ISO: Help With Herbs in Salami

[deb]

Later this week I'm planning to make a start on some dried sausages using Spuddy's basic recipe.

1kg Pork shoulder and collar (this should naturally have the right ratio of fat to lean.
Cure:
22g salt
2g sugar
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 Crushed clove garlic
0.5g Saltpetre

As hubby can't eat garlic I'm obviously leaving it out, but this leaves me with the slight problem that the sausages may lack a bit of taste.
I'm going to make up a 1kg batch of meat/fat mix and split it into 2x500g lots. I'll make the full recipe of the cure and also split this in half adding different flavours to both halves. So obviously I'll end up with two different flavour sausages for my 1kg meat mix.

I intend to make a Chorizo style using this

500g meat mix
� cure mix
20ml sherry
8g smoked paprika

and a Salami style using this

500g meat mix
� cure mix
20ml red wine
Italian herb mix??
As you can see I'm thinking about using a Dried Italian Herb Mix I have to give a bit more flavour. I could do with your input on this. Is it a good idea (bear in mind there is no garlic anywhere in the sausage)? If I use it any idea how much (in teaspoons or fractions thereof, rather than by weight, if possible)?

Are there any other ideas for flavourings? I'm really trying out the technique more than anything but would like to end up with some nice Chorizo and Salami.

Thanks.

[Franco]

Deb,

I wouldn't be too concerned with a lack of herbs in your salami, many Italian salamis only have black pepper as a seasoning and taste good. I would personally add a few fennel seeds in and a cup of red wine.


Franco

[aris]

You can use asafoetida (Frando sells it on the site, or you can buy it from asian grocers) in place of garlic.

[Paul Kribs]

deb

I looked at Len Poli's recipe for Milano Salami

http://home.pacbell.net/lpoli/index_files/Salami%20Milano.pdf

He lists the spices and herbs. I take it that you are going to be using a pre-mixed Italian Seasoning 'off the shelf'. The Italian seasoning I use was purchased from Makro and is made up of.. Oregano, Basil, Red Peppers, Marjoram, Thyme, Rosemary, Sage and Parsley, but it doesn't tell what quantities. As Len Poli's herbs/spices total 4.5 grms and are intended for 2.4 kg of meat/fat, that approximates roughly to 1/5th of your meat/fat content, which in turn would make the total a little under 1 gram of herbs/spices for yours. I weighed out 1 gram of my Italian seasoning mix and it is a slightly rounded (household) teaspoon. A bit of a long winded explanation, hope it helps.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[deb]

Thanks guys.

Franco, I noticed that although some salami have only pepper as a flavouring they also tend to have garlic in addition. As I have to omit garlic I was thinking it may result in a lack of flavour. I know from experience some, admitidly (sp?) not all, things can be a little flat if the garlic is left out of a recipe. What do you think? Will the pepper still be enough without garlic?

Aris, I'll give asafoetida a try sometime. I will need to look a bit further into this as there is a family of ingredients, of which garlic is a member, that can cause a reaction. Not everyone is sensitive to all the different things so I'll have to experiment, hubby may not be sensitive to it or better still it may not be part of the family.

Thanks very much Paul, it helps a lot.

[aris]

Asefodita is not related to garlic at all - just tastes like it. It is used by certain asian religions where it is forbidden to "kill" plants such as you do when you harvest garlic or onions. Note that is is VERY pungent and usually sold in a cut-down form. I'm not sure how it will work in salami of course - but it is worth investigating.

More info here:

http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/asafetid.html

[deb]

Thanks aris.
Looks as though it may be the answer in cooked dishes but I'm not so sure about using it raw. It says the unpleasant odour dissipates with cooking so if used raw I'm assuming the odour will remain. Don't fancy that much!!

[aris]

Experiment a bit - you might be able to 'cook' it and then let it cool and add to your salami. That's the nice thing about making your own sausages - you can experiment and do your own thing

[Franco]

Asefodita is the most awful smelling ingredient I have ever come accross, I would not recommend using it in salami when there are dozens of other suitable replacements, as far as I'm aware it isn't used in any salami and in my opinion would not work.

Sorry to sound so negative but I don't want you to end up ruining your first batch of salami. Stick to traditional herbs and use mace if neccesary to give it a lift.

Franco

[aris]

Heh Franco - yes it is very pungent, but I can guarantee you that you have probably eaten it in a take-out curry. It is one of those 'secret' ingredients that make the difference between a home-made curry and a 'curry-house' curry.

Granted, it may not work in Salami - but it the only alternative to garlic without using garlic. I'd certainly give it a punt in 1 pound of fresh sausage to see what it was like.

Again note - it is very pungent and only the smallest amounts are used. Typically you don't even buy it full strength - it is usualy cut down with something else.

[Spuddy]

Deb
If hubby don't do garlic then skip it.
It won't make much difference, trust me.
A lot of Italian Salami doesn't have garlic in it at all and it's still good.
As far as adding other herbs and flavourings is concerned just add what you like and use your imagination, it's actually quite difficult to over do flavourings in a dried sausage so experiment and enjoy!!

[deb]

There will be NO asafoetida in my salami's. I'll give it some thought as far as cooked dishes go but not raw.

As this is mainly a try out for technique I think I'll go with Franco's suggestion and just use pepper. I'm using hog casings so hopefully they won't take too long to dry and I'll be able to make some more before the weather turns warm again - this is when I'll experiment more.

Thanks.