Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

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so_not_rad
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Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by so_not_rad » Sat Apr 25, 2020 09:38

Hello Everyone!
I've been messing around lately with making fast fermented American style pepperoni!
Here's the recipe that i've been using, it's basically straight out of Marianski's book :

Pork 900 Gr
Pork Fat 100 Gr
Salt 27 Gr
Cure #1 2.5 Gr
Dextrose 10 Gr
Sugar 10 Gr
Black Pepper 3 Gr
Smoked Paprika 6 Gr
Anise Seeds 2.5 Gr
Cayenne 2.5 Gr
LHP 0.2 Gr
Water 100 Gr

The procedure is pretty much the same,
Marinade the pork overnight with all the spices (without LHP)
Grind all through 5mm plate, mix all ingredients.
Once is all mixed then I add the LHP mixed with water and let it mix for couple more minutes.
Fermentation is at 32C for 24Hrs
Then they get smoked for about 2-3 hours, at 60C gradually increasing until IMT is 60C.
After that, I pop them into my dry aging chamber (65-75% humidity 18-16C) until the weight loss is about 20%.

I included some photos! But for some reason i'm really not getting that smell and taste of real pepperoni, it kind of tastes like hot dogs.. and the color and texture of the meat is no where near what the one made by big companies is.
I'll include a photo of one that another company makes that its nice and dark in color, compared to mine which is so might more red and pink! Any help guys would be so apperciated! In the picture the one on the left is mine and the one on the right is another company!
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by so_not_rad » Sat Apr 25, 2020 09:43

Is it possible that my dry aging chamber does not have enough ventilation going around? Could that be one of the reasons?
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by Bob K » Sun Apr 26, 2020 13:00

Several things you can try-
Add Beef. Most of the better commercial producers do. I usually use 50,30,20- Pork, Beef, Back-fat. The Beef will improve your color and help with the texture.
Flavor- you can up the black pepper a bit or add 1 gram White Pepper and add Caraway!! Use 3 grams Cracked Caraway and 2 Grams Anise, that will help with the Pepperoni "smell" and taste.
From the green weight of the chubs go for a total of 30 - 35% weight loss.
Mix the Meat with the salt and cure only and let cure (marinade) for a day or so. Only add spices just before grinding or Mixing.
Start with 1 gram of your culture and add the .2 for each additional kilo, this will help to insure a viable amount of culture.
If you use a smaller caliber casing it will help to expedite drying.
With the recommended amount of dextrose and sugar its usually way too sour, reduce by 50%
Just leave your chamber as is as long as you getting to the desired % of humidity....to much air movement causes dry rim.

That should help :D
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by StefanS » Sun Apr 26, 2020 13:07

so_not_rad wrote:
Sat Apr 25, 2020 09:38
In the picture the one on the left is mine and the one on the right is another company!
IMHO - yours is much, much closer to American pepperoni than another showed in hand. (pepperoni should be orange color).
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by so_not_rad » Mon Apr 27, 2020 06:17

Thank you so much both for your responses!!
I am definitely going to take both advices and will continue to run trials.
Next batch of meat is coming soon, and I can't wait to get it started and post the results!
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by so_not_rad » Mon Apr 27, 2020 07:01

Bob K wrote:
Sun Apr 26, 2020 13:00
Several things you can try-
Add Beef. Most of the better commercial producers do. I usually use 50,30,20- Pork, Beef, Back-fat. The Beef will improve your color and help with the texture.
Flavor- you can up the black pepper a bit or add 1 gram White Pepper and add Caraway!! Use 3 grams Cracked Caraway and 2 Grams Anise, that will help with the Pepperoni "smell" and taste.
From the green weight of the chubs go for a total of 30 - 35% weight loss.
Mix the Meat with the salt and cure only and let cure (marinade) for a day or so. Only add spices just before grinding or Mixing.
Start with 1 gram of your culture and add the .2 for each additional kilo, this will help to insure a viable amount of culture.
If you use a smaller caliber casing it will help to expedite drying.
With the recommended amount of dextrose and sugar its usually way too sour, reduce by 50%
Just leave your chamber as is as long as you getting to the desired % of humidity....to much air movement causes dry rim.

That should help :D
Image
Your pepperoni looks great! I'm on my way to buy caraway as we speak. Unfortunately I cannot use beef because its very expensive in Thailand (thats where i live) and my friends don't eat it either! My casings are quite small actually they are 32MM sized collagen casings.
Ill most definitely reduce the sugar levels, Thanks again for all your help. I'm quite excited to get this new batch going and to test it out!
Will post pictures as soon as i have some ready.
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by so_not_rad » Sat May 02, 2020 12:14

Quick update !
Here’s the new batch of pepperoni.
I followed your guys advice!
Reducing the sugar was definitely a move in the right direction. I like how it’s slightly sour now. But the color still throws me off when cooked! I want that deep red color like your have on yours Bob! I’m starting to think that maybe the quality of paprika here is just not that great. Hence me missing that colors
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by Bob K » Tue May 05, 2020 12:45

Its really not the paprika that causes the deep rich red color but the color/flavor forming Staphylococcus bacteria found in a slower fermenting culture. Beef also contributes. Yours looks just fine for the fast fermented American style as Stefan has previous mentioned!
If it is available to you try FLC as it can be used in both a fast and slower ferment
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by so_not_rad » Thu May 21, 2020 02:47

Bob K wrote:
Tue May 05, 2020 12:45
Its really not the paprika that causes the deep rich red color but the color/flavor forming Staphylococcus bacteria found in a slower fermenting culture. Beef also contributes. Yours looks just fine for the fast fermented American style as Stefan has previous mentioned!
If it is available to you try FLC as it can be used in both a fast and slower ferment
thanks so much Bob! I actually have some FLC in the freezer, I'll definitely give it a go next batch that I'll try!
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by so_not_rad » Sat Jul 04, 2020 05:07

Hi there guys!
Here's a light update. I've been working on it more and more. This is my most recent result!
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It's getting much better color, and crisp! I feel like I'm almost there.
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by so_not_rad » Sat Jul 04, 2020 05:08

Bob K wrote:
Tue May 05, 2020 12:45
Its really not the paprika that causes the deep rich red color but the color/flavor forming Staphylococcus bacteria found in a slower fermenting culture. Beef also contributes. Yours looks just fine for the fast fermented American style as Stefan has previous mentioned!
If it is available to you try FLC as it can be used in both a fast and slower ferment
Would you recommend that in order for me to achieve that bright red color, I switch into a longer fermentation process instead of the fast 24hour one?
Thanks for all your help
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Re: Pork Pepperoni (fast fermented, semi dry, cooked)

Post by Bob K » Sat Jul 04, 2020 12:39

Well you could give it a try. It looks to me as if you are pretty close the the store bought fast fermented variety. A dry cured process will usually give you the nice dark color...
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