Want to make something different? This salami might be right up your alley. Spanish Sobrasada. This spreadable salami is like chorizo on steroids. Great flavor, incredible texture, and very versatile!!
Sobrasada hails from the Balearic Islands of Spain and is fast becoming one of my favorite salami. Not because it’s a very cool salami to make, but because it’s so delicious. The high fat content in this salami and the method of preparation yields a very soft and spreadable charcuterie with incredible flavor.
To make sobrasada you will need lean pork ( I used meat from the hind leg of the pig – or ham), pork back fat, and leaf fat (kidney fat). The best place to find leaf fat is from your butcher. Leaf fat is what is used to render down to make lard. If you can’t find leaf fat belly fat makes for a good substitution. Just be sure to adjust your lean pork ratios as belly fat generally contains 50% meat as well. All of this is ground finely and mixed together to form a paste. It’s then stuffed it into a casing. After a quick fermentation period the sobrasada is allowed to mature or dry in a controlled environment for 8+ weeks (depending on the size).
Although this salami is very forgiving I still recommend using a dry curing chamber for the absolute best results. We recently made a post on how to build a salami chamber. Be sure to check it out and let me know if you have any issues.
This charcuterie can be eaten as is, over warmed crusty bread, added to pizzas, pastas, with eggs and goat cheese, the options are limitless.
Here are a few special items and ingredients that you will need for this project.
- Casings
- Flavor of Italy
- Apera pH Meter with Bluetooth
- Dextrose
- Cure #2
- Sweet Spanish Paprika
- Spicy Spanish Paprika
- Sausage Stuffer
- Meat Grinder
- InkBird Controllers temp & Humidity
- Dehumidifier Eva Dry 1100
- Humidifier
- Hygrometer for chamber
If you want to see everything we use be sure to check out our Amazon Storefront where I have all my materials listed by category. There you’ll find everything I use to build a drying chamber and so on!! If you buy something from there it helps support our projects.
2 Guys & A Cooler Amazon Storefront
Spanish Sobrasada
Ingredients
- 500 grams lean pork
- 250 grams pork back Fat
- 250 grams leaf fat kidney fat (what lard is made from)
- 25 grams kosher salt
- 2.5 grams Insta cure #2
- 2 grams dextrose
- 2 grams table sugar
- 2 grams garlic powder
- 30 grams Spanish paprika dulce
- 30 grams Spanish paprika picante
- 1 gram dried oregano
- Flavor of Italy Starter Culture re-hydrate 1/4 tsp of starter in 1/8 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
Instructions
- Grind chilled meat and fat through 10mm plate. Re-chill then grind again through a 3mm plate. Make sure it's partially frozen between grinds. The mince should look uniform.
- Prepare the casing by rehydrating in water and prepare the starter culture as it needs to rehydrate for a least 30 minutes
- Once you have everything ready add all your spices and starter culture to your mince and begin mixing. Mix well till everything is thoroughly incorporated. It should feel soft and resemble a paste.
- Stuff into your casing, 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 weigh.
- Ferment your salami by placing them in an environment that between 75F and 85F with high humidity. You can achieve high humidity by wrapping you 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 and 80% humidity. Leave it in here for at least 8 weeks. Larger diameter sobrasada will require more time. The longer you leave it the more developed the flavor will become. I generally target a 30% -32% weight loss.
Eric, you are a star. I made Nduja so now is the time for this one. Thank you so much for all your work👍👍👍
Happy Easter, Vojta
Hi Eric, is the paprika quantity ok? Shouldn’t it be like 30 grams per kilo each type?
yes. thank you for catching that. I’ve updated the recipe.
We are currently planning a cruise through the Mediterranean, with a multi of stop in Spain. My wife was researching foods to eat at the various Mercato’s while in the ports and sobrasada came up most lists. She did a google search for the sausage and this recipe showed up on the search results. We plan to purchase the paprika at one of the mercato’s and try this recipe when we get home. THANKS!!!
This is a such a great project and incredibly easy to make (IMHO)