First time making fermented sausage

crustyo44
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Post by crustyo44 » Tue Oct 30, 2012 20:16

Congratulations Nick,
I just wish that those were my salamis. I am working on it though and planning ahead already.
Jan.
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Post by Chuckwagon » Wed Oct 31, 2012 00:11

Nick, the weight loss is right on schedule. What is the temperature and humidity of the curing cabinet?
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by atcNick » Wed Oct 31, 2012 03:19

Chuckwagon wrote:Nick, the weight loss is right on schedule. What is the temperature and humidity of the curing cabinet?
The temperature is right around 56-57F. The humidity is, Im guessing upper 70s to low to mid 80s. The reason Im guessing is because of the three humidity gauges I have, neither are ever showing the same reading.
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Post by Chuckwagon » Wed Oct 31, 2012 06:09

Sounds good Nick. After another week, you might want to slice into an end of one and have a look and a taste.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by atcNick » Wed Oct 31, 2012 14:11

Chuckwagon wrote:Sounds good Nick. After another week, you might want to slice into an end of one and have a look and a taste.
Thanks chuck. How do I treat the cut end if I need to keep drying? Do I cover it with anything?
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Post by Chuckwagon » Thu Nov 01, 2012 02:26

How do I treat the cut end if I need to keep drying? Do I cover it with anything?
In some countries they smear a little cooking fat on it, but most just let it air-harden and remove the "crust" when it's finally done. If your weight calculations are correct and the "yield" is about 70%, it will be done and you won't have to worry about it.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by Devo » Thu Nov 01, 2012 03:58

Just let it air dry.........you will only loose about 1/8 of an inch of crusted meat. Nothing to worry about
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Post by atcNick » Thu Nov 08, 2012 18:48

Day 30. Im at 25-29.8% loss. Im going out of town for the weekend but when I get back I will cut into one, finally!

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Post by atcNick » Thu Nov 08, 2012 18:51

I am starting to notice a few small discoloured spots on the surface. Yellowish. Im not sure if this is something I should be concerned about or not.

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Post by Cabonaia » Thu Nov 08, 2012 19:28

Hi Nick - those yellow spots do not look friendly. I would wash them off with a vinegar/water solution before they grow tentacles into the meat. You might consider lowering your RH a bit at this point, and/or making sure you get fresh air into the cabinet more often.

Cheers,
Jeff
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Post by atcNick » Thu Nov 08, 2012 23:44

Cabonaia wrote:Hi Nick - those yellow spots do not look friendly. I would wash them off with a vinegar/water solution before they grow tentacles into the meat. You might consider lowering your RH a bit at this point, and/or making sure you get fresh air into the cabinet more often.

Cheers,
Jeff
Yikes! Ok, thanks for confirming. I'll have to get on that tonight when I get home from work.
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Post by atcNick » Fri Nov 09, 2012 15:13

Well I tried to wipe it off this morning with a paper towel with vinegar/water and only the white mold came off. And revealed more of the yellow stuff underneath. The yellowish stuff wouldn't wipe off, it has a wax consistency, I was able to pick some off with a butter knife. Could this be just fat seeping through the casing? Is this normal?

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Post by redzed » Fri Nov 09, 2012 16:07

Interesting. None of mine have anything like that, but then with the exception of the finocchiona, everything is in artificial casings. So maybe it is something to do with the beef middles that you used. When I saw the earlier pics I speculated that it might be caused by condensation dripping onto the salami, but now, that does not appear to be the case.
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Post by Cabonaia » Fri Nov 09, 2012 19:42

I haven't seen that before, so I can't offer any advice from experience. Maybe there is someone who can.....

Heeeeyyyyyy ChuckWagon!!!
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Post by Chuckwagon » Sat Nov 10, 2012 07:25

I got an email from AtcNick, asking me to identify the yellow growth microorganism on his Allysandra. I`d like to share a little information at this point in the topic so that others may also possibly benefit from the material as well.
AtcNick wrote:
Hey chuck, I just posted some pictures of my salami with some questionable spots. Would you mind taking a look and giving me your expert advice. I would appreciate it dude, thanks.
Hi Nick,
Hey, I see in one of your photos that you little boy is really starting to grow up. What a good lookin' kid! What's his name? I saw a photo of him quite a while ago. Is he still helpin' ol' dad with the sausage?

I don`t know how expert my advice is, but I`ll try to explain a little. Yeasts in the sausage fermentation process, develop later during the longer "traditional" salami-making procedure whether we use a culture or not. If we make a fermented sausage using a "short" or "medium" fermentation-drying period, yeasts simply don`t have time to develop. However, in "long" fermentation periods yeasts develop normally and indeed metabolize some of the lactic acid that you worked so hard to create during the fermentation stage. This lowers the acidity by increasing the pH. When this happens in a slowly fermented sausage, it actually improves the flavor (because of the reduced acidity). Two yeasts that are deemed "desirable" for this process are Debaromyces hansenii and Candida formata. As long as there is high humidity in your chamber, yeasts will thrive and they are really not too particular at which temperature they choose to do so. And the pH drop doesn`t affect them at all. Debaromyces hansenii and Candida formata are less sensitive to salt than most other yeasts also. Also, they are anaerobic, needing little oxygen to survive. Of these two particular yeasts, Debaromyces hansenii consumes both lactic and acetic acids (present in all fermented meat). This consumption of acid gives the sausage a much milder flavor. However, Debaromyces hansenii also produces ammonia, which has a pH of about 11.5 which creates a new, higher pH of the meat, being less acidic. At this point it becomes both proteolytic and lipolydic, contributing to even more flavor by breaking down proteins and fat. Oh, and yes... they range from white to yellow. :mrgreen: As far as the "bare" spots go, that`s just where you`ve touched it initially. The colors you absolutely do not want are grays and greens. :evil: Those are of the Zygosaccharomyces genus - nasty little devils long associated with the food industry as spoilage yeasts. During their growth, yeasts metabolize some food components and produce metabolic end products. This causes the physical, chemical, and sensory properties of a food to change, as the food is spoiled. These species are hearty and able to grow in some of the more commonly used food preservation concentrations including ehanol, acetic acid, sorbic acid, high sucrose, benzoic acid, and sulfur dioxide.

Again, neither yeasts nor molds are affected by the pH drop during the fermentation stage of sausage-making, and as long as a high degree of humidity is sustained, they will grow within a wide temperature boundary. However, because the two microorganisms grow much slower than bacteria during the drying process, they develop much later. It is estimated that only 1% of all yeast species have been described. Yeasts are microscopic fungi that grow as single cells. They will grow on the surface or near the surface inside non-cooked, air-dried, fermented sausages, while molds grow only upon the surface. Unlike bacteria, there are no known species that grow only anaerobically (obligate anaerobes). Yeasts grow best in a neutral or slightly acidic pH environment but are able to grow in foods with a low pH, (5.0 or lower) and in the presence of sugars, organic acids, and other easily metabolized carbon sources.

The Chr. Hansen product Bactoferm™ that you used initially, has a strong and precise culture placed into it. It has already done its job at this point. The color and flavor - forming have been fixed. All you`re waiting for is the precise drop of humidity to make it safe. Ol` pard, if you are at 71% yield, then you are now there! It`s time to clean `em up and cut one open. Be sure to send us a photo or two.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Last edited by Chuckwagon on Tue Nov 13, 2012 04:54, edited 1 time in total.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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