Ever wanted to make a Salami without nitrites/nitrates but was concerned about safety? No worries because today I’m going to show you how to do it. The secret is in a particular ingredient called EcoCure #2. This is a nitrate/nitrite alternative when it comes to curing meats!! It’s an all-natural product that uses fruit and herb extracts to safely cure your meat!!
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.
- EcoCure #2 (No Nitrite Curing Salt)
- Calabrian Pepper Powder
- Bacteria Starter Cultures
- Protective Mold for Salami
- Insta Cure #2 (Curing Salt with Nitrites/Nitrates)
- Dextrose
- Iodophor Sanitizer
- MK4 Thermapen (Accurate Thermometer)
- Sausage Pricker
- Apera pH Meter with Bluetooth
- Dry Curing Cabinet
- Kotai Chef Knife
- Sausage Stuffers
- Meat Grinder
- Meat Mixers
- Stuffing Horn Cleaner
- Butcher Twine & Dispenser
- Small accurate Scale for spices
- Large Capacity Scale (33 pounds)
- Meat Slicer
- Drying rack and tray
- Custom Cutting Board
- InkBird Controllers temp & Humidity
- Dehumidifier Eva Dry 1100
- Humidifiers
- Hand Held Vacuum SealerHeavy Duty Kitchen Vacuum Sealer
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Nitrite Free Salami
A delicious salami without the use of Nitrites
How much do you want to make? 1000 grams
Ingredients
- 700 g lean pork
- 300 g pork back fat
- 20 g salt
- 10 g EcoCure #2
- 2 g granulated garlic
- 2 g black pepper
- 4 g Calabrian pepper
- 30 ml red wine any red wine will work
- Flavor of Italy Starter Culture re-hydrate 1/4 tsp of starter in 1/4 cup of distilled water for every kilo (2.2 pounds) of meat/fat. Let this rest for 30 minutes
- mold 600 re-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
- Beef Casing 40mm – 43mm
Instructions
- If you are using a mold culture (mold 600) prepare at least 2-3 hours before you need it. This will give it a chance to "wake up".
- Prepare the casing by rinsing, flushing, then soaking in luke warm water. For Beef Rounds you can soak overnight or 5-6 hours before use.
- Clean your meat of any sinew or silverskin 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 chilled meat and fat through a course plate (10mm). Rechill after grinding.
- Rehydrate the starter culture in distilled water for 30 minutes prior to using.
- Add all of the spices, eco cure #2, dextrose, wine, and starter culture to the chilled ground meat. Mix well until everything is thoroughly incorporated. It should feel tacky and stick to your hand if you turn your hand upside down, when finished.
- Stuff the mince tightly into your casings, prick with a sausage pricker, and if you plan on using mold this would be a good time to brush it on. Also weigh your salami and record the weight and record the 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.
- Ferment your salami by placing them in an environment that between 75F (23.9c) and 85F (29.4c) with high humidity for 18-24 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 FLAVOR OF ITALY STARTER CULTURE). The goal of fermentation is to reach a pH between 5.2 and 4.9.
- 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 lose 30% – 40% moisture loss. The more moisture that is lost the harder your salami will be. I personally like 35% – 40% 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.
Notes
- EcoCure #2 has roughly 49% salt in it. I've adjusted the salt content in this recipe to accommodate for this.
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Hello Eric,
Just wanted to mention that the wine is also acidic and 30nL/Kg. should drop the pH of the mince down 0.25-0.3 points. So if the meat is at pH5.75 then you will be around pH5.5-5.45. It is my understanding from my research that this slight drop in pH to around pH5.5 shocks the bad pathogenic bacteria and gives the good ones a head start. Also, the Calabrian pepper has a significant amount of sugars in the form of glucose and fructose…about 41%. So for every 10 grams of Calabrian pepper, you are adding 4.1g of sugar. So this will fuel fermentation.
Here is my research thread on SMF:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/the-great-fermentation-trials-2021.306700/
Looking forward to the rest of this season of Celebrate Sausage!
Excellent comment Keith! Thanks for chiming in!!
I will have to try my hand at this. I do have smoked paprika and cayenne. But will have to find a way to get ecocure #2 and flavor of Italy starter culture. Your teaching is always welcomed. Thank you. Peace!
You are very welcome!!