Foolproof salami

Latest Articles

Foolproof salami

Downsizer Forum Index -> Recipes, Preserving, Homebrewing

Author

Message

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 10 3:46 pm Post subject: Foolproof salami

Is there such a thing as a foolproof salami recipe or do you have to take great care to get the ingredients right, the conditions during curing right etc, etc? With bacon I can leave out the salt petre, make it on the salty side and freeze it if I wish so there's no real chance of it going wrong.

For my first attempt I wouldn't mind if they were quite fatty or salty as I'd use them in cooking rather than eating on their own.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 10 3:51 pm Post subject:
Personally, I'd want to be accurate on the preservative levels. I don't think that the conditions for maturing them are that critical. We've just hung our hams, salami and chorizo in the shed and nobody's died yet.

Bebo

Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 12590
Location: East Sussex

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 10 3:51 pm Post subject:
You have to be quite careful with the ingredients and make sure you include a proper cure that includes salt petre (or equivalent) as well as acidophilus (or equivalent). Temperature wise, I tend to make mine in the autumn and then hang them in a cool, but frost free, store rooom.

Brownbear

Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 14929
Location: South West

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 10 4:30 pm Post subject:
If you can bear to wait a month, we will have salami mixes, with all ingredients and instructions written and video, available. But yes, you have to use the right curing mixture unless you want to make yourself rather ill.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Mar 01, 10 7:25 am Post subject:

But how do you know the cure has been successful? Very occasionally when we make bread for example the yeast seems to fail to work and you get a small brick rather than a decent loaf but that's obvious. I'd use a commercial cure and follow the instructions but how do you know all is well or if something has gone wrong?

Edit to add, I've just looked at HFW's details https://www.rivercottage.net/EdibleProjects~Kitchen/242/MakingSalami.aspx and he says the only essential preservative is "2.2 per cent salt, by weight". Now if I was to add a bit more salt then I shouldn't have any problems?

Last edited by Treacodactyl on Mon Mar 01, 10 8:00 am; edited 1 time in total

Brownbear

Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 14929
Location: South West

Posted: Mon Mar 01, 10 7:59 am Post subject:

Firmness, mould, texture, scent are the normal ways. You can also test the ph if you have a food meter, but the only way to be absolutely certain is to buy salamis from a supplier who's done all his HACCPs and is using a temperature controlled process, sending off samples for testing etc.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's curing instructions are terrible. And salt is not all you need. A proper cure has one or two other ingredients to reduce the chances of a serious failure to cure.

Seriously, Whittingstall is not a good guide on curing. And his salami recipes are not that great, either.

Dekk

Joined: 21 Feb 2009
Posts: 48
Location: somewhere between raising hell and amazing grace

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 10 9:26 pm Post subject:
after my very successful ham and bacon trials both myself and my head pig taster (otherwise know as Dave were hoping to try a salami/ chorizo next. if HFW is not too good for salami does anyone have a good recipe??

ros

Joined: 19 Jul 2005
Posts: 2469
Location: Beds

Posted: Thu Mar 04, 10 7:58 am Post subject:

Brownbear wrote:

, but the only way to be absolutely certain is to buy salamis from a supplier who's done all his HACCPs and is using a temperature controlled process, sending off samples for testing etc.

and where would we find one of them then ?

quixoticgeek

Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 296
Location: Canterbury

Posted: Mon Mar 08, 10 12:46 pm Post subject:

I made a batch of salami based on the river cottage recipes. I found they worked quite well.

I didn't use anything fancy in the cure, just salt. I found it invaluable to have a set of high precision scales, it doesn't need to be that exact, but something better than your typical kitchen scales. For my mix I needed 22gm of salt, which is not easy to measure exactly. I got myself a set of these which have been invaluable when preserving.

As for where to hang them. I built myself a meat locker out of a wooden Ikea storage box (now discontinued SNACK range), which I added a door, and many holes in the side (covered with louvred vents). I stuck a roof on it form a sheet of aluminium. This is then hung on a wall in the garden in an area that gets alot of wind but next to no sunlight. I just hang my stuff in there to dry, works a treat. Just remember to make sure that the temp is in the 4�C - 15�C range, not warmer, and not colder. Down in Kent this means that the curing "season" is Oct-December, and march-April.

I think that covers most of it. One last thing to note, it does get abit addictive this charcurterie lark, after your first success you then start hunting around for your next item to cure. I can recommend the Bresoala

Good luck.

J

	Downsizer Forum Index -> Recipes, Preserving, Homebrewing	All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

View Latest Posts