Herb-Coated Salami

[onewheeler]

When making salamis or saucisson sec coated with herbs (or crushed pepper), how do you make the herbs stick? Are they coated at the beginning of cure or later?

I've just had a rather nice supermarket saucisson with a heavy coating of mixed herbs.

Martin/

[the chorizo kid]

3 days and no answer from the experts.... i also would like to know how it is done. i suppose a thinly lard coated salami, which is then rolled in herbs at the start of the ageing process, might work. but i have never heard of this or tried it. were it not for salmonella, might not a thin coating of eggwhite do the trick?
by the way, how are the women in nymp[h]sfield?

[wheels]

I've always assumed that the herb coating was just added for presentation?

Phil

[onewheeler]

I've just eaten some, herbs and all. The saucisson just finished had a really thick crust of mixed herbs (rosemary and thyme predominating, but the ingredients read like a herb farm). It has such a good, uniform and clean coating I wondered if it was added during or at the end of the drying process using a glue. The herb coating part of the ingredients list includes "pork gelling agent" and herbs.

[A few minutes later]: I have just dissected a couple of slices (and eaten the experiment). The casing under the herbs looks very clean with no sign of mould. Maybe the bactericidal properties of the herbs? The more common pepper coatings usually show some mould.

Martin/

[wheels]

An edible casing? How thick are they martin?

Phil

[onewheeler]

By calibrated eyeball, about 35 mm. The casing looked like collagen. Waitrose saucisson sec with herbs. I bought this one "reduced to clear" ages ago, then found it still in its sealed wrapper a couple of months past the best before date in the back of the 'fridge! Nice anyway.

Cheers!

[wheels]

It's a mystery to me, if they're 35mm now they would have started larger so I would have thought that they would have been in 'inedible' collagen or similar, even maybe an oversize hogs? However, if they're supermarket 'straight as a die' that won't be the case.

Maybe someone else can enlighten us, but my money's still on the herbs being added after for decoration.

Phil