Hey everyone, recent lurker, first post. Over the last month, I've been dry aging my first attempt at homemade salami, and while I think it turned out ok, I have some questions to clear my mind. I made two versions, finocchiona (white wine, fennel and dill) and some classic red wine/black pepper. As far as I can tell, no case hardening occurred, but the finocchiona has several pockets inside the casing that I'm a bit worried about.
There's no foul, or concerning odor, and I tasted some; couldn't taste anything rancid, or off. I spent years in restaurants, and think I would be able to tell, but this is all new waters for me.
What concerns me more, however, is when sliced, and pressed, a thick, oily liquid comes out. Is this normal? I couldn't find any frame of reference online for it, nor anything to explain it. Pictures included don't show the liquid very well at all, I'm afraid, but might show some case hardening that I can't see?
http://imgur.com/z4M13tf
http://imgur.com/U101nlT
http://imgur.com/9lQPVY2
Hope I provided enough information, and thanks.