Spianata Romana

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redzed
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Spianata Romana

Post by redzed » Mon Aug 10, 2015 06:22

Spianata Romana is a large diameter pressed and dry cured sausage. It originates from the Lazio region of Italy with Rome in the center and therefore the name. I decided to go all out with project and ended up with the largest salami I had ever made. Stuffed into a beef bung it weighed 4.6kg., 59cm long and with a diameter of 11.4cm. The recipe was based on Len Poli's, but without the powdered milk and with a slower fermenting culture. Using Gewürzmüller Bitec LM-1, it took 55 hours to drop the pH from 5.85 to 5.18. And I was very happy with that since lately I have had the pH drop too fast and too low. This is a very simple salami as far as ingredients go but after making the Kindziuk, there is a good argument for the "less is better" adage. Now the waiting begins with the estimated time of four months to reach the target 35% weight loss.

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Stuffed into a beef bung. Too bad I didn't prepare more meat since it could have handled another kilogram.

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Fermented, pressed, sprayed with mould starter and ready for the curing chamber.

Spianata Romana

Meats
Class I (lean with no connective tissue) pork from loin and ham 750g
Class II pork trims from shoulder 50g
Back fat 200g

Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat
Salt 24g
Cure #2 2.5g
Granulated garlic 2g
Mixed peppercorns, coarsely ground 2g
Mexican hot pepper flakes 2.5g
Fennel 2g
Mace .5 g
Dextrose 3g
Erythorbate .6g
White wine 25ml
Bitec LM-1 starter culture - rounded 1/2tsp used for the 4.7kg meat block

Instructions
1. Cut lean meat into 3-4cm. cubes, fat meat and back fat into slightly smaller ones.
2. Add the salt, #2 and cure to the meat and rest in fridge for 48 hours. Keep the lean and fat meats separate. Add salt to the fat and also place in fridge. Make sure that the meat and fat are covered well.
3. Freeze the fat and and semi-freeze meat before grinding. Run the fat and the Class II pork though the 6.5mm. plate and the meat through the 10mm.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients to the ground meat and mix thoroughly.
5. Stuff into a smaller diameter beef bung or a 110mm protein lined collagen casing and tie with string or net.
6. Ferment at 20-22C and 90%+ RH until pH reads 5.3 or lower, but ideally not below 5.
7. Dry at 75-85% RH until weight drops by 35%
8. Surface starter optional but recommended.
Last edited by redzed on Wed Dec 23, 2015 16:51, edited 3 times in total.
BriCan
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Re: Spianata Romana

Post by BriCan » Mon Aug 10, 2015 07:38

redzed wrote: 6. Ferment at 20-22C and 90+ RH until pH reads 5.2 or lower.
Question please

How long did this take ?
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Post by oneills » Mon Aug 10, 2015 09:52

That looks awesome Chris. I have to try something like that soon
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Post by Bob K » Mon Aug 10, 2015 11:48

That sounds good Chris, especially with the hot pepper. My limit has been 3" in the diameter department and even they take 3-4 months to dry, and the centers remain a bit soft.
How and how long did you press it for? I wonder if the traditional method of pressing fairly flat helped with the drying process.

BriCan-
BriCan wrote:
redzed wrote: 6. Ferment at 20-22C and 90+ RH until pH reads 5.2 or lower.
Question please

How long did this take ?
redzed wrote: Using Gewürzmüller Bitec LM-1, it took 55 hours to drop the pH from 5.85 to 5.18.
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Post by redzed » Mon Aug 10, 2015 17:12

Bob K wrote:That sounds good Chris, especially with the hot pepper. My limit has been 3" in the diameter department and even they take 3-4 months to dry, and the centers remain a bit soft.
How and how long did you press it for? I wonder if the traditional method of pressing fairly flat helped with the drying process.
My four month estimate is based on the three months it took my Kindziuk to dry. It was also cased in a beef bung but half the length of the Spaniata. But then then the Kindziuk was cold smoked for 50 hours, greatly expediting the drying process. So we shall see. A couple of years ago I had a failed large diameter sausage (a coppata, a la Poli), that just never dried and I had to toss it. So hopefully this one will be a success.

I pressed it during the fermentation stage and then for another day after that. Probably should have stuffed it less firmly but then you risk air pockets. I guess that's where experience helps. :grin:
oneills wrote:That looks awesome Chris. I have to try something like that soon
Thanks oneneills! Go for it! If you do it now it should be ready for all those Christmas parties!
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Post by BriCan » Tue Aug 11, 2015 05:50

Bob K wrote:
BriCan-
BriCan wrote:
redzed wrote: 6. Ferment at 20-22C and 90+ RH until pH reads 5.2 or lower.
Question please

How long did this take ?
redzed wrote: Using Gewürzmüller Bitec LM-1, it took 55 hours to drop the pH from 5.85 to 5.18.
Missed that Bob, :oops: thats what you get with still looking at things at 02:30 in the morning
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Post by Bob K » Tue Aug 11, 2015 15:10

Just a thought on pressing Chris. :idea: I would imagine the chubs would get flatter if you held off adding the cure and salt until you added the spices prior to mixing and stuffing as the cure and salt firms and sets up the meat.
I plan on giving pressing a try next time I make Soppressata.
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Post by redzed » Wed Aug 12, 2015 06:37

Good point Bob, but I now really like curing the meat for a couple of days before grinding and stuffing. You get a nice firm grind and never had any fat smearing. I am pressing the spaniata for another 36 hours, having increased the weight on it considerably. Should work out fine and there is no way there will be any air pockets in there!
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Post by redzed » Wed Dec 23, 2015 16:48

The Spianata Romana is finally ready! It took less time to dry than I had anticipated. After 11 weeks of drying in my curing chamber it showed a 38% weight loss and some case hardening. It was then vacuum sealed and spent a further 8 weeks in the fridge. 2015 was a year where I had a couple of major failures and a few successes with my dry curing adventures, but the Spaniata is the salami of the year! I think it's almost one of the best I have ever made. Wonderful flavour with just the right amount of salt, a touch of heat and a hint of fennel. Simple flavour panel but delicious. Aroma is fantastic!

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Spianata Romana after 11 weeks of dry curing. 38% weight loss, dropping from 4,600g to 2,852.

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Ready just in time for Christmas entertaining!
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Post by Bob K » Wed Dec 23, 2015 18:25

Wow that looks great Chris!!! The larger diameter salamis are always a challenge. Remarkable is the deep red color for an all pork sausage, something you get by proper aging and moisture content . The Heat + Fennel combo has become our favorite. :mrgreen:
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Post by redzed » Wed Dec 23, 2015 19:32

Thanks Bob! I think that the pressing helped not only in appearance but improved the bind and consistency. So there is obviously a reason that many of the large diameter products are in fact pressed. I also had good luck with my Kindziuk which was also cased in a bung and pressed.
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Post by ped » Wed Dec 23, 2015 20:09

That is a beaut.
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Post by Butterbean » Thu Dec 24, 2015 02:35

Beautiful work
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Post by Bob K » Thu Dec 24, 2015 15:43

Culture - did you use the Gewürzmüller Bitec LS-1 culture? I can't find any info for Bitec LM-1
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Post by Butterbean » Thu Dec 24, 2015 17:39

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