Weoochaun wrote:Hi Robert, appreciate getting a response from a professional.
Just to let you know ... the only professional part of me is my background as a Master Butcher --- the curing side (other than bacon) is something I have only started doing -- within the last twenty odd years
I am mostly self taught but did have a mentor who came from Germany so know the fundamentals/basics of the old world curing before they started using the "quick" start stuff
I expect this is a tried and trusted method that you've been using for years;
I would be lying if I told you yes; not so -- just plain old common sense
what advantages do you see to vacuum packing for a night rather than straight to stuffing?
I did a Duck and Orange Salame just over a year ago, -- I had problems where I acquired/got some holes/voids in the finished Salame --- everything went right on the drying side so all I can put it down to was that the paste did not bind properly for whatever reason (people said I had not mixed enough)
What I was attempting to do was use a courser grind than I normally do -- start with a course grind, split in half and grind with a medium plate, split in half and grind with a fine plate
In theory is should have worked but did not so back to the drawing board -- do the sane process on my new Salame and with one exception -- vacuum the paste overnight
I was/and have eliminated a step out of the equation and that is letting the mix rest overnight for the spices and booze to meld/blend into the forcemeat
I am still doing this step but under vacuum which excludes all the air that can be taken out when it is vacuumed so in essence I have combined two steps into one --- the overnight blending/melding of the spices and the vacuuming to exclude air
I could do it like the big fellows --- mix and blend spices and leave in walk-in cooler overnight and then use a vacuum stuffer --- Only problem with that is that the vacuum stuffer starts at $45,000 and being lowly skint sausage maker the most I could afford would be $6000 on a good day -- more like $2000 and these are just your ordinary run of the mill stuffers
So; -- let the forcemeat/paste sit in the fridge/walk-in cooler overnight for better flavour profile and use vacuum to eliminate close to 100% any chance of air pockets
Also would be interested to know what your thoughts are about vacuum packing machines. Been thinking of getting one but not sure on what size to go for.
For me a vacuum machine is a lifesaver -- the amount of EQ curing that I have going at anyone time is ridicules and if you go away for a months holiday everything is safe and sound --- as for size -- hard to answer -- go for as big as you can afford and also space is another factor