mclynch wrote:Hey... sausage newbie here. I've made a bunch of Italian sausage and brats. Everyone loves them and they go way too fast!
I've just made 10 lbs each of pepperoni and salami (both with about a 70/30 pork to beef ratio. I used the Prague #2 powder according to the instructions. The recipes I followed said nothing about cultures. But now I'm reading more and finding that most people use cultures
Some use starter cultures and some do not, ~~ I am in the camp of people that do not .. on a side note I do this for a living and my customers like the clean taste that is associated when one does not use them
It is a matter of choice for people
My question is this, I've already got 20 lbs of sausage dry-curing in my basement (46F)... a) will it be OK?
The answer is yes most defiantly, the only thing to be concerned about is your humidity as this needs to be between 70% and 80% otherwise one can get casehardening .. that is to say the outside of the Salame dries out far quicker than the inside thus trapping the moisture within the salame
and b) what is the advantage of using the bacterial cultures?
Consistency, ... tasting the same every time you make that particular item .. usually has a slight to a moderate tang/acid taste to it which is what most commercial salames are about
and c) Which is the best one for salami/pepperoni?
Having tried a few of them and not liking what they bring to the table as I have said not things that I use so will leave this for others to chime in