Hi All -
I just tried a sample of my first batch of Landjager, and it's fantastic! I still can't believe that it's possible to make something that seems so complicated right in my own kitchen.
Here's a very bad photo of the finished product. Tastes much better than it looks:
I'm already thinking about making another batch, since originally I was planning to give some away at Xmas but I think I'll end up eating all of this batch before Dec 25th. The only thing I would do differently on the next batch is tone down the sourness a bit.
I originally was going to use the Landjager recipe in Charcuterie, but since this was my first attempt at a fermented sausage I made the mistake of buying Bactoferm F-LC instead of Fermento. So I decided to use the Len Poli recipe instead, since it calls for a live culture and a longer ferment time.
I ended up curing the batch for approximately 48 hours at about 85F. The Len Poli recipe actually calls for a 3 day ferment before smoking, but I just had a feeling that the sausages were "done" after 2 days. After cold smoking I let the sausages cure in my meat fridge for 10 days, just like the recipe.
I would like to continue to use a live culture instead of fermento, since I already have it, but if I want to curb the sour flavor, do I just let it ferment for a shorter period of time, maybe 24-36 hours? My main concern is that if the sausage doesn't get sour enough, then the bacteria won't have a chance to do it's job and kill off any nasties that might be in the meat (and honestly, the whole idea of leaving raw meat curing in 85F temps for 2-3 days kind of freaks me out already, despite the fact that I know it's safe - so I want to do whatever I can to avoid killing myself or others.)
Any suggestions? Do I try a shorter ferment time, or maybe a lower temp?
I just tried a sample of my first batch of Landjager, and it's fantastic! I still can't believe that it's possible to make something that seems so complicated right in my own kitchen.
Here's a very bad photo of the finished product. Tastes much better than it looks:
I'm already thinking about making another batch, since originally I was planning to give some away at Xmas but I think I'll end up eating all of this batch before Dec 25th. The only thing I would do differently on the next batch is tone down the sourness a bit.
I originally was going to use the Landjager recipe in Charcuterie, but since this was my first attempt at a fermented sausage I made the mistake of buying Bactoferm F-LC instead of Fermento. So I decided to use the Len Poli recipe instead, since it calls for a live culture and a longer ferment time.
I ended up curing the batch for approximately 48 hours at about 85F. The Len Poli recipe actually calls for a 3 day ferment before smoking, but I just had a feeling that the sausages were "done" after 2 days. After cold smoking I let the sausages cure in my meat fridge for 10 days, just like the recipe.
I would like to continue to use a live culture instead of fermento, since I already have it, but if I want to curb the sour flavor, do I just let it ferment for a shorter period of time, maybe 24-36 hours? My main concern is that if the sausage doesn't get sour enough, then the bacteria won't have a chance to do it's job and kill off any nasties that might be in the meat (and honestly, the whole idea of leaving raw meat curing in 85F temps for 2-3 days kind of freaks me out already, despite the fact that I know it's safe - so I want to do whatever I can to avoid killing myself or others.)
Any suggestions? Do I try a shorter ferment time, or maybe a lower temp?
