Hello all, this is my first time making dry cured sausage. I'm making a version of salami, from the Ruhlman recipe in "Charcuterie". I followed the recipe exactly, but I scaled it from a 5 lb pork recipe to a 3.7 lb (roughly 75%) because that's how much pork shoulder I had on hand. Oh, and I could not get back fat. Aside from that its exactly the same. I am using natural hog casings, the ones that are about 1" wide. I did not have distilled water and I boiled my water for more than 5 minutes. Chloramine is not used in my area so getting rid of chlorine is easier.
I was wondering if you guys could tell me if my process is good or if I should be doing something different? I've been making fresh sausage for years, so I think I'm okay on the basics of how to stuff sausage. The only difference (aside from ingredients) I encountered was pricking the casings.
I am using Bactoferm Mold 600 as well. After stuffing the casings (and pricking all over), I used a brush and applied a good coat of reconstituted Mold 600 (at a rate of 3g to one cup water). Then I placed it in a temperature controlled hot box set at 30c/85f. I let it sit for about 16 hours. The recipe says 12.
After that (this morning) I applied another coat of the Mold 600 (it was in the fridge from the day before) and I have it hanging in my curing chamber. It's a full size fridge with small fans for airflow, a humidity controller, and a temp controller. Right now I have it set at 16c (61f) and 75% humidity. Does this sound okay?
Some pics of my setup:
Thanks for all the help! I have no idea how this is going to go!