Calabrian Sopressata

[indaswamp]

Playing catch up trying to replenish my salami stock after Catching Delta Covid last fall, then having to deal with Hurricane Ida. No salamis made last fall so I am filling up the maturing chamber. So after the finocchiona was ready to transfer from the drying chamber to the maturing chamber it was time to make one of my favorites- Calabrian. I have played around with this recipe a lot....even did some R&D on fermentation profiles with various % of peppers, sugars and wine. I think I have it nailed down now.

Pressed down with (2) 30" X 36" x 1" thick HDPE cutting boards along with (2) 5 gallon buckets full of water...about 100# of weight.

The wood blocks are stops 1 1/2" thick to help keep the casings from busting once flattened enough. Using 65mm casings here and only partially filled to allow for the flattened shape.

pH reached 5.17 after 36 hours fermentation @67*F...perfect.

I transferred them to the drying chamber; 50*F @75-85%RH to stop fermentation (below 53*F). I will run them through an intensive drying cycle for 6 days then move them to the maturing chamber.

 

[Sven Svensson]

Your posts are always fascinating. It’s much more than a backyard hobby. It’s a passion. You really know your stuff. And, those look incredible.

 

[indaswamp]

Your posts are always fascinating. It’s much more than a backyard hobby. It’s a passion. You really know your stuff. And, those look incredible.

Thanks Sven. This started out as a hobby...but curiosity took me down multiple rabbit holes on the details of the craft. And it is a huge subject! Being a super taster is both a blessing...and a curse. Always looking for exceptional flavor profiles when I cook...and that transferred to my salami making. It's the small details that matter a lot.

Also-why is it the pH changes 0.01 points every time I take a picture?? I mean, it was rock solid steady for at least 30 seconds....pull out the camera, then it flips! LOL!!!

 

[indaswamp]

Calabrian Soppressata

750g Lean Pork (shoulder, loin, ham)
250g Pork Back Fat

25g. sea salt
3g. cure #2
2g. coarse ground black pepper
2g. Hot Calabrian pepper powder
12g. Sweet Calabrian pepper powder
4.5g. Hot Calabrian pepper flakes

3g. fresh garlic thin sliced and steeped in 15mL Italian red wine overnight

No dextrose or sugars added. There is enough simple sugar from the pepper powders to support fermentation.
T-SPX culture dissolved in 30mL distilled water
Fat thru 8mm plate (or hand cut); Lean thru 12mm. plate. 65mm casings 1/2 stuffed; pressed to 1 1/2" thick while fermenting.

 

[pineywoods]

Looks like a good start I look forward to seeing how it turns out I know it will be awhile

 

[indaswamp]

Looks like a good start I look forward to seeing how it turns out I know it will be awhile

Thanks piney! Yeah, gonna be 4-5 week until they are dry. But these should dry faster than the fennel because these are pressed.

 

[indaswamp]

So what I do when filling the casings with my electric sausage stuffer for pressing....
Using the large diameter 1 1/4" tube, with the 65mm casing on the horn, I start the feed of mince from the stuffer and move my hand in a horizontal side to side motion filling the casing letting it slightly expand to about 1 1/2" vertically. I do not fill it tight, just snug trying to make the casing as wide as possible as I fill.

 

[indaswamp]

And I pressed the salami between clean kitchen towels. This absorbs moisture to keep the RH% high around the salami while pressing, keeps the moisture from running on the floor, and keeps the salami from sticking to whatever is being used to press them. Mold spores applied will stay stick onto the salami and not transfer to the board used to press them.

 

[indaswamp]

From my R&D on Calabrian pepper powder, 10g. has around 4.1g of simple sugars. So 14g X 0.41 =5.74g./kg. of simple sugars in the recipe, plus what is in the hot pepper flakes. More than enough to fuel the fermentation...but more than I need. If I let it go unchecked, I'd end up around pH 4.7-4.65 which is not what I want. So that is why the drying chamber is running 51*F to halt fermentation until Aw drops below 0.95... that will be somewhere around 15% weight loss...

 

[bauchjw]

Wow, different level as always! Im fascinated and love it, but it is outside of my comprehension Someday!

 

[indaswamp]

Wow, different level as always! Im fascinated and love it, but it is outside of my comprehension Someday!

If your goal is to make fast fermented tangy style salami like summer sausage, pepperoni, etc...then it is much easier than making a slow fermented style salami. It is very easy to drop the pH, stopping fermentation where you want it for a slow fermented salami is the hard part...and it depends on the culture used, amount of sugar used, type of sugar used, and the temperature of fermentation.
Ideally, it takes less than 3 grams per kilo of dextrose to push the pH to just below 5.2 and not drop below 5.0 because below that, the flavor forming bacteria slow down exponentially or can stop working entirely.

 

[indaswamp]

Great color and good mold growth started...

 

[TNJAKE]

Man that's gonna be good. I've only ever had store bought

 

[indaswamp]

Man that's gonna be good. I've only ever had store bought

Thanks Jake! I had to relearn the importance of temperature after fermentation. I had forgotten that when I made the last two salamis. I rechecked the pH this morning...holding steady @pH5.17.
Temperature control after fermentation will be easier now that I have a separate drying chamber set up. I can leave them there to lose 15-20% weight before transferring to my main maturing chamber.

 

[TNJAKE]

Thanks Jake! I had to relearn the importance of temperature after fermentation. I had forgotten that when I made the last two salamis. I rechecked the pH this morning...holding steady @pH5.17.
Temperature control after fermentation will be easier now that I have a separate drying chamber set up. I can leave them there to lose 15-20% weight before transferring to my main maturing chamber.

That color is off the charts!

 

[indaswamp]

That color is off the charts!

Thanks Jake! I'm trying something new. It seems to be working...

 

[smokininthegarden]

Nice! I am curious, what are you using for Calabria powder the only one I can find has a lot of salt in it. Not what I want.

 

[indaswamp]

Nice! I am curious, what are you using for Calabria powder the only one I can find has a lot of salt in it. Not what I want.

Go Here:
https://butcherspantry.com/product/...pepper-powder-exclusively-from-calabria-250g/

Evan is a member on SMF though has not posted in years. That's his store...he also sells hot Calabrian pepper powder and flakes.

 

[smokininthegarden]

Thanks I'll look into this

 

[indaswamp]

Well, the Sopressata di Calabria has reached 30.76% weight loss as of today. So I had to cut into one and taste it!! Still a little too wet for my tastes, but WOW the flavor is incredible! It will only improve as it loses more moisture and flavor compounds continue to be created...