First Salami

[Dquin]

I've done my first salami which is from the "Salumi" book.
I have a chamber with temp and humidity controllers so they have been nearly on point... the temperature ranges from 46-58 F and the humidity is around 60% sometimes it drops lower and i just open the door.

I do not have a fan for air flow yet. (no one apparently sells them in the winter)

SO: i have salami hanging that i put in a beef middle and they are very squishy in the middle after almost 20 days.

How do i know if it is a lost cause ? if the case hardened and it will not dry out anymore?

[NCPaul]

What's your weight loss history so far? Twenty days is not very long in the world of salami. Welcome to the forum.

[Dquin]

Since the Salami was the first thing on..it didnt get weighed...Everything else is weighed and has a starting weight and an ending weight.. My coppa are coming along nicely..the Cured pork bellies are curing up very beautifully.

I was going by feel on the salami..i know i should have weighed them..but for some reason it slipped my mind the first few days..

[NCPaul]

Maybe we can estimate your starting weight from the recipe. Did you weigh the meat that you used to calculate the curing salt and culture? A beef middle has a diameter of 55-60 mm so I would think you will need more time.

[Dquin]

Sorry for the late response.
I actually made a 5 lb batch . I lost some because the casing broke while I was fermenting over night.

However it looks like I'm at a 3 gram loss per day. It's been on for a good 3 weeks and still feels very squishy in the center

I have two guinea hog bellies curing just fine and are both about to come off in the next week.
Also two coppas are perfectly dried with no casing
This is my first salami with a beef middle.

[Dquin]

how do you post a pic[/img]

[captain wassname]

Just testing.Its been a while.
Load your pics onto photo bucket (Its free)
Select the picture required just to right of the pic are 3 oblong boxes
Image links
Media info
Image tags.

click on image links and the box expands to show 4 options select the bottom one (IMG code) click once this will copy to your clipboard

Just paste into your forum message


yes all correct. They keep refining it its now easier than ever.

Jim

[captain wassname]

Oops sorry wellcome sorry I cant help with the salami.(not my game)

Jim

[Wunderdave]

patience!

as has been mentioned 20 days is nothing. I just cured some salami in 32-35mm hog casings and it took 2.5 months or 75 days to lose 40% weight. If you can prevent case hardening yours will be done eventually. So long as they keep losing weight I wouldn't say they're a lost cause.

[Dquin]

They only lost 4 grams this week!
how imperitive is the fermenting process? COULD they go straight in the chamber after being stuffed? I just cured 2 coppa they lost 35% with no problem is about 4 weeks...1 whole guinea hog belly is pretty much done..beautifully..but this salami is squishy in the middle..i just cut one open and it is still soft as hell in the middle.. should i just let them keep going?

[Dquin]

it did not have dextrose or sugar! in the recipe....that was my deal breaker right there...

[JerBear]

I haven't been able to get all the necessary equipment together for dry curing but here's my thoughts. Without dextrose the bacteria don't have anything to feed on. No feeding = no acid production = no pH drop = unsafe meat. Did you happen to get some pH test strips? They're not too expensive.

Regarding the fan, because most chambers are on the smaller side you don't really need a large fan to get the job done. I was planning on purchasing a small computer fan that matches the volts of the humidifier and splice the fan into the humidifier wires so when the humidifier kicks on so will the fan. Just a thought.

[BriCan]

it did not have dextrose or sugar! in the recipe....that was my deal breaker right there...

I do not have this book, is there any chance of you posting the recipe as this might help