Follow basic salami preparation practices when making this sausage.
- Clean and sanitize all of your equipment.
- Keep your meat and grinder parts super cold (below 34F) during the grinding process
- Rehydrate your starter culture (in non-chlorinated water) for 30 minutes prior to use.
- Mix your very chilled mincemeat, 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 of each salami link
- Brush with protective mold culture
- Hang the salami to ferment for 18-24 hours (these parameters are for Flavor of Italy starter culture)
- 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 this salami
- Iodophor Sanitizer
- Apera pH Meter with Bluetooth
- Flavor of Italy Starter Culture
- Mold 600 (protective Mold for Salami)
- MK4 Thermapen (Accurate Thermometer)
- Sausage Pricker
- Dry Curing Cabinet
- Kotai Chef Knife (for 15% off use discount code – 2guys )
- Sausage Stuffers
- Meat Grinder
- Meat Mixers
- Stuffing Horn Cleaner
- Butcher Twine & Dispenser
- Small accurate Scale for spices
- Large Capacity Scale (33 pounds)
- Custom Cutting Board
- Dextrose
- InkBird Controllers temp & Humidity
- Dehumidifier Eva Dry 1100
- Humidifiers
- Hand Held Vacuum SealerHeavy Duty Kitchen Vacuum Sealer
How do you store your salami when it’s finished
Storing your salami properly is just about as important as making your salami. You’ve spent so much time patiently waiting for your salami to dry properly the last thing you want is to have it ruined by storing it incorrectly. In all my years of salami making the advice I’m about to give is from personal experience.
I have found that the best way to store your salami is by vacuum sealing it then placing it in your refrigerator till you are ready to eat. This method will keep your salami in “stasis” for as long as a year! By vacuum sealing your salami will keep it from losing any more moisture and as an added bonus the time it remains in the refrigerator will help equalize the moisture that inside and allow the salami to “age” which will develop it’s flavor. It’s a win win!
Can you freeze your salami? Technically you can and many people do BUT freezing your charcuterie (salami or whole muscles) will affect the texture when it’s thawed and eaten. As the salami thaws moisture crystals (that were frozen) will be released changing the overall texture. I don’t personally recommend freezing but if you don’t mind the texture change it is certainly an option.. If you are looking for an affordable vacuum sealer consider checking out the Heavy Duty Kitchen Vacuum Sealer from the Sausage Maker. This vacuum sealer is versatile and really does a good job. It has lots of features and really makes a tight seal on your meats (which is what you want). A more economical option for more short term storage is this Hand Held Vacuum Sealer with Zip Lock Bags also from The Sausage Maker. This is a great option for fast convenient vacuum sealing especially if you plan on taking slices off your salami frequently. This options allows you to use a small hand held sealer with special bags that can be reused time and time again.
Enjoy the video and the recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away.
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Mexican Mole Salami
Ingredients
- 700 g lean pork
- 300 g pork back fat
- 25 g salt
- 2.5 g Insta cure #1
- 2 g dextrose
- 4 g chili ancho powder
- 3 g cumin powder
- 1 g Mexican oregano
- 4 g tomato powder
- 2 g coriander I like to toast the seeds before I grind it
- 2 g cinnamon
- 2 g garlic powder
- 3 g onion powder
- 2 g chipotle powder
- 20 g potato starch
- 10 g dark chocolate grated 70% or 80% works here
- 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
- hog casings I use 32-34mm
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".
- 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 medium course plate (6mm). Rechill after grinding.
- Rehydrate the starter culture in distilled water for 30 minutes prior to using.
- Prepare the casing by soaking in luke warm water. The synthetic casings only need to soak for 10-15 minutes.
- Add all of the spices, cure, dextrose, 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. 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.
- 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.
Important NOTES
- If you plan on making this a larger diameter salami (anything over 35mm), then you will need to use cure #2 instead of cure #1. If you do use cure #2 you will use the same quantity as listed in the recipe.
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Good Morning Eric!
I love your wild and crazy salami experiments! Excellent my friend! I had just heard about the mole salame from my cousin that lives in Oregon not 2 days prior to the release of this video so I was excited to watch it! I have a few questions though….
What function does the potato starch play in this salami? Is it for texture or does it contribute to fermentation? Or both?
So I looked up the Coro Mole salami…it has cinnamon. Were you going for a regional mole flavor you enjoy and thus skipped the cinnamon? I’m curious as I would like attempt this salami.
Would a 100% dark chocolate bark work? That is what I have on hand.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! Rock on man….awesome series of videos so far!
-Your friend, Keith Cag, in Louisiana
Hey Keith. Funny enough I actually added cinnamon but didn’t have it in my source recipe. Their recipe uses a specific chocolate and pepper that I couldn’t get my hands on so I had to improvise. This mole salami was fashioned more off of my personal mole recipe that we make for our business. IN my opinion it has a more complex flavor than the one from Coro. The potato starch is added for a couple reasons. To help with the bind of the salami and to lock up some of the water. I find that it helps with fermentation as it ferments a tad slower.
Hey Eric, Thanks for the reply. Interesting about the potato flour…do you know about how many grams of sugar are fermentable suagrs in the 20 grams of potato starch you used?
The flavor profile definitely sounds complex! Very nice!
The potato starch I have had zero sugar.
i see mold 600 in this recipe but do not see when it is used? do you soak the casings in it after re hydration or spray it while drying ?
I sprayed it before fermentation