Just fooling around
- Butterbean
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Just fooling around
Last year I butchered a pig and cleaned the casings and in May, on a whim, I thought it would be neat to see just how big of a salami I could make. Using what I think was the stomach I stuffed this with 7.5 lbs of soppressata mince. Using slow fermentation I set off on this curious journey.
Anyhow, my plans were to slice the salami at 40% shrinkage but its been nearly 6 months and its been hovering at 37.6% for over a week now but it felt firm enough so with my curiosity at its peak I sliced into it today to see if this was a train wreck or not. Thankfully, it looks like all is good.
It resembles some sci-fi cocoon of sorts.
Had a little indecision on how to best slice it.
Looks like it dried pretty evenly. Was pleased with the texture and the flavor is interesting. Very delicate and almost has a nutty flavor in it.
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=58D37990
Closeup. It seems to have dried better than I expected. It is by far the largest minced meat product I've ever tried to dry so I'm pleased to see it worked. Of course there is a lot more slicing to do before I will know if the whole thing did right so the nightmares of cavernous holes in the salami will still plague me till I have it all sliced. But for now I'm pleased.
Anyhow, my plans were to slice the salami at 40% shrinkage but its been nearly 6 months and its been hovering at 37.6% for over a week now but it felt firm enough so with my curiosity at its peak I sliced into it today to see if this was a train wreck or not. Thankfully, it looks like all is good.
It resembles some sci-fi cocoon of sorts.
Had a little indecision on how to best slice it.
Looks like it dried pretty evenly. Was pleased with the texture and the flavor is interesting. Very delicate and almost has a nutty flavor in it.
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=58D37990
Closeup. It seems to have dried better than I expected. It is by far the largest minced meat product I've ever tried to dry so I'm pleased to see it worked. Of course there is a lot more slicing to do before I will know if the whole thing did right so the nightmares of cavernous holes in the salami will still plague me till I have it all sliced. But for now I'm pleased.
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- Butterbean
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Thanks, I was relieved after cutting it because I half expected a train wreck.redzed wrote:Very nice BB! And it's amazing that for something that size there is no case hardening! Conditions in your cave must be perfect.
On the case hardening, I can't help but wonder if the thickness of the casing may have helped reduce the risk of hardening. I don't know this for certain but it almost seemed like the casing was possibly double-walled and definitely much thicker than what I've used in the past. At first, drying was extremely slow compared to the other salami but it was just slow and steady. I think this may have been a good thing since I used a slow fermentation process. I regret not taking notes but I really didn't expect it to work.
Here is a close up of the dried casing you can see the thickness and what looks to be a double wall in some areas.
Last edited by Butterbean on Sat Oct 29, 2016 13:56, edited 1 time in total.
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- Forum Enthusiast
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- Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2015 23:35
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- Butterbean
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- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
- Location: South Georgia
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- Forum Enthusiast
- Posts: 573
- Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2015 23:35
- Location: Chicago
- Butterbean
- Moderator
- Posts: 1955
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
- Location: South Georgia
- Butterbean
- Moderator
- Posts: 1955
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
- Location: South Georgia
Those are huge Lou. About how long did it take fo dry them?LOUSANTELLO wrote:I did these a while ago. They were about 10 pounds each...Image
Kunde, that's a beautiful plate. If you ate all that I hope you scheduled a nap afterward.