Lets talk salami.

[Hardstalk]

Curious what everyone is using for salami. From start to finish what are the favorite recipes?. What smoker do you use, grinder, the whole 9 yards. I would like to get into more self processing but I need to get tooled up first.

 

[ckleeves]

I have never done salami so I'm probably not the person to answer this, but I have made tons of snack sticks, summer sausage, bratwurst etc. so I will throw in my .00002

First things first, your gonna need several cases of good beer (I prefer fat tire!) and its nice to have some friends that also have meat to process. It's much easier with several people who are all getting something out of the deal. If you have friends without meat their just gonna drink all your beer and not do anything useful.

I tried mixing my own seasonings, but the cost of casing, seasoning etc was almost equal to just buying the kits that come with everything at Cabelas or sportsmans. If I was making a huge quantity I'm sure it would be worth it but I'm usually only making 30lbs of each type (1 kit).

For equipment I just have a 1hp Cabelas grinder,a large upright propane smoker (tried electric, IMO propane is much better) and a Cabelas 30 lb stuffer (which I wouldn't recommend, it has some problems).

One thing I also do is most recipes call for a % of pork shoulder, I just use pork suet (about 10% by weight, it's pretty light so it's more than you think volume wise). Pork shoulder is way to expensive if you use the amount called for in most recipes.

A few other things, you will need an accurate scale and don't cheat on anything. Snack sticks are frustrating if your making a lot, I prefer to just case everything in 3lb casings and then cut into 8oz portions and vacuum seal (except any kind of fresh sausage, just ready to eat types) I love jalapeños so I mix in a bunch when I'm making summer sausage or bratwurst. Canned garlic is also good if you like it. Also a good meat thermometer!

I'm sure I forgot something, if you have any questions just ask, and if I don't know I will make something up!

 

[JNDEER]

I do not know how it ranks with others, but for how simple it is and the taste I think it is awesome!

Grind meat
Measure out proper lb
add mixture and follow directions.
I added about 40 minutes of cooking time as I like my food a little on the "done" side.

 

[unm1136]

Curious what everyone is using for salami. From start to finish what are the favorite recipes?. What smoker do you use, grinder, the whole 9 yards. I would like to get into more self processing but I need to get tooled up first.

I love charcuterie, and if I had to specialize in cooking school this would be the area. I have made several dried meats (beef, duck, pig, ect.) I have not tried to make salami because it is fermented. I have the wife talked into purchasing a shed this spring, which will store a bunch of crap from the house, and give me a workshop for reloading, homebrewing, and curing meats. I will be building a hot and a cold smoker, and will have a fridge out there for both my meat curing cabinet and to hold my draft beer system.

This website seems to be run by a guy after my own heart: http://menuinprogress.com/2008/07/charcuterie-at-home.html

His site links how-tos, decent photography, and souces for things like the refridgerator thermostat, the correct bacteria cultures to get started with salami.

This one also has lots of hunter specific recipies, particulary venison, but I was interested to see a bird's neck skin used as a sausage casing.

http://honest-food.net/cured-meat/

Anybody else homebrew? Guess this needs to be a separate thread.

pat