Homemade Sausage Making

Hi Kiwi,
Sounds good -apart from the flies
What was the temperature during fermentation before yoy went down to 13 degrees?
Did you use the VMB-02 or which other starter?
As for mixer; do you usually mix for a long time or how? I´m usually a bit picky on this because one has to be aware not to mix for too long a time in order to avoid smearing the fat elements with the meat. Unless you add all fat elements towards the end of the mixing process.

the temp was 23 to 24 degrees i mixed the meat till it was sticky as per recipe, i added the frozen fat last and mixed by hand , the culture was vmb 02 Igor i used the whole packet in the 16 kilos as it had expired by a month still seemed viable going by the reduction in PH cheers jeffrey

Jeff, you shouldn´t worry bout the viability if the culture was kept at the safe below -20 degrees during storage.
SACCO usually "overdose" the amount of bacteria in the packets, so that even on the expiry date the user will have a cell count identical to what is stated on the information sheet.
And even if there should be a small percentage drop in bacteria activity after that overdue month I guess no one will be able to tell the difference unless they bring in the big microscope. After all the bacteria don´t just pop off from one day to the other just because we lable them to do so

Half a package would have done the job too, providing that you´d used the remaining half within a month or so.

Do you intend to give the sausages a light smoking at some point?
Not that I think it will chase the flies away but it may add some wellcome bacterial protection to the surface...

I usually like to smoke as i ;ike the flavor the next day when its a bit cooler ill put them in the smoker thanks for your help Igor

Here's a pic of the salami kiwihunter. (Nice velvet stag also, would have grown out pretty handy stag)

He was hard velvet Peter so stripped out alright its a Sambar which is a Asiasatic breed second biggest deer next to Elk

Hi Pete,
Without me trying to sound like something I`m not, it looks like you could be getting a little heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria contamination. The mushy center could also indicate an excessive fat extension or even an insufficient salt level. Did you measure salt carefully? Did you cut down on the recommended salt content? One other possibility is a proteolytic microbial contaminant, but I doubt the addition if you prepared the meat in a near sterile environment. Also, be careful not to overmix the raw meat mixture before you stuff it. You may also consider lightening some of your cabinet`s humidity just a bit to increase moisture migration from the product. Back up and hit it again pal!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

I dont think it was insufficent salt CW im pretty careful about weighing but ill go back through my notes and check the percentage of salt, ive just got the new batch out of the smoker while they didnt take on a lot of color has helped keeping the mold in check, and there was a very strong smell just about to ammonia levels but that has dissipated well now its just time in the incubator ill take your advice and drop the humidity down a tad , in hindsight i think the first lot was a combnation of factors that created a failure, this new lot im alot more hopeful the fat was frozen and added last so smearing shouldnt be a problem i froze the stuffer well before i stuffed the sausages and with a good ph drop thes e should turn out well time will tell thanks for all the advice guys am enjoying being part of this community as their is not many people in nz to ask and even then the ones you can ask are preety tight lipped about helping anyone cheers jeffrey

update on the last batch , i kept 3 of the salamis and left them in drying at room temp , well they have firmed up quite a bit starting getting fine droplets of ? i dont know , so in my infinite wisdom better try some well the taste is peppery with an acidic tast but quite mild can taste the chilli, on the whole not bad its better then the insipid stuff i have brought at the supermarkets and im still alive obviously i feel once i master the fine line of humidity ill do a bit better looking forward to the next batch be ready in 10 days yee haaa