Freezing and Thawing Meat for Grinding

[MeatCharter]

The secondary issue is fat integrity. Frozen fat should not be used when making salami. Twice frozen fat is a recipe for disaster with fat out when drying.

Fat oxidizes rapidly....even in the freezer. Cell destruction from the ice crystals pretty much guarantees you will have issues with fat out if used in a salami.

I guess the best way to learn is from mistakes. Have at it.....unless you want to learn from mine. I'm done here.

This would just be for the lean in my recipes.

I bought frozen backfat in slabs. You are saying that's no good in salami? I have to toss it all?

 

[indaswamp]

This would just be for the lean in my recipes.

I bought frozen backfat in slabs. You are saying that's no good in salami? I have to toss it all?

Frozen fat, in my experience, and from my research, does not work for dry cured salami. might work for a summer sausage, or a cooked salami like snack sticks, but dry aged....no beuno. You might be able to dry it in a chamber, but odds are very high the fat will grease out and coat the salami; which will impede drying.

I source my fat from a high end butcher shop. I ask ahead of time when they will be getting in fresh side and then I'll go and buy fresh pork fat....cut on demand for me. They usually get pork sides in at least once a week, so I can usually get it when I need it.

One note- fat freezes between 27-30*F; not 32*F. I chill fat for grinding intended for salami no colder than 30*F.....just firm enough for the auger to grab.

 

[MeatCharter]

Frozen fat, in my experience, and from my research, does not work for dry cured salami. might work for a summer sausage, or a cooked salami like snack sticks, but dry aged....no beuno. You might be able to dry it in a chamber, but odds are very high the fat will grease out and coat the salami; which will impede drying.

I source my fat from a high end butcher shop. I ask ahead of time when they will be getting in fresh side and then I'll go and buy fresh pork fat....cut on demand for me. They usually get pork sides in at least once a week, so I can usually get it when I need it.

One note- fat freezes between 27-30*F; not 32*F. I chill fat for grinding intended for salami no colder than 30*F.....just firm enough for the auger to grab.

I bought 10lbs of Berkshire backfat specifically for salami. I've got multiple salamis using the fat in the chamber. Unfortunately, I'm pot committed at this point.

I've gone down the path of calling butchers around here, but it's just not economically viable ranging from $13-$18 for backfat. Maybe in the future I'll just stick to fresh pork shoulders.

 

[cptnding]

$13-$18 for backfat.

Holy smokes man! That's insane! Is that for regular commodity pork back fat or specialty heritage breeds?

 

[indaswamp]

Holy smokes man! That's insane! Is that for regular commodity pork back fat or specialty heritage breeds?

That is insane....better of buying the whole damn pig!

 

[MeatCharter]

Holy smokes man! That's insane! Is that for regular commodity pork back fat or specialty heritage breeds?

Specialty, Duroc and Berkshire. I would settle for commodity, but none of the supermarkets locally sell it. I've called like 7-8 supermarkets. Exhausting. Only one that was reasonable was about an hour plus drive.

So when I found a Berkshire back fat source in LA for $3, I purchased 10lbs. The fat smells amazing when I take it out of the freezer. It's thick and in blocks. I'm just going to hope for the best here.