Homemade salami and other cured meats

[Bill/CDMX]

Today I started a new round of charcuterie projects. The first is Genoa Salami. Here is a piece now fermenting in a DIY chamber that I also use for proofing pizza and bread dough. After a few days, once the pH is below 5.0, it will go into a dry curing chamber at a lower temperature and humidity.

[02ebz06]

Always wanted to do that. but knowing nothing about it, I stayed away, not wanting to die from botulism.

[Bill/CDMX]

Always wanted to do that. but knowing nothing about it, I stayed away, not wanting to die from botulism.

No one has died yet. Seriously ill, yes, but no fatalities. 

Seriously, you really need to have a firm handle on sanitation, temperatures, pH levels, humidity, ratios, and curing agents. Much like pizza making, it is loads of fun and produces better results than commercial operations.

[foreplease]

Impressive! Can you dry pasta in your dry curing chamber?

[kori]

Interesting set up.

[Bill/CDMX]

Impressive! Can you dry pasta in your dry curing chamber?

Thanks. Yes, I have done it. But drying fresh pasta isn't a priority for me right now. I have been boiling the pasta shortly after extruding or storing it in the refrigerator for a few days.

[Rolls]

I had a chance to make homemade salumi on a few occasions with a group of curmudgeonly old Italian men in their 80's.  We would start at 5 am on a Saturday morning and finish processing 2 large pigs by the end of the afternoon.  There was a big lunch with homemade pasta and all sorts of charcuterie and cheeses. Needless to say, the wine and grappa were flowing freely all day long. Good times. 

I've never had a store bought product that was even remotely close in quality to these.  Unfortunately, with the younger generations, this is a dying art, just like tomato canning and wine-making.


Rolls

[Bill/CDMX]

I had a chance to make homemade salumi on a few occasions with a group of curmudgeonly old Italian men in their 80's.  We would start at 5 am on a Saturday morning and finish processing 2 large pigs by the end of the afternoon.  There was a big lunch with homemade pasta and all sorts of charcuterie and cheeses. Needless to say, the wine and grappa were flowing freely all day long. Good times. 

I've never had a store bought product that was even remotely close in quality to these.  Unfortunately, this is a dying art among the younger generations, just like tomato canning and wine-making.


Rolls

Sounds like an amazing, unforgettable experience.

One of the problems with store-bought products sold by weight is that profitability is directly proportional to yield. They often use additives to retain moisture, diluting the flavors. Or they have to charge an arm and a leg. There is a local place that charges around $2-$5 per ounce.

[Bill/CDMX]

18 hours in. I make a little chub of the residue from the sausage stuffer to use for monitoring pH. Piercing the casing of the whole salami is a bad idea since, among other things, it can introduce unwanted microbes. The mixture has firmed up, turned a nice red color, and the pH has dropped due to the fermentation action of the starter culture (Flavor of Italy from The Sausage Maker). The old-timers didn’t use starter cultures so it look quite a bit longer for them to get the pH down to safe levels that inhibit the growth of pathogens. The cultures are a blend of microbes optimized for the sugars in the grind to produce the quickest drop in pH and the best flavors. This is the first time I am using this particular culture.

Now the salami gets dried at 55F/80%RH until it reaches a 40% weight loss. The green weight was 1391g, so I’m aiming for ~835g finished weight. Could take a month or two.

[stickyD]

Always wanted to do that. but knowing nothing about it, I stayed away, not wanting to die from botulism.

It is easier than making pizza! 🤣 But really, botulism is rare, and the use of curing salts and cultures that manage PH never give it a chance to bloom. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, everyone needs more rabbit holes!

[02ebz06]

It is easier than making pizza! 🤣 But really, botulism is rare, and the use of curing salts and cultures that manage PH never give it a chance to bloom. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, everyone needs more rabbit holes!

I even bough a couple books, but when I got to chapter 2 and it started talking about the bad things that can happen, I closed it and never opened it again.

[Hanglow]

Looking good Bill

I've only made bacon and fresh sausages, not tried any fermented  salami etc yet as it's a touch more involved.

[stickyD]

I even bough a couple books, but when I got to chapter 2 and it started talking about the bad things that can happen, I closed it and never opened it again.

Wow, those are great books. Do you make unfermented sausage? Sweet fennel sausage is a nice gateway. I did a cursory Google search and there are about 25 cases a year of food-born botulism a year in the USA, most in Alaska.

[02ebz06]

Wow, those are great books. Do you make unfermented sausage? Sweet fennel sausage is a nice gateway. I did a cursory Google search and there are about 25 cases a year of food-born botulism a year in the USA, most in Alaska.

No, I never wanted to do it after reading the chapter.
I might have to rethink it.

[Jon in Albany]

This is a great pancetta recipe. Freezes well. Haven't made it in awhile, should do it again.

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/2008/08/pancetta-easiest-cured-meat-of-all.html

Edit to add that I pulsed the cure together in a small food processor before applying to the pork belly.

[Bill/CDMX]

This is a great pancetta recipe. Freezes well. Haven't made it in awhile, should do it again.

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/2008/08/pancetta-easiest-cured-meat-of-all.html

Edit to add that I pulsed the cure together in a small food processor before applying to the pork belly.

Pork belly in all its cured forms is a great gift to us from the noble pig. Unusual to see a short-cured recipe using "Cure #2", but who am I to question the authority of that blogger, who was a respected member of this forum. The contents of these cures can be toxic, which needs to be balanced with the threat of botulism. In fact, the recipe I use for pancetta tesa from Ruhlman's Salumi has no curing salt at all.

[Jon in Albany]

Pork belly in all its cured forms is a great gift to us from the noble pig. Unusual to see a short-cured recipe using "Cure #2", but who am I to question the authority of that blogger, who was a respected member of this forum. The contents of these cures can be toxic, which needs to be balanced with the threat of botulism. In fact, the recipe I use for pancetta tesa from Ruhlman's Salumi has no curing salt at all.

He cures quite a bit. The blog was an interesting follow back when it was active. He still puts something on instagram every once in a while. If I remember right, he had one of the LBE's for pizza.

[Bill/CDMX]

A powdery white mold is starting to grow on the salami casing because I applied a solution containing Penicillium nalgiovense, which suppresses the growth of undesirable microbes. Eventually the entire salami will be covered with it, just like you see on commercial salami. It is edible, but the collagen casing is not, so it will be gone when I remove the casing after curing, but before storing.

White powdery mold = 
Non-white slimy growth = 

Everything is proceeding well!

[Bill/CDMX]

Moving on to guanciale. I don’t plan to use this as a pizza topping. It is for my carbonara quest with Alex the French guy. This will cure in the refrigerator for 1 week. Then it will be dried in the curing chamber for about a month.

[Bill/CDMX]

Guanciale done fermenting, now in dry curing chamber for 4 weeks till 30% weight loss. Here they are hanging with the salami, that is now 9 days into the dry cure. Currently has 20% weight loss and looking very good. The guanciale does not have the white mold culture applied, but will definitely pick some up by virtue of its proximity to the salami.