Safe Aw but high pH

[sheervelocity]

I am 1 month into drying 3 different recipes, using cure #1 for 2 of them and #1 for 1 of them. No starter cultures.

Unfortunately I didn't monitor the pH during the cure or the fermentation process.

The pH on all sausages is apprx. the same at 5.8. Since I didn't add starter culture and these are kind of fast ferment recipes I am doubting the pH dropped and then rose back up to 5.8 within a month.

The Aw on all 3 recipes are below 0.85, with the highest of the 3 being 0.81 and they are big beef middles.

To top it off my humidifier has been malfunctioning and the casings are drier than the center, still a bit squishy but tastes ok so regardless they should dry longer.

Worried there may have not been a proper fermentation but no way of knowing.

 

[sheervelocity]

I will add it's a possibility that the sausages dried too quickly to Aw under 0.95 and it maybe halted fermentation early. Sausage seems to be lacking pizzazz.

 

[JC in GB]

pH seems a bit high for safety margins.

JC

 

[indaswamp]

How are you measuring the Aw?

 

[indaswamp]

What was the temperature during fermentation and for how many hours? There is a formula for 'degree hours' which calculates the time above 60*F for control of Staph. Aureus.

Also, what percentage of salt did you use?

 

[indaswamp]

Fermentation to create acid to pH below 5.3 is just one hurdle. Many southern European style salami do not drop below pH 5.6 the entire time they are drying. You need to look at you safe handling practices. Did you use fresh meat? did it stay cold while you cut and trimmed? did you work fast while grinding and keep the meat chilled? That is your first line of defense against pathogens.
How much salt did you add? 3% added salt is the norm, 2.5 is the bare minimum according to the Italian Norcini Association. Nitrate and Nitrite is the next safety hurdle...what percentage did you use? Since you did not add a culture, did you add an acidifier like wine?

If you followed good safe practices and feel you have achieved the first three safety hurdles, then not dropping the pH should not be a problem. IT will affect the drying though... as the pH drops closer to 4.6 the meat approaches the isoelectric point of the meat and the meat loses it's ability to hold onto water effectively, this aids drying. A non acidified salami will take longer to dry. Also, a salami with 3% salt will dry 25% faster than a salami with 2.5% salt...

 

[sheervelocity]

pH could be this high with a long dry sausage but I think it may have never dropped. The temp was probably around 10 C which is too low for fermentation believe you need 12 C. As per Marianskis Aw < 0.85 is a sufficient single safety hurdle, govt regs here also call for a pH of 5.3.
I use a rototronic aw meter.
The mixes all cured 3 days in their respective curing salts and 3% salt and then fermented for about 4 days before cold smoking.

Wondering if the Aw alone will ensure safety.

 

[indaswamp]

fermented for about 4 days

at what temperature?

 

[indaswamp]

So if I read it right, you fermented at 10*C (50*F) for 4 days? That temp will be too low for flavor producing bacteria (Staphylococcus strains) but lacto. bacteria can still produce acid, though much much slower. If the meat never got above 60*F during fermentation, then Staph. Aureus growth is not a problem. Below Aw 0.93, Staph Aureus can grow slowly down to Aw 0.85, but can not produce toxins.

 

[indaswamp]

As far as dry rim; case hardening..
Did you measure the Aw in the center of the salami? if you want to lessen the case hardening then you can peel casing and vac pack sections of salami. Place in refrigerator and the moisture will equalize over time, drying the center more as moisture moves to the outside. It may take a month or more, but it will equalize over time.

 

[sheervelocity]

Thanks for the tips. Case is still edible I'm eating away at my test samples now. Quite salty and seems dry as proven by the low Aw. I think we can assume pH is high because fermentation was unsuccessful, the sausage could definitely taste better. My dogs and I will be eating this batch I don't think I'll be handing these out to people. Will have to have everything in order before starting the next batch.

 

[indaswamp]

Did you add any fermentable sugar to the meat?

 

[indaswamp]

I'm wondering why you chose to make a fast fermented product without the use of a starter culture? Most salamis made without the use of a starter culture will not achieve a pH below about 5.2, and it will take a whole lot longer than with the use of a culture. Will definitely not be fast.
If you wanted a tang, then you are aiming for pH 4.9ish or lower and that will be extremely difficult to do without added fermentable sugar and starter culture.

 

[sheervelocity]

I used table sugar and they were Marianksi recipes, specifically ones without starter culture because I don't have any but had some casings. Aw is ~0.75 on 2/3 recipes and because of the freezing temperatures here staph would not have had much of a chance to release toxins.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Well the use of cure 1 with no added dextrose and no fermenting agent of any kind, i would say trouble is just around the corner. I bet you have culture around and you dont know it. Like good quality sourkrout liquid, cultured buttermilk (not fermento) cultured yogurt

When i worked on AF Black projets we had a saying. Just because you cant see it does not mean its not there.
Like bacteria, pathogens, e coli and such

Ok im done

Be safe.

 

[indaswamp]

Rick, Good catch. I missed the fact that cure #1 was used.

using cure #1 for 2 of them and #1 for 1 of them

Hey sv, is that a typo? did you mean you used cure #2 for 2 of them and #1 for 1 of them?

What diameter were the 'big beef middles' prior to drying and after stuffing? Generally, cure #1 is only used for products stuffed into 42mm and smaller casings. For all salami larger, cure #2 is used.

 

[sheervelocity]

I followed the instructions for the recipes from Marianksi.

 

[sheervelocity]

Page 176 Art of Fermented Sausage, i see the authors have made a typo. Here they state Cure #2 and Cure #1 for same recipe. This I used the beef middle for, the other 2 thinner I made Cure #1.

SWFL, yes I did consider a backslop using other salami skins or something... but decided to go traditional method... but I didn't proper monitor... I've made salami with starter in the past and didn't monitor their either but had the extra safety hurdle...

Anyway we didn't get sick eating it with a bunch of homemeade bread (was very good), the rest of it will dry longer, fixing my humidifier today...

Mis en place is truly key! Thanks guys for the input.

 

[indaswamp]

All those old Polish government sausages were made for commercial production using old techniques. It is not recommended to make dry cured sausages without using starter cultures unless/until you fully understand what you are doing and more importantly WHY it was done that way. I only say this because you posted here asking if it was safe.