposed to be grilled on skewers with no casing. For some reason, my grind was too loose and would not stay on a skewer. So I pivoted and stuffed the grind into hog casings. Grilled them and wrapped in a mung bean flour crepe with pickled carrots and other toppings. The bad news is that  the recipe calls for baking powder, so the links expanded during grilled; about half of them split open. Still really delicious. Next time I'll stuff them looser or maybe skip the baking powder.

These might be really good on a pizza. Definitely destined for banh mi.