Salami salt content

[wallie]

I have just made some Salami using a commercial salami seasoning and it turned out a bit too salty for me.
I would like to make my own up next time and would like to know how much salt to use, the curing salt I am using specifies 28g to to 1kilo meat, I will be using Bessastart Culture(0.6g per kilo).
Also any good salami recipes would be welcome.

Thanks
wallie

[saucisson]

Vernon's recipe here would be a good start:

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... ght=salami

Dave

[Flumes]

I used 3% plus 1 tsp of No.2 curing salt per 2.25 kg of pork. It was too salty for my taste.

I'm going to try 2.5% salt (plus same curing salt ratio) next fall and see how that is.

[Oddley]

The salt over 2% does have an effect on the bacteria. In the USA, the FDA, recommend 2.5% salt. I think that 2.2% is okay, as long as it is a percentage of the whole product, and not just a percentage of the meat.

I personally add the salt content of any cure I use as part of the whole salt content.

Spuddy is an accomplished salami maker, so it might be worth having a look at his recipes.

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... =4464#4464

[Seminole]

Wallie,

When making fermented sausages use between 2.5-3% salt as this combined with nitrite, is your first line of defense against undesirable bacteria. Almost all regular sausage recipes (fresh, smoked, cooked etc) contain 1.5-2 % of salt and the main purpose of adding salt is to obtain good flavor.

These amounts are not high enough to provide safety against bacteria and there is no room for a compromise. When adding salt to fermented sauages try to think of salt as a barrier against undesirable bacteria. Use 3.0% salt when making traditionally-fermented dry sausages. For all other types (semi-dry) use 2.5% salt.

For people on a low sodium diet the only way to reduce these amounts, is to investigate the possibility for partial substitution of common sodium chloride (NaCl) salt with potassium chloride (KCL) salt, which is bitter and more of it is required. Elevated potassium levels can affect the heart, and this is why I don't want to provide any proportions. Nevertheless, commercially made low sodium products utilize both types of salt.

There is a way to off set some of this saltiness by careful administration of sugars. Not dextrose or common sugar as these will be easily fermented by lactic acid bacteria and the resulting acidity will make sausage a bit tangy.

Weird sugars such as as maltodextrin, galactose or raffinose. The best bet will be to add non fat dry milk powder which contains about 50 % of glucose (dextrose) and 50% lactose. Bacteria metabolize lactose rather poorly and some of its sweetness should remain.

Another reason dry sausage tastes salty is that the moisture continuously evaporates from the sausage (0.5-0.7% daily) but salt remains inside. This basically makes sausage even saltier.

Using starter cultures and good manufacturing practices you could probably use less salt assuming that everything goes by the book. Otherwise you may get sick. After all dry sausage is a raw meat. It becomes microbiologically safe in time. I don't believe that at home conditions everything will be perfect.... Have a look at safety hurdles at: http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/fermented- ... urdles.htm

There is a nice collection of salami recipes at:
http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/sausage-recipes.htm

I hope it helps.