A few months ago I was asked how the CELR-12 performed when it comes to salami. Truth is I didn’t know as I’ve only ever made dry cured whole muscles using that unit. So the following video and recipe is a fun experiment where we make both the Spanish Chorizo and the Italian Callabrese Salami in our home ice chest using the CELR-12 dry curing module.
If you don’t know what the CELR-12 is, it’s basically a device that turns your existing home ice chest into a freezer, a refrigerator, a dry curing chamber, a warming box, or a low temperature oven. It’s a pretty neat device and is a fun option for people who want to get into dry curing meats (as well as other stuff) without the headache of building your own chamber. So far the unit has worked exactly as advertised and if you are looking to get into this craft you might want to check it out. CELR-12 Dry Curing – Use the discount code TGC50 for 50 bucks off your order (They offer a 100 day money back guarantee no questions asked)
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Enjoy the video presentation of how I make Spanish Chorizo and Salami Calabrese. If you have any questions or thoughts be sure to let me know in the comment section.
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Salami Calabrese
Ingredients
- 700 g lean pork trim
- 300 g pork back fat
- 25 g salt `
- 2.5 g insta cure #1
- 7 g SavorYe
- 10 g sweet Calabrian pepper
- 15 g hot Calabrian pepper
- 3 g black pepper
- 4 g fennel pollen
- 20 g minced Calabrian peppers
- 5 g minced garlic
- 30 ml white wine
- TSPX starter culture dilute 1/4 tsp of starter culture in distilled water for every 5 pounds of salami, Allow to re-hydrate for 30 minutes prior to using
OPTIONAL (but I don't recommend, I would smoke this instead)
- 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
- remove any silver skin, sinew, or unwanted parts from the pork. Cut the pork and fat into pieces that will fit into your grinder. Place in the freezer to chill (you want the temp below 34f or 1c)
- Grind chilled pork and fat through the 6mm plate. Rechill after grinding to get better particle definition.
- Prepare the starter culture and set to the side. Your starter culture needs about 30 minutes to "wake-up" before use.
- Mix the meat with the starter culture, then add the seasonings, wine, garlic, and chopped peppers. Mix till the mince is tacky and looks like it's fuzzy. You mince meat will be very sticky
- Stuff your mince tightly into a 29-32mm hog. Weigh your salami and record the weight
- Prick your salami to get rid of any air pockets and brush your salami with the prepared mold 600 solution (if you are using this)
- Ferment your salami at 69F (20.5c) with 90%+ humidity for 48-72 hours (these parameters are for this culture, other culture require different parameters).
- Test the pH at 48 hours to see where you are at. You are aiming for a ph between 5.0 and 5.2.
- Once you have reached your target pH place your salami in your drying chamber at 55F with 80% Humidity. Let it dry in this chamber until you have reached a 38%-40% weight loss.
A different way to ferment
- An alternative way to ferment your salami would be to start at 69f (20.5c) for 1 day. Then on day 2 drop the temperature to 68f (20c). And continue dropping your temperature 1 degree each day for 9-10 days. After 10 days reduce your temperature to 55f and begin the drying process.
If you are not planning on using a mold culture
- Cold smoke this salami for 5-6 hours during the fermentation step using your favorite smoking wood. Be sure to keep the humidity high in your smoker and keep the temperature between 65f and 75f for proper fermentation.
Spanish Chorizo
Ingredients
- 700 g lean pork trim
- 300 g pork back fat
- 25 g salt `
- 2.5 g insta cure #1
- 7 g SavorYe
- 10 g hot Spanish paprika
- 15 g sweet Spanish paprika
- 3 g black pepper
- 2 g dried oregano
- 20 g minced Spanish peppers
- 5 g minced garlic
- 30 ml white wine
- TSPX starter culture dilute 1/4 tsp of starter culture in distilled water for every 5 pounds of salami, Allow to re-hydrate for 30 minutes prior to using
OPTIONAL (but I don't recommend, I would smoke this instead)
- 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
- remove any silver skin, sinew, or unwanted parts from the pork. Cut the pork and fat into pieces that will fit into your grinder. Place in the freezer to chill (you want the temp below 34f or 1c)
- Grind chilled pork and fat through the 6mm plate. Rechill after grinding to get better particle definition.
- Prepare the starter culture and set to the side. Your starter culture needs about 30 minutes to "wake-up" before use.
- Mix the meat with the starter culture, then add the seasonings, wine, garlic, and chopped peppers. Mix till the mince is tacky and looks like it's fuzzy. You mince meat will be very sticky
- Stuff your mince tightly into a 29-32mm hog. Weigh your salami and record the weight
- Prick your salami to get rid of any air pockets and brush your salami with the prepared mold 600 solution (if you are using this)
- Ferment your salami at 69F (20.5c) with 90%+ humidity for 48-72 hours (these parameters are for this culture, other culture require different parameters).
- Test the pH at 48 hours to see where you are at. You are aiming for a ph between 5.0 and 5.2.
- Once you have reached your target pH place your salami in your drying chamber at 55F with 80% Humidity. Let it dry in this chamber until you have reached a 38%-40% weight loss.
A different way to ferment
- An alternative way to ferment your salami would be to start at 69f (20.5c) for 1 day. Then on day 2 drop the temperature to 68f (20c). And continue dropping your temperature 1 degree each day for 9-10 days. After 10 days reduce your temperature to 55f and begin the drying process.
If you are not planning on using a mold culture
- Cold smoke this salami for 5-6 hours during the fermentation step using your favorite smoking wood. Be sure to keep the humidity high in your smoker and keep the temperature between 65f and 75f for proper fermentation.
First thank you for every recipe, i am glad to know you.
Your recipes always great….
Best regards and Happy New Year
both recipes are great and that makes me to try them both. then i am looking forward to taste the results.
Best Regards
Hello. Why does this use #1 cure instead of #2
The size of the salami is less than 34mm
Thanks for another great lesson in salami. Both recipes are now on my to do list.
Although you described an entirely plausible reason for the strong mold flavor, let me suggest an addition. Being an ex distiller, aging whiskey in a 200 liter barrel is completely different than aging in a smaller barrel with the same char. This is because the surface area is larger in a smaller barrel. With a 200 liter barrel, it is rare if not impossible to “over oak” whiskey as opposed to a smaller one. The surface area on your casings is significantly greater per slice than if you used a 70 or 100mm casing. Just something to consider. Again thanks for another great video. Thanks to you, I’m about to unwrap a Calabrian salami made with jarred peppers and powder. Fingers crossed.