How long do you ferment for. ...
Gweeto, afternoon.... Fermentation of meats is a different animal from curing / drying to a water content, salt content, nitrite/nitrate content, that will not support bacterial growth..
Fermentation includes the use of a bacterial culture, specific to a region, (Italy, Cypress, France etc.) that provides an end result equal to that of the region to achieve a specific flavor in the meat... OR, natural bacteria of your region works also.. Some fermentation bacteria acidify the meat to kill bacteria by lowering the pH..
Beneficial Bacteria
Without beneficial bacteria it will not be possible to make fermented sausages, yogurt, saurkraut, cheese or wine.. They are naturally occurring in foods and meat meat, but in most cases they are added into the meat in the form of starter cultures. There are two classes of beneficial (friendly) bacteria:
Lactic acid producing bacteria - Lactobacillus, Pediococcus.
Color and flavor forming bacteria - Staphylococcus, Kocuria (previously known as Micrococcus).
Although lactic acid producing bacteria are used mainly to produce fermented products, color and flavor forming bacteria are needed to brake Nitrate into nitrite and are often added to develop a stronger red color of meats.
pH and Sausages Bacteria prefer meats with a pH of 6.0 -7.0 which falls in the neutral range of the pH scale. It is in our interest to increase the meat acidity (lower pH) as this inhibits the growth of bacteria. As a result the sausage is stable and safe to consume, although it has not been submitted to heat treatment, which in many cases follows anyhow. A pH drop is accomplished by lactic acid bacteria, which consume sugar and produce lactic acid. This increases the acidity of the meat. The acidity can also be increased by directly adding additives to the meat such as Gdl (glucono-delta-lactone) and/or citric acid.
Marianski, Stanley; Marianski, Adam. The Art of Making Fermented Sausages (Kindle Locations 99-104). Bookmagic LLC. Kindle Edition.
Charcuterie, drying meats is like making jerky, only in a highly sophisticated sense... A 3 or 4# single muscle hunk of meat takes some serious attention to detail... drying to fast makes the outside like shoe leather and will not allow the meat inside to adequately dry to a "bacteria kill zone"... Humidity, temperature and air changes are a BIG DEAL...
Single muscles are considered sterile on the inside and THAT makes them ideal for drying...
Well, that's the short version... Don't take any of this personal... When I see a question that I think is ambiguous, I dive into an explanation so others can get some sort of an idea what this is all about... Maybe they will search out the different methods and have a valuable learning experience..
