Weekend Projects.......Bresaola & Hungarian Salami

[wheels]

What I've learned;

(A) There is definitely a dark ring around the edges..although I'm not sure if this is case hardening or from the 3 day smoke?

(B) I need to be more patient when hand dicing the fat

(C) I am surprised at the finished diameter: I started off with 38-40mm beef rounds. They have dried and shrunk to the same size as the Tuscan salami I recently did in Hog casings?

(D) 50% loss was reached in 14 days The recipe looked to age these for up to 3 months. The reason for the rapid aging is my smoker.....it produces excellent cold smoke, however, the ambient RH is generally around RH30% is these parts...plus I am using a 4" inline duct fan to transfer the smoke from primary to secondary chamber. I believe I am moving to much air, which is contributing to the rapid weight loss.

All in it has been a good experience. I will redesign my cold smoker to deal with RH & Air exchange issues and try again.

On the flip side, these Hungarian salami taste great ( and I'm still around to write about it ) . I've vac -packed the rest of the salami and will leave them in the fridge for another month to age and test again.

a) Maybe a slight bit of hardening, but nothing I'd be too worried about.

b) Apparently it's a virtue!

c) 38-40mm isn't much larger than a hogs casing when you think about it, so I'm not surprised at their size.

d) 50% in 14 days is a bit quick (to say the least). I'd try and do something to slow it all down a bit.

All-in-all I think you can be proud of a job well done.

Phil

[Dingo]

Thanks for the comments Phil. I will be building a venturi style cold smoke generator soon. I think that will take care of the air flow issues. I guess i'll cobble together some sort of attachment for a humidifier and stuff it into the smoker to address the RH?

Something like that.....

[wheels]

Mmm... It's a trick one isn't it. Because when you smoke things like cold smoked salmon, you're relying on the weight loss for safety. What makes the one thing safe, causes problems with another... Doh!

I can't tell you how to tackle it as I don't smoke salami (or haven't yet, I should say). Good luck.

Maybe another member can help?

Phil

[Dingo]

Howdy all,
I decided to weigh my bresaola yesterday..even though it has only been in two weeks. The both weighed in at approx 30% weight loss in 2 weeks

They look good and feel firm, not hard.....


I'm not sure what to do from here.....I'm thinking leave them and re-weigh in a week...looking for 35% loss and then cut into one and see?

Also it appears I did not tie them tight enough?

[Dingo]

Hhmmm.....it seems I really am blonde I just read back through Quietwatersfarm's recipe and it says they should be ready in 3 weeks. I know...i'm a dumbass.

[wheels]

The string will slacken as it dries, it's inevitable.

There's only one way to find out whether it's worked!

Phil

[Dingo]

Thanks Phil, I'll wait a week and weigh them then. I'd say they will be ready. Can wait. Although I seem to have developed a glut of salami..what with about 4lbs of Tuscan left, and another 6lbs of Hungarian. Maybe I should make a Jesus de Lyon to give me some time to eat the others...

[wheels]

Keep up the good work Dingo - you can't have too much!

Phil

[larry]

Dingo: The sausages look great. Am I right in assuming that they did not develop much mold? As I understand it, the smoking will inhibit mold growth, even if you apply a mold culture.

[Dingo]

Dingo: The sausages look great. Am I right in assuming that they did not develop much mold? As I understand it, the smoking will inhibit mold growth, even if you apply a mold culture.

Hi Larry,
Yep you'd assume correctly. I dipped the salami and the bresaola in a Mold600 solution after I had finished smoking the salami (just casing, no smoking on the bresaola). There has been no mold development on the salami and only a little on the bresaola. Strangely, i had really good mold development after incubation of the salami's with no assistance from me. I wiped the mold off with a vinegar solution prior to smoking.

[Dingo]

Wel, i left the bresaola hanging for another week and have a 37% weight loss. Time for a sample;



My first impression is that it is a little salty for my taste. Not inedible salty, but it does overpower the other flavours. Tasted better with fresh bread or a cracker to help with disguise the salt. I diced some and put it on a pizza with smoked mozzarella..... it was very good.

[wheels]

That's one heck of a marbled piece of beef, Mmm....

Phil

[Dingo]

So I cut into my second bresaola.......



I am curious to understand what I'm looking at here;

Is it cured correctly, just the marinade didn't penetrate fully?
Is it not cured correctly?
Did the the beef bung prevent even drying? (i didn't prick the bung)

Most importantly....is it edible? I've certainly eaten biltong that looks like this.