Spanish Fuet - Unsure if this turned out right

[anrew]

Hi guys,
This is my first batch of dried sausage, so I'm really not sure if this is what it's supposed to look like or if I missed something somewhere.

I followed the Spanish Fuet Recipe from Marianski:

Pork 100.000%
Salt 2.800%
Cure #2 0.240%
Dextrose 0.300%
Pepper 0.300%
Paprika 0.400%
Garlic 0.400%
T-SPX 0.012%

I fermented for 72 hrs at 68 F and kept RH between 85 and 90%. I did attempt to test PH, but my strips were a really wide range and it was kind of tough to tell if they hit 5.3. I'm planning to get some strips with a narrower PH band in the future.

I dried them at 55F and 80-85 RH for 5 weeks now.



Some of them are still squishy, espeically the ones that are still <=30% weight loss. I pulled sausage #3 and cut it open and tried a bit. I wasn't really sure what to make of the taste and when it felt very chewy and sort of broke up in my mouth like raw meat chunks, which didn't seem right. I spit it out, but I thought I'd post images here to see if you guys had any thoughts.

https://imgur.com/a/BLNlC1W

[fatboyz]

It looks good! I'm not familiar with this type of sausage so not sure if that's what its supposed to look like? How does it taste?

[anrew]

I don't think I've ever had slow fermented sausage before, so I really don't have a point of reference on the taste. It was very salty and and had like a cheese rind flavor. Definitely not what I was expecting. The texture threw me off, so I spit it out before I could really consider the taste much. It's been 24 hrs and I'm not sick...but that's not exactly the mantra I want to be telling myself with this hobby, especially if I want to share with my family members.

I put the cut sausage back in the curing chamber, but hoping to get a few more words of encouragement or consensus that I just need to throw it out and start over with a more accurate PH meter to ensure the fermentation took.

[Bob K]

Like Fatboyz said it really looks good. If it had a raw mouth feel let it dry longer 40% loss is not to much. What size plate did you use to grind it? The meat chunks look a little large

[anrew]

It's a #10 grinder and I used the larger plate of the two it came with, which I believe is 1/2".

[Bob K]

That's why it is chewy, the plate is too large. Use the smaller plate next time. The recipe calls for a 5 mm (3/16) plate.

[anrew]

Got it. I'll run it through the smaller plate next time. I was sort of loathe to do it since I used a manual grinder and my arm was really sore after the initial grind. Lesson learned for next time!

For this batch, would you just recommend letting it dry longer (up to/past 40%?), maybe cutting really thin slices to avoid the chewiness?

Thanks for your help!

[wasuky]

I would say that RH is too high (although I understand a lot of people dry with high RH). A high RH tends to slow down the drying process and invite some unwanted molds to grow in the chamber. Beside this, was the meat and fat almost frozen when you ground it? Could it be a fat smearing case + high RH when drying?

[Bob K]

For this batch, would you just recommend letting it dry longer (up to/past 40%?), maybe cutting really thin slices to avoid the chewiness?

That would be my plan!

[Indaswamp]

Got it. I'll run it through the smaller plate next time. I was sort of loathe to do it since I used a manual grinder and my arm was really sore after the initial grind. Lesson learned for next time!

If you take your time and trim all the connective tissue off the meat, it is really not necessary to double grind for salami unless you are making a soft spreadable type. Definitely not advisable to double grind the fat unless you are making a spreadable salami. There is just too much of a risk for breaking the fat definition (smearing) and risk greasing out while drying.

[Bob K]

Got it. I'll run it through the smaller plate next time. I was sort of loathe to do it since I used a manual grinder and my arm was really sore after the initial grind. Lesson learned for next time!

For this batch, would you just recommend letting it dry longer (up to/past 40%?), maybe cutting really thin slices to avoid the chewiness?

Thanks for your help!

As Indaswamp pointed out, do not grind twice, just switch to the smaller plate.

As far as your arm getting sore with a manual grinder, Oh I remember those days. But my arm never seemed to bother me...

[redzed]

anrew, I don't see anything wrong with your fuet. It has good colour, even drying and proper bind. Certainly does not look like a first time effort at making dry cured sausage. If to you it tastes and smells a bit funky, that is the nature of the beast. It's like Scotch whisky, might throw you off the first time you sample a dram, but over time you learn to appreciate its subtle aromas and flavours. Fermented and dried sausages are no different.

I don't know where Marianski got that fuet recipe from, but original versions do not have any paprika in it. That is how fuet differs from a chorizo. I've made this version a few times and am quite happy with recipe.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7853&p=34022#p34022

[anrew]

Sorry for the late reply, but I wanted to follow up and thank you guys for the suggestions. I waited another week for it to dry to 40+% and the texture has changed quite a bit in a good way! I've been sharing it with friends and I don't think they're used to the funky flavors either. But, I've had it a few times now and tried it with some different cheeses and I'm getting pretty excited about making some different recipes.
Thanks again!

[Albertaed]

Congrats on your fuet. It’s on my list of things to try( along with a few dozen others) It took my family and friends to grow to like some of the salamis I make. My 7 year old grandson now loves my “rotten cheese chorizo”.
Having said that I think sometimes hobbyists think that dry salami is the epitome of sausage making. Although I love them, the art of a well prepared sausage such as kielbasa, Mettwurst, hot dog, headcheese or even lunch meat are all of equal merit and just as tasty in my books.

[Mmmm Meat]

Glad that worked out for you. Fuet was the second salami I attempted. You had better results than I. Mine was still squishy up to 37% weight loss. I used an old grinder that sat in storage for 15 years. The plates were corroded and the sharpness of the knife was questionable. I used this grinder for my first three batches and though my meat/fat was plenty cold, they ultimately seemed to suffer from fat smear. I did love the taste of the Fuet but it remained sticky with a poor mouth feel. My dogs loved it. My lessons: sharp knife and plates, ultra-cold meat for both the grind and again for the mix.