If you are into salami making, then this salami has got to be on the short list. Incredible flavor, incredible mouthfeel, beautiful umami finish, what’s not to love.
Follow basic salami preparation practices when making this sausage.
Clean and sanitize all of your equipment.
Keep your meat and grinder parts super cold (under 34f or 1c) during the grinding process.
Rehydrate your starter culture (in non-chlorinated water) for 30 minutes prior to use.
Mix your very chilled mincemeat (under 34f or 1c), seasonings, and starter culture till the mince becomes very tacky.
Tightly stuff the mince into casings and prick out any air pockets.
Record the starting weight and the target weight of each salami link.
Brush with protective mold culture (unless you plan on cold smoking)
Hang the salami to ferment.
After the pH target has been hit, hang the salami to dry till the weight loss target has been achieved.
Remove from the drying chamber, slice thinly, and enjoy.
Here are a few things you might find useful when making salami.
SM-194 Starter Culture re-hydrate 1/8 tsp of starter culture in 1/4 cup of distilled water for every kilo (2.2 pounds) of meat/fat. Let this rest for 30 minutes at room temperature
mold 800re-hydrate 1/2 tsp of mold in 1/2 cup of non-chlorinated water. This will do about 5-10 pounds of salami. Let sit at room temp for at least 5 hours before use
If you are using a mold culture (mold 800 or mold 600 – either one will work) prepare at least 2-3 hours before you need it. Let the culture rest at room temperature while you get everything else together. This will give the mold culture a chance to "wake up".
Clean your meat of any sinew or silver skin and cut the meat and fat into small chunks (small enough to fit into your grinder). Chill your meat to below 34f (1.1c).
Grind the chilled pork and pork fat through a course 10mm plate, then grind the chilled beef through a fine plate (either 4.5mm or 3mm). Rechill before mixing. Keep the temperature below 34f (1.1c) at all times.
Rehydrate the starter culture in distilled water for 30 minutes prior to using.
Prepare the casing by soaking in luke warm water for 5-10 minutes.
Add all of your spices, cure, binder, wine, and starter culture to the chilled ground meat. Mix well until it feels tacky and sticks to your hand if you turn your hand upside down, when finished.
Stuff the mince tightly into your casings, prick with a sausage pricker. Also weigh your salami and record the weight. Also record your target weight. For a firm salami I would target a 40% weight loss. If you like your salami a bit softer you can target a 35% weight loss. (For Genoa I typically target a 35% weight loss, but the choice is yours)
I like to brush my mold culture on at this step. With a kitchen brush I just dip it into the mold culture and basically "paint" it on the salami. You can also dip your salami into the culture as well.
Ferment your salami by placing it in an environment that between 70F (21.1c) and 85F (29.4c) with high humidity for 18-36 hours. You can achieve high humidity by wrapping your salami in cling film. This locks in the moisture. A good place to ferment is in your oven with the light on but the oven off. (EVERY STARTER CULTURE IS DIFFERENT. THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOR THE SM-194 STARTER CULTURE). The goal of fermentation is to reach a pH between 5.2 and 5.0. This starter culture gets to target in 20-36 hours – depending on fermentation temp and amount of sugar in the recipe. I would check the ph at 20 hours and see where it's at.
Once you have reached the target pH you can transfer your salami to the drying chamber.
The drying conditions should be set to 55F (13c) and 80% humidity. Leave it in here till you get to your target weight loss.
once you hit your weight loss target, slice thinly and enjoy
Storage Instructions
To store your salami, remove the casing and wash the salami with either vinegar or wine. Place your salami stick in a vacuum sealed bag and refrigerate.
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10 thoughts on “Genoa Salami”
Terry
Again Thanks Eric you make sausage making easier haven’t tried this one yet Great show
Great instructional video on making a dry cured sausage.
Having a sharp and mated knife and die is something needed to give that particle definition needed to make a quality sausage. I sure could use a lapping plate setup to keep my grinder knives and dies sharp.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Following you instruction I made yesterday this Genoa salami. The pH of the mass was 5.8. I add a little bit more wine/water to get smoother mass. The starter I used was Bitec LS25 culture, let’s see what the pH is after 24/36 hours. I’ll let you know about the final results later on. Do you think you could easily find the flavour differences between these two cultures. Special thanks for this metric – US conversion factor. Best wishes, vmo (Finland)
pH after 24 hour was 5.0. I filled the mass into 50mm (2″) permeable cellulose casing moistured with 600 mold and put the them into my modified wine chamber (13C /55F, 75%RH). Now just wait.
I do use wine cooler and it works fine. I added little PC fan in to it to make air flowing (my wine cooler does not have dedicated fan to move air around). Temperature is set for 13°C. If humidity is too low, I add bowl with water and point fan to it so it generates little bit of humidity to air.
Again Thanks Eric you make sausage making easier haven’t tried this one yet Great show
Great instructional video on making a dry cured sausage.
Having a sharp and mated knife and die is something needed to give that particle definition needed to make a quality sausage. I sure could use a lapping plate setup to keep my grinder knives and dies sharp.
Thanks for sharing sharping of the grinder blade.
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Following you instruction I made yesterday this Genoa salami. The pH of the mass was 5.8. I add a little bit more wine/water to get smoother mass. The starter I used was Bitec LS25 culture, let’s see what the pH is after 24/36 hours. I’ll let you know about the final results later on.
Do you think you could easily find the flavour differences between these two cultures.
Special thanks for this metric – US conversion factor.
Best wishes, vmo (Finland)
Nice. The flavor difference is probably minor. I’m sure it will turn out excellent!!
pH after 24 hour was 5.0. I filled the mass into 50mm (2″) permeable cellulose casing moistured with 600 mold and put the them into my modified wine chamber (13C /55F, 75%RH).
Now just wait.
Perfect! Now we wait
Could a vine cooler be used for dry aging meat and salami?
yes, certain wine fridges will work for charcuterie
I do use wine cooler and it works fine. I added little PC fan in to it to make air flowing (my wine cooler does not have dedicated fan to move air around). Temperature is set for 13°C. If humidity is too low, I add bowl with water and point fan to it so it generates little bit of humidity to air.