Homemade Sausage Making

This was my first attempt at pepperoni and my first dried, fermented sausage. Admittedly, it was a bit of an uneven effort. I hadn't regulated my temp and humidity perfectly so there were some fluctuations. I didn't have ph strips either. I used the Mariansky recipie found on the website and books. I used T-SPX and fermented for 72 hours at 68 with about 90% humidity and spraying them with water 4-6 times a day. These were packed in natural hog casing, it's been drying for 6 weeks. They have a cheesy, feet odor and taste more like cheese than pepperoni. They really don't taste well. Is this from over fermenting? So how did I do! Also, I did not use a surface mold, I am currently drying saucisson, they have been drying about 2 weeks, can I use surface mold now?

A relatively thin sausage like that should be a lot firmer and harder than what I see in your pic. And I also had similar experience a couple of times. The sausage dries in that it loses weight but remains soft and mushy. And in my case I believe one cause was probably fat smearing and the other, I just don't know. It fermented well, everything looked good at the start but it had the texture of raw meat, had an off smell and was bitter tasting.

So I'm not really sure what happened to your pepperoni. Take a look at the Trouble shooting guide, pp 38-39 in the Bactoferm™ Meat Manual vol. 1
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=& ... 0515,d.cGU

Let us know if any of the issues discussed resemble your results.

Justin1982 wrote:Is this from over fermenting? So how did I do! Also, I did not use a surface mold, I am currently drying saucisson, they have been drying about 2 weeks, can I use surface mold now?

I doubt it was over fermented, if it did it would have more of a sour taste. More likely under fermented or to high of a Ph. How much TSPX did you add?
You could also ferment at a slightly higher temp say 70-72f. A way to check the Ph is a big plus and will eliminate the guesswork.
Like Redzed suggested check out other likely causes in the Bactoferm guide.

Yes you can still use the mold.

My guess is fat smearing too. That's been the common cause of my failures. If you haven't tried this, next time try taking your fat and just freezing it and grinding it separately from the meat. Nearly freeze the meat too. Then mix but don't overly mix the two together with open fingers - raking it per se - and do not kneed the blend - till you fell it beginning to get tacky. You want the mince to be so cold it hurts your hands but using latex gloves will help. Then stuff and if possible, put your stuffing horn and container in the freezer prior to stuffing.

Another thing I have found that really helps with all of this stuff is if the meat or fat isn't coming out the plate in unique single strings your mince is too warm. It should always look like spaghetti coming out. If it doesn't. Stop and put everything in the freezer. Some things are forgiving about this but others are not and pepperoni would be one that is not.

Hope this helps.

Butterbean wrote: If you haven't tried this, next time try taking your fat and just freezing it and grinding it separately from the meat.

Hey Butterbean the times I have tried to grind the (back) fat separately I have ended up with a hard to mix mess. The fat was frozen or nearly so. Comes out of the grinder like spaghetti. Now whilst I freeze the fat separately from the meat I mix them together just before grinding makes life easier for me.

Not criticizing the method but, maybe I am missing something.

Bob K wrote:

Justin1982 wrote:Is this from over fermenting? So how did I do! Also, I did not use a surface mold, I am currently drying saucisson, they have been drying about 2 weeks, can I use surface mold now?

I doubt it was over fermented, if it did it would have more of a sour taste. More likely under fermented or to high of a Ph. How much TSPX did you add?
You could also ferment at a slightly higher temp say 70-72f. A way to check the Ph is a big plus and will eliminate the guesswork.
Like Redzed suggested check out other likely causes in the Bactoferm guide.

Yes you can still use the mold.

I added .12 grams for 1 kilo of pepperoni. From the looks of the guide Redzed posted, I think fat smearing was def an issue and I think temp and humidity fluctuations had something to do with it as well. Going over my notes, I also forgot to mention the pepperoni smelled awful after fermentation, so awful that I had to clean out my smoker with a bleach solution. I ferment in a small box smoker that I bring in the basement and it stays about 68-70 degrees with almost 100% humidity.

Justin-
The .12 grams per kilo that is listed in the Marianski recipes is based on what a whole envelope of culture is capable of fermenting. In ideal conditions.

For a small batch like 1 kilo you would be better off using a minimum of a few grams.

There is a pretty good chance that your pepperoni did not ferment enough to drop the Ph below 5.3 .

Bob K wrote:Justin-
The .12 grams per kilo that is listed in the Marianski recipes is based on what a whole envelope of culture is capable of fermenting. In ideal conditions.

For a small batch like 1 kilo you would be better off using a minimum of a few grams.

There is a pretty good chance that your pepperoni did not ferment enough to drop the Ph below 5.3 .

Ahhhh ok this makes a lot more sense. Thank the Lord I found this board, I don't know anyone who can help me with any of this!

That works to Bob. My point was really just get the meat colder. From the pictures it looks like it didn't dry properly and the biggest reason for this for me has always been the meat/fat wasn't cold enough.

Justin-
I have seen recipes that call for anywhere from .12 gram to a half envelope.
While the ones that call for more culture than necessary will not harm the outcome...it hurts the wallet.
What I have been doing is starting with 3 grams for batches under 2 kilos, and add .75 grams per kilo after that.
That assumes a viable culture that has been cared for properly.

Redzed has been threatening to come out with some sort of guideline that is practical for home use.

Bye the way there didn't seem to be any evidence of dry rim in your pics...so thats a positive

Best of luck on your future salamies, and keep us posted on your progress.