Binding Salamis

[Salami Student]

Many of my salamis come out being
crumbly and it appears my meat does not always
bind. After troubleshooting I believe some
of my issues are: not mixing enough and
perhaps smearing of fat.
I am wondering at which point does the meat
come together and does the farce mixture turn
into a solid piece? Is it early in the drying process
or not until the salami is conpletely dry? Any help on this topic
would be helpful.
Thanks!

[larry]

It should be solid early. When the meat goes into the casing it should be solid but wet. If it's loose and crumbly going in to your curing environment, it won't tighten up over time. All that really happens over time is the moisture comes out. You're probably right about not enough mixing. When you mix, the texture should go from ground meat to a paste where you can still see the difference between fat and meat, but the texture is unified and you can no longer see or feel the little rope shapes of the ground meat and fat. What is happening is that the mixing process releases miosyn or myosin, not sure of the spelling, which makes the mixture sticky and binds it together.

If you've mixed enough, the next challenge is casing the mixture tightly. I tend to want it as tight as possible, so I prick the casing and squeeze, and prick some more and squeeze some more, until I don't see any surface air pockets, and I feel confident that I have removed all the inner air pockets.


If your fat is smearing, make sure it is cold when you grind it. I grind mine fully frozen. Also, make sure your blade is sharp, and is tight against the cutting plate.

I'm sure others will chime in, but you're on the right track.

[Salami Student]

Thanks Larry. Great insights!
I am just wondering if mixing it too much could also cause the fat to smear and force the fat to coat the meat not allowing it to bind?
Also when you say "ropes" are you referring to the whitish strands I might see sometimes in the meat when I pull it apart?
Also if you were to cut the salami open before its dry, say 2 weeks after hanging, would the meat be bound together or would you be able to separate it still?

[larry]

Overmixing might cause the temperature to rise too much, which could cause smearing or melting, but I've found that I'm usually more in danger of under mixing than over mixing. Even if it looks like the mix is going from red and white to turning sort of pink, it is probably not over mixed. I'm always surprised at how the definition between fat and meat is still there when the product is ready, even though it almost disappeared during the mixing.

If you cut a sausage open two weeks in, you would probably find that the center is still soft, and you would probably be able to separate it.

When I said ropes, I meant the shape the meat has when it comes out of the holes in the grinder plate.

It's really hard to describe how the mix should look when it's mixed enough, but it should be sticky, and maybe a little slimy. There's a point when it changes, which is similar to what happens when I make meatballs.

[Salami Student]

Thanks Larry!!
That helps a lot...

[Salami Student]

Have a saucisson sec on the go using a recipe from the book Charcuterie by Ruhlman and Polcyn..
Its been hanging for a little over 3 weeks and it has been stuffed in hog casing. The inside has still not binded and it appears to still have somewhat of a raw texture. Is this correct?
I would like to add pic but I can't seem to figure out how to attach?

[larry]

I have found that Ruhlman's drying times are on the short side for me, and probably for others. He probably has ideal conditions. I've let things dry twice as long or longer from that book, so be patient. If the one you cut open was very firm and dry on the edges and still raw looking in the center, it may be case hardening, which is not good, but there's no harm in letting them go another couple of weeks and see what happens. I can't help you on the picture posting question, but I think you can't upload directly from your computer. You need to upload them to an online album first, then transfer them. Hopefully some of the picture posters will post instructions or refer you to previous posts.

[Wunderdave]

I have found that Ruhlman's drying times are on the short side for me, and probably for others.

I agree.

[Salami Student]

Thanks again for the replies...I learnt how to paste photos...
here it is..
[url][/url]

[wheels]

If you look to the right of the photo in your link there's a heading "Embed this image". Just copy the text in the section marked 'Forum' and paste it here:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

In this case the text is:

Code: Select all

[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/151/saucisson.jpg/][img]http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8444/saucisson.jpg[/img][/URL]

Uploaded with [URL=http://imageshack.us]ImageShack.us[/URL]


You could also just use:

Code: Select all

[img]http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8444/saucisson.jpg[/img]

HTH

Phil

[Salami Student]

Thats great!

I see how it works now!

thanks Phil

[Salami Student]

The salamis have not come together and are crumbly again! As you can see in this first photo...



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Also in the second photo I have cut the salami and shown a cross section and how it didnt bind...



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Any help would be appreciated to help with my frustration and waste of product.

thanks

[Wunderdave]

Are you stuffing them very firmly? You need to stuff them much much firmer than you would stuff a fresh sausage to be cooked.

[Salami Student]

I thought so, but perhaps not.

[Dogfish]

How much salt are you using?