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.
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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.
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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.