Landjäger - Fat Leaching Through Casing?

[Saline_Smoker]

Hey all,

So I've been curing and drying whole muscle a la pancetta, speck, and coppa for a bit - love it! I recently got a grinder and have now started down the path of fermented dried sausage. I recently made a batch of Landjäger and have a question about what I'm pretty sure is fat leaching out through the casings and creating a schmear on the outside. That said, it's only accumulating where the sausages are touching/near each other in the links. Pictures below for reference.

Is this normal? Is this just a case of wiping it off and carrying on? Is there a way to avoid this in the future? Is the solution just not to link them in this manner?

Any sage wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Both the Marianski books I have don't divulge much in the way of troubleshooting.

Additional info for reference (if useful): the recipe is the Marianskis' save I didn't flatten them, cold smoked for 6 hours, these are currently at 16% weight loss, relative humidity is a steady 78%, steady temp of 54ºF.

 

[daveomak]

They look good... I don't think they should be touching each other... The casing can't dry properly... Flattening helps them to uniformly dry faster...

 

[pc farmer]

Dave is right. With them touching, they can't dry where they are touching. That's the issue tying them like that.

Separate them if you can.

 

[Saline_Smoker]

Yeah, makes sense as it’s only where the links are next to each other, and the ‘outside’ looks normal. I’ll just unlink them, give ‘em a wipe down and carry on. Didn’t even dawn on me when making them that linking like a fresh sausage may not be the best idea for drying. I’ll make sure to give an update later on for the collective good/future reference. Thank you, sir. Greatly appreciated.

 

[daveomak]

While you have them out, press them flat...

 

[Saline_Smoker]

I just unlinked ‘em and gave them a good wipe down to remove the schmear. I’ll grab some boards and the quick grips to flatten them out - it’s an unusually (yet perfectly) cool night here for it - and rehang them in the morning. Quicker to dry, quicker to snacking. Thanks!