Campania Salami (Orange Zest, Fennel, Garlic)

[indaswamp]

This Salami is typical of what you will find in the Campania region of Italy. It uses the local orange zest which grow well there being on the SW coast of the peninsula just to the north of Calabria as well as the wild fennel which populates the higher altitude near the hills to the NE. I have been wanting to recreate this one since my interest in getting into making salami 20 years ago. I sampled this salami as a guest at a get together at an Italian immigrants home while in college.

The spice mix..

I used local fresh oranges off a neighbors tree to get the zest. Once chopped, I put it in my dehydrator @95*F for about 4 hours. FYI, fresh orange zest has about 70% water by weight so 10grams of fresh orange zest will yield 3grams of dried zest.

The grind...cold fat thru 6mm plate, cold lean thru 8mm plate.

The mix up close...you can see the fennel and zest...

The test piece...

Inda can @74-75*F to ferment overnight. I'll check 'em in the morning to see where I'm at...

 

[indaswamp]

Campania Salami

1000grams:
Lean Pork; shoulder, loin, leg 800g.
Pork back fat, throat 200g.

Sea salt (2.5%) 25g.
Cure #2 (0.3%) 3g.
Dextrose (0.2%) 1.25~1.5g. (check pH of meat after adding wine)
Turbinado sugar (0.2%) 1.25-1.5g. (grind into a powder; check pH)
Fresh cracked black pepper (0.3%) 3g.
Calabrian Hot pepper ground (0.3%) 3g.
Whole toasted fennel seed (2.5%) 2.5g
Fennel pollen (or ground toasted fennel seed 2.5%) 2.5g.
Mace ground (0.01%) 0.1g.
Dried Orange zest fine mince (0.3%) 3g.
Fresh garlic minced (0.3%) 3g.
White wine 25ml.

0.25g. Flavor of Italy starter culture in 30mL distilled water

Fat thru 6mm plate, Lean thru 8mm plate

Initial pH reading of the meat, salt, cure, spices, and wine was 5.71 so 4 grams of sugars should put me around pH 5.

I made 5 kg. of this salami...5 sticks 1,000 ~ 1200 grams each.

hattip out to redzed over at Marianski's forum for posting his recipe for this salami. I used it as a template and made my modifications to it....

 

[indaswamp]

I used 50-55mm beef middles; should take 5-6 weeks to dry to 35-40%

 

[Mmmm Meat]

That sounds great. I'm trying to imagine what it will taste like.

 

[DanMcG]

Sounds like a winner to me!

 

[indaswamp]

That sounds great. I'm trying to imagine what it will taste like.

Thanks M&M...I hope to recreate the flavor I experienced so long ago...

Sounds like a winner to me!

Thanks Dan! redzed is a true artist! He really knows his stuff!!

 

[indaswamp]

At 12 hours fermentation the salami is down to pH5.50...should be fairly steady drop now...

 

[Domie]

very interesting looking spice mix! Thanks for the recipe also. I'll have to try that one!

 

[indaswamp]

If you do not use flavor of Italy starter culture, and instead use tspx or a different slow fermenting culture, bump the total salt up to 3%. Flavor of Italy is a fast/medium culture depending on temperature...pH target usually hits pH5 around the 30 hour mark when fermenting between 70-75*F...

 

[indaswamp]

23 hour mark and the pH is down to 5.14....I'll let it go a little longer then move to the chamber.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Be curious as to well the orange flavor holds through the 6 week process.

 

[Mmmm Meat]

Be curious as to well the orange flavor holds through the 6 week process.

I was wondering the same thing. I'll be interested to see if you used too little, too much, or just the right amount of zest. (Goldilocks samples salami.)

BTW - Probably just a typo - I believe the correct spelling is Campania. (Ahhh, Napoli - the birthplace of pizza and still considered to have the best collection of original pizzerias in the world, (and a great place to loose your wallet to pick-pockets or to get hit by a car while walking on the sidewalk )) (Edit - but still one of the most amazing cities you could ever visit )

Killer salami? - https://www.tasteatlas.com/salame-napoli

but I'm still drawn to these Sicilian wonders - (I wish we had wild boar in WA).
http://www.siciliandeli.com/shop/salami.html

 

[indaswamp]

Very cool link you posted! I had no idea there was even such a thing as wild porcupine salami!

Salame porcospino / SLM018

This singular and delicious salami is the master of all the niche Sicilian products, one of the most elusive Italian and also Sicilian products. Is produced with a blend of wild Sicilian porcupine and pork meats. It presents a strong taste and firm flavour.

 

[indaswamp]

The salami reached a pH of 4.96 after 29 hours of fermentation.

I have them hanging on a smokehouse pole over chairs @ room temp.; 52%RH with a slight airflow over them to evaporate condensate off the casings before moving to the chamber. Will let them go for about 2 hours until I see no more water drops in the pin prick holes on the casing. This will help keep the RH% spike down in my chamber when I put them in later. I learned this trick from Salumi Master Creminelli. He talks about this in his book Meat Salt Time....

 

[indaswamp]

BTW - Probably just a typo - I believe the correct spelling is Campania.

Where is the typo?

*Edit to add: I found it...thanks for pointing that out to me.

 

[indaswamp]

(I wish we had wild boar in WA).

I have 35# of wild boar meat in the freezer. It has been frozen long enough. I need to pull the coppas out and start them curing. And need to make some salami too. I have 2 bags 15# each. I'll need to go to my butcher and pick up some heritage pastured hog back fat...

 

[Mmmm Meat]

I have 35# of wild boar meat in the freezer. It has been frozen long enough. I need to pull the coppas out and start them curing. And need to make some salami too. I have 2 bags 15# each. I'll need to go to my butcher and pick up some heritage pastured hog back fat...

 

[Mmmm Meat]

I'm jealous, though feral pigs are not something I would wish on any area. Nothing but bad news. Looking forward to seeing what you do with that pig though.

What I continue to see as I look at recipes for all foods around the world is that the great dishes always use what is available locally. Living in Washington State, I'm wondering how moss and mold would taste in salami? that's what we grow best.

 

[indaswamp]

LOL!!!!

 

[indaswamp]

Wild hog from 2020:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/processing-day-2021.304141/