This past weekend, I got together with a good friend of mine who enjoys all things food and cooking as much as I do. We have talked about making charcuterie for a few years now. I even went as far as buying the Umay Dry "Artisan Meat Kit - Dry Sausage Kit" last year. But, we just never picked a date and did.
Well - Sunday was the day - and after a bit of discussion and researching, we chose three types of charcuterie to see if the process and results would be something we will continue on with in the future. The three types we chose were traditional pepperoni, salami finocchiona, and salami soppressata. The first two are a mix of lean beef (sirloin in this case), lean pork (Tenderloin steaks is what we could find) and pork back fat. The last is all pork shoulder. Each has a different flavor profile with the various spices used.
Neither of us had ever made/stuffed sausage prior to this. We've both used different types of grinders, but stuffing sausage was another story. So, that was one thing we worried about. Our plan was to grind all the meat needed to make the three different types of charcuterie first then add the spices/seasonings. Then we would go back and stuff the Umai Dry casings, trying to keep the process as smooth as possible. We used my buddies Waring grinder/sausage stuffer, I think it was one of the basic models.
So, first we gathered up the cut beef, pork and back fat that had been in the freezer for about an hour or so to ensure a good grind. Started grinding away and learned as we went to try and mix the three together to try and keep a good mixture.
It went smoothly, as we ended up with a great grind, meat and fat that should produce great results, similar to those photos you see of charcuterie boards online!
After the grind was done, we added the spices and once all was incorporated, added BactoFerm T-SPX, which tightened up the grind and helps with the dry-cure process. We then wrapped the mixed grind and put it back in the refrigerator to keep it as cold as possible.
We then completed this exact process for the Salami Finocchiona and Salami Soppressata. Below are a few photos just to try and show the difference in colors and grind, especially for the soppressata since it is pork shoulder only.
Once we had all of the meat ground, seasoned and chilled, we moved on to the stuffing. With the Umai Dry kit I purchased, we would be stuffing 50mm casings. Which, we felt would be perfect for the types of charcuterie we were making. So we measured out what we felt was going to be enough casing for 5lbs of meat (which is what we were making for each of the three), slid the casing over the stuffing tube attachment, tied off the end with small zip ties and made a plan of me working the filling/casing and my buddy working the grind into the hopper as steady as he could. As we began, the speed of the Waring machine actually made it pretty easy and as we went along, we were able to get full casings with no air pockets.
Once we got to about 10" links, we stopped the machine, twisted the casing and added two more zip ties, 1" apart. The first to seal the first link and the second to began the next link. We then continued on with the process for the second link. 10" and zip tied the end and an 1" apart and then cut in the middle so we would have two attached links.
So on we went with this process for the rest of the grind. It all went smoothly, no issues and after we were done, we had some great looking links that were ready for the next step! Once we were completely done stuffing, we weighed and labeled each pair so we had our starting weight.
The next step in this process was to hang the links in a dark, dry area that stayed in the 65-72* range for up to 72 hours. So, into the oven at my house for that time period, as I was on my way out of town for a short spring break trip. I had a little trouble with hanging, as I had to rig up a few things to provide enough space to the links weren't touching the bottom. Not the best solution, but it worked out. Next time, lesson learned is to make these about 6-8".
I arrived home today to find that the Umai Dry bags had great adhesion, there was some color change to the sausage and they had a bit more firmness to them then Sunday. So, they are on their way in the process. The lighting in the photos is a bit different, so it may not show the color change very well, but the other thing I noticed was the aroma starting to come through as well.
The last step in the process is to place in the refrigerator allow to dry cure until a weight loss of 35-40% has been achieved. Umai says this takes about 4 weeks. So we shall see how that goes. For the mean time, I'll be trying not to open my refrigerator door every time I walk by to see how this 15lbs of soon to be charcuterie as well as the ribeye and pancetta are doing
As for recipes, we followed the recipes that Umai Dry provides in the kit. The kit included everything needed for this project but the meat and spices, so made it very easy to give this a try. Bactoferm T-SPX, Powdered Dextrose, Instacure #2, and zip ties are all included and if needed, you can purchase spice kits from Umai, but that was not needed, as I have spices coming out my ears! In all, this kit should be enough to make 25-30lbs of sausage.
The flavor profiles for each sausage are:
Pepperoni - black pepper, paprika, fennel powder and cayenne pepper
Salami Soppressata - black pepper, red pepper flakes, whole peppercorns, ancho chili powder and garlic powder
Salami Finocchiona - black pepper, white pepper, fennel powder, garlic and red wine
A few observations from this project -
1. it will be interesting to see the texture of the soppressata, as we could definitely tell the difference in using pork shoulder only. The fat was different, almost looked smeared compared to the fat back pieces that we can see in the casings. The meat was still very cold when we stuffed into the casing, so I don't know if that was partially why it looked this way.
2. If we enjoy the results, we will most likely get a dedicated stuffer, one that is crank assisted vs the motor. Although we didn't have any issues with this grinder/stuffer, we feel we would get better results with less moving parts. Especially with the texture - but we are hopeful it won't be an issue.
3. As with the other Umai bags I've used, these were great to work with. And, they don't require a vac seal for this type of use. So, that has been very nice to have had success with multiple types of bags.
4. I have elevated my food geekyness a whole 'nother level
I hope you enjoyed yet another post of my adventures in charcuterie. I will continue with some updates as time goes and of course, final photos and thoughts once that lovely day gets here!
Well - Sunday was the day - and after a bit of discussion and researching, we chose three types of charcuterie to see if the process and results would be something we will continue on with in the future. The three types we chose were traditional pepperoni, salami finocchiona, and salami soppressata. The first two are a mix of lean beef (sirloin in this case), lean pork (Tenderloin steaks is what we could find) and pork back fat. The last is all pork shoulder. Each has a different flavor profile with the various spices used.
Neither of us had ever made/stuffed sausage prior to this. We've both used different types of grinders, but stuffing sausage was another story. So, that was one thing we worried about. Our plan was to grind all the meat needed to make the three different types of charcuterie first then add the spices/seasonings. Then we would go back and stuff the Umai Dry casings, trying to keep the process as smooth as possible. We used my buddies Waring grinder/sausage stuffer, I think it was one of the basic models.
So, first we gathered up the cut beef, pork and back fat that had been in the freezer for about an hour or so to ensure a good grind. Started grinding away and learned as we went to try and mix the three together to try and keep a good mixture.
It went smoothly, as we ended up with a great grind, meat and fat that should produce great results, similar to those photos you see of charcuterie boards online!
After the grind was done, we added the spices and once all was incorporated, added BactoFerm T-SPX, which tightened up the grind and helps with the dry-cure process. We then wrapped the mixed grind and put it back in the refrigerator to keep it as cold as possible.
We then completed this exact process for the Salami Finocchiona and Salami Soppressata. Below are a few photos just to try and show the difference in colors and grind, especially for the soppressata since it is pork shoulder only.
Once we had all of the meat ground, seasoned and chilled, we moved on to the stuffing. With the Umai Dry kit I purchased, we would be stuffing 50mm casings. Which, we felt would be perfect for the types of charcuterie we were making. So we measured out what we felt was going to be enough casing for 5lbs of meat (which is what we were making for each of the three), slid the casing over the stuffing tube attachment, tied off the end with small zip ties and made a plan of me working the filling/casing and my buddy working the grind into the hopper as steady as he could. As we began, the speed of the Waring machine actually made it pretty easy and as we went along, we were able to get full casings with no air pockets.
Once we got to about 10" links, we stopped the machine, twisted the casing and added two more zip ties, 1" apart. The first to seal the first link and the second to began the next link. We then continued on with the process for the second link. 10" and zip tied the end and an 1" apart and then cut in the middle so we would have two attached links.
So on we went with this process for the rest of the grind. It all went smoothly, no issues and after we were done, we had some great looking links that were ready for the next step! Once we were completely done stuffing, we weighed and labeled each pair so we had our starting weight.
The next step in this process was to hang the links in a dark, dry area that stayed in the 65-72* range for up to 72 hours. So, into the oven at my house for that time period, as I was on my way out of town for a short spring break trip. I had a little trouble with hanging, as I had to rig up a few things to provide enough space to the links weren't touching the bottom. Not the best solution, but it worked out. Next time, lesson learned is to make these about 6-8".
I arrived home today to find that the Umai Dry bags had great adhesion, there was some color change to the sausage and they had a bit more firmness to them then Sunday. So, they are on their way in the process. The lighting in the photos is a bit different, so it may not show the color change very well, but the other thing I noticed was the aroma starting to come through as well.
The last step in the process is to place in the refrigerator allow to dry cure until a weight loss of 35-40% has been achieved. Umai says this takes about 4 weeks. So we shall see how that goes. For the mean time, I'll be trying not to open my refrigerator door every time I walk by to see how this 15lbs of soon to be charcuterie as well as the ribeye and pancetta are doing
As for recipes, we followed the recipes that Umai Dry provides in the kit. The kit included everything needed for this project but the meat and spices, so made it very easy to give this a try. Bactoferm T-SPX, Powdered Dextrose, Instacure #2, and zip ties are all included and if needed, you can purchase spice kits from Umai, but that was not needed, as I have spices coming out my ears! In all, this kit should be enough to make 25-30lbs of sausage.
The flavor profiles for each sausage are:
Pepperoni - black pepper, paprika, fennel powder and cayenne pepper
Salami Soppressata - black pepper, red pepper flakes, whole peppercorns, ancho chili powder and garlic powder
Salami Finocchiona - black pepper, white pepper, fennel powder, garlic and red wine
A few observations from this project -
1. it will be interesting to see the texture of the soppressata, as we could definitely tell the difference in using pork shoulder only. The fat was different, almost looked smeared compared to the fat back pieces that we can see in the casings. The meat was still very cold when we stuffed into the casing, so I don't know if that was partially why it looked this way.
2. If we enjoy the results, we will most likely get a dedicated stuffer, one that is crank assisted vs the motor. Although we didn't have any issues with this grinder/stuffer, we feel we would get better results with less moving parts. Especially with the texture - but we are hopeful it won't be an issue.
3. As with the other Umai bags I've used, these were great to work with. And, they don't require a vac seal for this type of use. So, that has been very nice to have had success with multiple types of bags.
4. I have elevated my food geekyness a whole 'nother level
I hope you enjoyed yet another post of my adventures in charcuterie. I will continue with some updates as time goes and of course, final photos and thoughts once that lovely day gets here!
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