I l u r v e z Salami! 
The latest sausage project
- Thread starter PetersCreek
- Start date
Thanks for the very full and useful response PetersCreek.
<I do strongly suggest that you start with cooked sausages in order to learn the basic techniques common to most/all sausages before moving on the more demanding dried sausages>
Can you expand on "techniques" a bit? Do mean grinding, mixing in various ingrediants uniformly, stuffing casings uniformly and I suppose to the desirabely density? What all exactly? What do you mean precisely by "cooked sausages"? I have made, say, Italian sausage, and put it into sausage casings. (I have a 5 quart KitchenAid mixer with meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachments. I assume they are useful to this process.) I have made "fish sausage," too, but I hardly think that kind of "fun with casings" really counts. I have not made anything though like hot dogs or knockwurst that would be truly dense within the casings. My guess is that getting those casings properly filled with out air pockets, etc., is an area involving skill and experience.
<After that, salt, curing powders, and bacterial cultures take over . . . .>
Seems like magic doesn't it. The surprise is not that things can go wrong, but that it can be done at all! Another food item like cheese, wine, and beer, which at its best is really a living thing.
<It was absolutely delicious, so I can't claim mine to be better but I think it compares very favorably to it...very.>
I hear you. I was really thinking of US artisan versions, which are truly getting to be world class. But as to the truly special imports, no one in the states is going to have access to drying caves with perfect temperatures open to the Mediterranean with breezes that are just so blowing in that salty air and perfect natural molds that have developed over the centuries of generation after generation of master meat curers, or for that matter, materials such as hogs that have feed on nothing but wild acorns, or that are from some ancient but obscure lineage!
<As for preservatives, well, you're not leaving too many of those out.>
Interesting point. Maybe the commercial makers do not really use any different ingrediants. Whereas for something like beer the commercical or even the craft product is almost going to have to me much more "manipulated" than the "home" version. I was not concerned about any ill effects of perservative type ingrediants eacept ill effects on taste.
<it's no sin to bin>
So you are pretty confident that if it is bad and one is at all prudent and watchful that one is going know it and toss it? Is it botulism that is supposed to have a particularly sweet and pleasing taste? I assume one of the big problems would be oxidation, and one is not going to miss that the fat in their sausage has gone rancid or that the inside of the sausage has pulled away from the outside. Or that white, dry mold is good. Black/green, wet, slimey, smelly mold, maybe not so good!
<The artisans might also beat you on cost since their equipment costs are spread out . . . .>
Actually, I had intended to write my previous comment to leave out equipment/fixed costs. I found with beer that the ingrediants alone could easily make home brew more expensive than good craft brew one could buy. Not that that deterred me. Your straight razor analogy is certainly apt I would think.
Thanks, again. Great stuff.
<I do strongly suggest that you start with cooked sausages in order to learn the basic techniques common to most/all sausages before moving on the more demanding dried sausages>
Can you expand on "techniques" a bit? Do mean grinding, mixing in various ingrediants uniformly, stuffing casings uniformly and I suppose to the desirabely density? What all exactly? What do you mean precisely by "cooked sausages"? I have made, say, Italian sausage, and put it into sausage casings. (I have a 5 quart KitchenAid mixer with meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachments. I assume they are useful to this process.) I have made "fish sausage," too, but I hardly think that kind of "fun with casings" really counts. I have not made anything though like hot dogs or knockwurst that would be truly dense within the casings. My guess is that getting those casings properly filled with out air pockets, etc., is an area involving skill and experience.
<After that, salt, curing powders, and bacterial cultures take over . . . .>
Seems like magic doesn't it. The surprise is not that things can go wrong, but that it can be done at all! Another food item like cheese, wine, and beer, which at its best is really a living thing.
<It was absolutely delicious, so I can't claim mine to be better but I think it compares very favorably to it...very.>
I hear you. I was really thinking of US artisan versions, which are truly getting to be world class. But as to the truly special imports, no one in the states is going to have access to drying caves with perfect temperatures open to the Mediterranean with breezes that are just so blowing in that salty air and perfect natural molds that have developed over the centuries of generation after generation of master meat curers, or for that matter, materials such as hogs that have feed on nothing but wild acorns, or that are from some ancient but obscure lineage!
<As for preservatives, well, you're not leaving too many of those out.>
Interesting point. Maybe the commercial makers do not really use any different ingrediants. Whereas for something like beer the commercical or even the craft product is almost going to have to me much more "manipulated" than the "home" version. I was not concerned about any ill effects of perservative type ingrediants eacept ill effects on taste.
<it's no sin to bin>
So you are pretty confident that if it is bad and one is at all prudent and watchful that one is going know it and toss it? Is it botulism that is supposed to have a particularly sweet and pleasing taste? I assume one of the big problems would be oxidation, and one is not going to miss that the fat in their sausage has gone rancid or that the inside of the sausage has pulled away from the outside. Or that white, dry mold is good. Black/green, wet, slimey, smelly mold, maybe not so good!
<The artisans might also beat you on cost since their equipment costs are spread out . . . .>
Actually, I had intended to write my previous comment to leave out equipment/fixed costs. I found with beer that the ingrediants alone could easily make home brew more expensive than good craft brew one could buy. Not that that deterred me. Your straight razor analogy is certainly apt I would think.
Thanks, again. Great stuff.
- Thread starter
- #23
My apologies! I (wrongly) assumed you were completely new to sausage making. If you've got the basics down pat, I see no reason you shouldn't progress to fermented sausages.
I got started with the grinder attachment for my Kitchenaid. While it's just okay as a grinder, I quickly decided it was inadequate as a stuffer. I bought a LEM Products 5-lb stuffer from Sportsman's Warehouse and it made my sausage stuffing life much happier. I recently saw a grinder in Costco for $79 and figured "what the heck?" and picked it up. It's no great shakes but it cut my grinding time and effort dramatically.
<It was absolutely delicious, so I can't claim mine to be better but I think it compares very favorably to it...very.>
I'm not saying that one will know but that the reasonable doubt of a prudent and watchful person is a good enough reason to chuck it and start over. If that little voice in the back of your head suggests that it doesn't look, smell, feel, or taste right, it might cost you some money to listen but it won't make you ill.
Hmmmm...don't remember hearing that about botulism. Being encased, oxidation isn't such a big problem for salami...so long as there aren't voids inside the sausage. One of the more common problems is case hardening, which occurs when the outside of the sausage loses moisture too rapidly. This effectively seals the surface of the sausage and prevents the center from drying further. Then, as you mentioned, there's mold. White, velvety mold is good...a species of penicillin, actually. If it's furry or black or wet...not good news.
Thanks again for taking the time to write this up.
<My apologies! I (wrongly) assumed you were completely new to sausage making>
I do not want to exaggerate! I ground up some pork shoulder and mixed in some fennel seed, red pepper flakes, and such and packed it all awkwardly, and I am sure poorly, into some sausage casings. Not that it was not good. I think the right fat to lean ratio was probably important to that.
So glad to hear actually that the KitchenAid grinder/sausage stuffer is not so hot. I found it very hard to use, especially as a stuffer. (I generally really like that KitchenAid.) Makes me feel like this is a lot more possible!
<My apologies! I (wrongly) assumed you were completely new to sausage making>
I do not want to exaggerate! I ground up some pork shoulder and mixed in some fennel seed, red pepper flakes, and such and packed it all awkwardly, and I am sure poorly, into some sausage casings. Not that it was not good. I think the right fat to lean ratio was probably important to that.
So glad to hear actually that the KitchenAid grinder/sausage stuffer is not so hot. I found it very hard to use, especially as a stuffer. (I generally really like that KitchenAid.) Makes me feel like this is a lot more possible!
POST OF THE WEEK!
I am working way up to dried sausage. I got Charcuterie for Christmas, and am looking forward to working with it more! Thanks for giving some meaty encouragement.
Any suggestions on basic equipment needed for making sausages of this quality, as in grinder, stuffer, and so on....
I also have the Charcuterie book, and love every bit of it. The few things I have made from there have been fantastic.
My biggest issue has been finding a reliable source of pork back fat. In the normal grocery store, it seems that all they carry is the stuff from Smithfield... Not only is it already salted heavily, many time it is not refrigerated, and tends to taste like particle board. I could have my local butcher sell me some, but occasionally they seem reluctant to sell it to me, since they also make their own (phenomenal) sausages on premise.
Any ideas for better sources of back fat? Is there something common that I'm missing???
My biggest issue has been finding a reliable source of pork back fat. In the normal grocery store, it seems that all they carry is the stuff from Smithfield... Not only is it already salted heavily, many time it is not refrigerated, and tends to taste like particle board. I could have my local butcher sell me some, but occasionally they seem reluctant to sell it to me, since they also make their own (phenomenal) sausages on premise.
Any ideas for better sources of back fat? Is there something common that I'm missing???
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