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I'm just finishing up my latest batch of air dried Salami's and ChorizoI made, and need another project. My Venison and Red wine Salamis in the ox bungs will need another month or two before they are mature so I'm looking for something to put into runners.

The tastes of the sausages I have made so far have been goos except for them being slightly too salty for my liking. I'm usung regular table salt in the recipes at 2.2%of meat+fat weight.

Is it possible that some brands of salt are saltier than others?

thanks,
FB

Hi Fallow Buck,

I have no experience as yet of Salami making but would volunteer the following thought, whilst 2.2% is a fairly average amount for a fresh sausage, what must not be forgotten, is that on dehydration of the Salami to 50% of it's original weight, the salt concentration would have doubled. Did you take this 2.2% from a recipe somewhere?


Regards,

2% is a standard minimum to preserve meat when dried. I wouldn't use less than this, and some is lost as the sausage "weeps" a little during the first week to ten days.

Haven't Air Dried yet but from what I've read: Air Dried meats are prone to quality issues if you use salt that contains iodine, flouride or anti-caking agents such as silica.

Sugar or dextrose can be used to a larger proportion to balance the saltiness of the product. How does Corn Syrup Solids play with balancing saltiness vs. bacteria (good bacteria) creation?

David

Hi All,

I have just started he last in the batch of my italian salamis. This has become very salty as the peice has dried the most and the salt concentration is highest out of all in the batch.

When I cut it the cut face weeped a little with a clean oily substance, and like I asay the taste was overly salty.

Would any of the experienced salami makers post the brands of salt they use that have no anti caking agents etc in them. I was just using table salt from "Spar" bought in 1kg plastic bags. I don't think I'll use it again.

Any hints would be great as I want to put a bit more thought into the next batch.

The chorizo I made at the same time was great though.

rgds,
FB

I'm not an experienced salami maker yet, but I do cook professionally. I'm going to make an educated guess about the saltiness problems your guys are having and say that the issue is your use of table salt. When cooking at work or home, I always use koser salt or a slightly coarse grain sea salt. The finer a salt is ground, the saltier it will taste (table salt being extremely fine is very salty). This same principle applies to how finely you ground pepper or any other spice for that matter. Smaller particles are able to disperse themselves farther and create a more intense flavor. Furthermore, and I believe this is mentioned in one of the replies above, table salt has additives including, but not limited to iodine and anti caking agents. While nothing is wrong with these things, cooks tend to steer clear of them, and I would extend that practice to salami making. Try using kosher salt or sea salt. These are pure products, and in my opinion, easier to monitor your flavoring with. Use this type of salt to season other foods so you can get a feel for how it taste, then you can use it in making salami. Hope this helps. Good luck

Dave

You are dead right there ......

I spend hours watching the TV chef's on UKTVfood and was amazed at first at the amount of salt they chuck in their cooking but of course they use a very coarse sea salt and it is not any where near as salty as it seems.

If it was ground really fine like table salt then it would be too much salt';

I generally use bog standard table salt in my fresh sausages but always err on the side of caution and add a little at a time until it suits my taste. I fry small thin patties about the size of a 50p while I go. The same applies to adjustment of spices etc. I like table salt because it is fine and disperses evenly through the mix. For salami and other cured sausage I use italian rock salt that I bought from Franco. I weigh out as per the recipe but then pound it in a mortar so that again I get even distribution through the mix. I have not had any salt problems with either method. I would say that when making immersion brines for curing that table salt has given quite salty results, but it's then a case of boiling the ham and replacing the water again..

Regards, Paul Kribs