Traditional Sopressata Making

Air dried cured Meat Techniques

Traditional Sopressata Making

Postby ericrice » Thu Sep 20, 2012 3:04 pm

So my quest for making great Sopressata continues [to fail]. :?
With more information becoming available on the web around home made techniques and in speaking with several old timers in my area I continue to hear/see a big difference in temperature used to cure. Almost without exception it is cured at about 40F (4-5C). Some use nitrates but most don't use a starter culture or mold and no humidifier. Several also hang the product in a garage or enclosed back porch where it would seem humidity would be much lower than desired based on current thoughts. In addition to that most open a window or have fans running to assist with drying. So as one who struggles with case hardening in a very controlled environment I'm puzzled why this isn't an issue for them. I understand the relative humidity and what role temps play but can that really make that much of a difference? I looked up the average relative humidity for my area in winter and the range is 70 mornings, 56 afternoons.

I think when it cools down more here I'll try hanging some in my garage.

Anyone have an experience this way? Thoughts?
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Postby wheels » Thu Sep 20, 2012 11:47 pm

Have you eaten any of their offerings? Are they any good?

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Postby DiggingDogFarm » Fri Sep 21, 2012 4:37 am

"Soupie" as it's called in the coal region of eastern PA is very good, Philly isn't far away, I assume it's much the same there.

What are your procedures and what problems are you having?

I do know that it seems that you can get away with a lot more as far as disregarding exact humidity, etc., when you're drying in a large open area as opposed to a small curing chamber. It seems that fussing sometimes causes far more problems than what seems like neglect.


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Postby ericrice » Fri Sep 21, 2012 12:01 pm

Phil - yes, the end result is wonderful and what I'm shooting to duplicate. I pay $12-$15 per pound to purchase it here. Frankly that's what got me started on this journey :) I've had great success with chorizo, coppa, pepperoni - seems this one, the one I want most, continues to be elusive.
Martin - issues have varied, sometimes case hardening, sometimes the end result just seems "flat" taste wise. In addition I have yet to get the beautiful red/crimson color from them. Don't mistake that for not cured, they do get reddish but it isn't right.
Although I use a somewhat smaller area for the fermentation the meat cures in a large area in my basement. Temps down there are in the 55-60 range. With a humidifier running I have kept humidity in the 70-75 range (no fan running) but still have limited success. So I really got to wondering if the lower temps are a big help with reducing case hardening (lower temps = less moisture to achieve high humidity). As I stated initially a lot of these guys use no humidifier and use an oscillating fan - I think if I did that at my higher temps I would bin every batch. I'm not going to attempt eliminating cure or starter culture but do plan to finish a batch after fermentation in much colder temps and see if there is a difference.
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Postby wheels » Fri Sep 21, 2012 6:29 pm

I'm sure that it'll all drop into place sooner or later. It's obviously not technique, otherwise you wouldn't be successful with the others.

You could try a little sodium ascorbate or ascorbic acid (vit C) to improve colour. You'd have to check, but IIRC the USDA limits are around 500ppm.

How about plying one of the old timers with beer and persuading him to let you 'shadow' him making them? You'd then just need to adapt it to your equipment etc.

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Postby ericrice » Fri Sep 21, 2012 6:54 pm

Been debating doing that. I think I have enough to understand what they are doing. Just running through still using nitrates and then the biggest question, lactic starter or not (balance the known science with the art in this case). Probably do a batch with a starter and the fermentation stage and one without but both hung in the much colder temps. Beginning to think the "natural" process yields the results I grew up tasting and the cultures may be some/all of the reason I haven't come close on the taste. At those temps the controlled bacteria (at least the ones bought) are well outside their "comfort zone". Wonder if the low temps allow a natural one to "shine" resulting in the flavor.

As frustratng as it can be I love this element in my life, like many great foods there is always more to learn - you can have consistently "good" results but are always in search of perfection. Even when that happens you know there is no guarantee you'll be able to duplicate it. Hmmm - sounds a lot like [american] BBQ huh Phil!!
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Postby wheels » Fri Sep 21, 2012 7:41 pm

ericrice wrote: Hmmm - sounds a lot like [american] BBQ huh Phil!!


:lol: :lol: :lol: Now that I am a novice at!

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Postby larry » Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:35 pm

The "old timer" issue can be confounding. Even if they tell you exactly what they do, you have to watch them. They may not think that some little detail is worth mentioning. There are a lot of variables like source of meat, source and type of salt, length of time the meat sits before processing, and the temperature at which it sits, temperatures of everything during production, etc. I used to get bootleg sopressatas from NYC that were made in basements. They were not bright red, but a deeper wine color, which led me to believe that no starter was used. Over the years, I only got one bad one that had a soft, hollow middle.

I've had success making them in a typical mini wine cooler type environment, but they don't have the character of those NYC ones.

I think some of the old timers are just blessed with an ideal combination of conditions that fit their individual production technique.
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Postby Scotty2 » Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:05 pm

You're overthinking it, it doesn't differ from any other salame really, aside from some ingredients and the optional pressing


http://sausagedebauchery.blogspot.com/2 ... abria.html

results:
http://sausagedebauchery.blogspot.com/2 ... sults.html
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Postby yerac » Thu Jan 10, 2013 5:41 pm

i live in buffalo area. taught by my uncle to make sopressatta. i have experienced same problem. all makers around here want it cold. 40 degrees. noone concerned with humidity. one that makes 600 lbs opens full size fridge in basement room to keep cool during 8 week drying. i weigh a couple of sopressattas before drying, when 40% loss in weight i take them down. i have had case hardening. it can lead to no flavor if hung too long. last year, too soft in middle, hard outside, drying slowed to a stop.
i took down and vacuum sealed each one, pressing them as i did. two months later osmosis??? evened the sausage out. same consistency throughout like salami. we like it drier. the fix worked but it is better when it dries correctly.
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Regarding color and curing temp

Postby netop » Fri Jan 11, 2013 5:10 pm

I haven't made any soupy for a few years and I'm planning on giving it a go this month. Previous to my hiatus, I did it for about five years. So, I'm no expert, but I can offer a couple thoughts regarding your question.
First, we never used anything but salt, hot pepper, black pepper, sweet paprika and (occasionally) a bit of wine. Also, we did not press the sausage. The lack of pressing may disqualify it from being true sopressatta, but whatever, it was always better than even the expensive gourmet store bought items. The casings were cleaned in lemon juice as opposed to vinegar. Meat was pre-ground from a local butcher who provides a blend and grind specifically for soupy production, so I cannot say what the exact fat percentage was. Sausage making took place at normal room temp (starting with cold meat).

Soupy day was usually superbowl sunday for the right weather here in southern New England. That said, we were never terribly precise about conditions. We hung them in the unheated back stairs of multifamily three story houses. We hung them in attached and unheated garages. We hung them in basements. The wisdom we were handed from people who had been doing this for decades was this:

"Try to keep them below 50 degrees or so, but don't let them freeze. If it drops below freezing for a little bit at night, you should be okay. And if it gets a little warm, no big deal, as long as it's only for a little while. If they are a bit warm, be good about checking them for mold every day. If you get a little surface mold, just wipe them down with olive oil. It'll smother the mold, but might slow the drying a bit. It's really the first couple of weeks you have to worry about them"

So, within these very inexact parameters, we met with repeated success. Some years were warmer, some years were cooler. Some years I would crack the window in the unheated stairwell if it was sunny. Some years, I think one of the guys put a space heater in his garage for cold nights. I only ever had a couple with hollows, but even then the sausage was dry and good to eat. Edible in 8 to 10 weeks. By Christmas, the last of the batch from January would be getting eaten. They were quite hard by this time and would be cut paper thin (had to ration the last of it).

A couple of times, the sausage seemed to get drier and harder more quickly. Seven month old sausage was as dry as eleven month old sausage. In this case, some of the folks who liked a softer soupy would pack them in olive oil and leave them in the fridge. Wouldn't soften up the sausage, but would stop it from getting any harder.

Sometimes, as the sausages got drier, the casing would become a real pain to remove. Run it under warm water for a couple of minutes and let sit for a couple more minutes before slicing.

Regarding color: We always got a nice deep red that would get darker as the year went by. One factor might be your paprika. Some paprika maintains its nice red color in cooking. Some paprika turns brown when cooked. I know these aren't cooked, but there might be something there. If I recall, the Californian paprika has the tendency to brown. Try to stick to Hungarian. Check Penzey's spices website if you have trouble finding a local cheap source. They also have a great price on Spanish Smoked Paprika, which I might try on part of the batch.
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Postby crustyo44 » Fri Jan 11, 2013 7:15 pm

Netop,
Thank you for sharing your experience with soppressata. I am getting ready this winter to make quite a few.
Hopefully I will have my curing chamber ready and be able to control temperature and humidity.
Thank you again,
Jan.
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Postby ericrice » Fri Jan 11, 2013 7:42 pm

Glad this string was brought back to life. My first batch this year was a success!! No case hardening, nice color and taste close to what I am looking for. To be honest those were relatively smaller diameter (35mm)and I kept the humidity high for much longer before moving them to the cellar to finish. Batch two is in the works with 60mm collagen casings and I have my fingers crossed.

Still funny how the lower temps seem to all but eliminate case hardening. I get the "relative" part but around here even in colder temps you wouldn't expect humidity in the 65-70%+ range on its own, even in most basements. Just makes me believe there is something more to it - maybe at temps close to freezing it slows the whole process down?

Netop - Although some folks from upstate Penna have commented on pressing and storing in oil around here they are also not pressed, not stored in oil and not referred to as soupy.
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Postby larry » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:47 pm

I don't remember where I read it, but between this site and the USDA info available on the web, and the other sites, I learned that at colder temperatures, humidity becomes less critical, and you can get away with drier conditions. My guess is that the low temperature slows down all the processes that are happening, so the casings don't harden due to the gradual nature of the drying out.

Most of the old timers are following family traditions, which, if you go back far enough, probably involved some failures and some experimentation before the processes were perfected. I like to be able to cure year round, so I have to go with a closed chamber. Otherwise, I could just pick my season and take the summer off.
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Postby crustyo44 » Wed Jan 16, 2013 7:34 pm

Larry,
I am like you, I would like to cure and dry salami etc all year round.
Impossible in the subtropics where I live but I have decided to make a reasonable size coolroom/curing chamber in which I can also ferment my beer etc.
Cheers,
Jan.
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