Homemade Sausage Making

Last year I butchered a pig and cleaned the casings and in May, on a whim, I thought it would be neat to see just how big of a salami I could make. Using what I think was the stomach I stuffed this with 7.5 lbs of soppressata mince. Using slow fermentation I set off on this curious journey.

Anyhow, my plans were to slice the salami at 40% shrinkage but its been nearly 6 months and its been hovering at 37.6% for over a week now but it felt firm enough so with my curiosity at its peak I sliced into it today to see if this was a train wreck or not. Thankfully, it looks like all is good.

It resembles some sci-fi cocoon of sorts.



Had a little indecision on how to best slice it.



Looks like it dried pretty evenly. Was pleased with the texture and the flavor is interesting. Very delicate and almost has a nutty flavor in it.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=58D37990

Closeup. It seems to have dried better than I expected. It is by far the largest minced meat product I've ever tried to dry so I'm pleased to see it worked. Of course there is a lot more slicing to do before I will know if the whole thing did right so the nightmares of cavernous holes in the salami will still plague me till I have it all sliced. But for now I'm pleased.

Wow !! That thing is "YUGE" !! looks tasty though...you may be onto something...

Cheers,

Rich

Wow !! That thing is "YUGE" !! looks tasty though...you may be onto something...Also happened to notice you like good steel !!

Cheers,

Rich

Very nice BB! And it's amazing that for something that size there is no case hardening! Conditions in your cave must be perfect.

I did these a while ago. They were about 10 pounds each...

redzed wrote:Very nice BB! And it's amazing that for something that size there is no case hardening! Conditions in your cave must be perfect.

Thanks, I was relieved after cutting it because I half expected a train wreck.

On the case hardening, I can't help but wonder if the thickness of the casing may have helped reduce the risk of hardening. I don't know this for certain but it almost seemed like the casing was possibly double-walled and definitely much thicker than what I've used in the past. At first, drying was extremely slow compared to the other salami but it was just slow and steady. I think this may have been a good thing since I used a slow fermentation process. I regret not taking notes but I really didn't expect it to work.

Here is a close up of the dried casing you can see the thickness and what looks to be a double wall in some areas.

That looks terrific Lou. Love the color.

I did have a couple of pockets in some areas when I sliced it, so I did have some areas that I tossed. But I still ended up with 15-20 pounds vacuum sealed.

The pockets are what concerns me. I haven't finished slicing it all yet so I may find some too. That's been my biggest fear.

happy with my new breakfast plate
healthier than before or not but at least tastes much much better ...

LOUSANTELLO wrote:I did these a while ago. They were about 10 pounds each...Image

Those are huge Lou. About how long did it take fo dry them?

Kunde, that's a beautiful plate. If you ate all that I hope you scheduled a nap afterward.