'Nduja inspired by Spilinga

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evan m brady

Newbie
Original poster
Apr 8, 2015
29
26
Wappingers Falls, NY
(the finished product)​
Made some 'Nduja, and out from the chamber! Aged for about 3 months. This was made with pork belly and pork jowl ground once through a 12mm plate, then once through a 7mm plate. Spicing was simple:

-Sicilian sea salt

-Cure #2

-Dextrose

-Calabrian hot & sweet pepper powder

-Calabrian hot & sweet pepper paste

-Calabrian hot pepper flakes

-Bactoferm B-LC-007 Starter Culture

-Hog Middle Caps
 ​
(stuffed 'Nduja in the fermenter)​
All Calabrian products equalled 22% the weight of the meat, keeping with what is done in Calabria (ratios always between 20-30% depending on the producer). Fermented with B-LC-007 for all the added benefits of that culture blend at 68-72F for about 48 hours. The pH was then taken to ensure a pH of 5.3 or below was met. pH value read 5.17 at 24 into fermentation at about 71° on average. I pulled it to cool down in the reach in, and will smoke once it firms up a bit. It will probably drop a little more in pH as well from any ambient heat put off from the Amaze'n tube...
(my "fermenter"...an insulated bread proofer)​
After fermentation the 'Nduja was cold smoked with Beechwood for 15 hours, and then it was hung to dry for the time previously mentioned.​
 ​
(post cold smoking with beechwood pellets)​
Flavor is unreal!!! Already eaten most of it, and getting ready to make another batch. The heat and flavor of these peppers are so unique. It is like a slow burn, followed by a complexity that is hard to describe. I made this one very hot, but you can always adjust the pepper percentages based on your personal preference. More sweet than hot etc... Amazing!
I also jarred some using a kinda gangster sealing method I figured out... I took the finished 'Nduja and added 15% nice olive oil to it, then mixed it well. I then spooned it into the jar (sanitized the jar first), and dropped the pressure in the chamber. As the chamber vented suction pulled the jar lid down to form an air tight seal for prolonged shelving. There is cure #2 in the 'Nduja, so storing in this anaerobic environment I see no different than a casing. This is why I didn't add heat to make this product. Some manufacturers use heat to pasteurize it, but I do not feel the need to since: I sanitized the jar, it has cure #2, checked the water activity of this mixture on Thursday in the lab and it read 0.8637, low pH of 5.07 - and so all these on top of each other is why I feel it is safe to do it this way. Now it is shelf stable, and in an awesome jar without heat pasteurization that alters the texture (in my opinion)!
 
Atomicsmoke, it is a spreadable salami from Calabria. Super smoky, super spicy, and absolutely delicious. It is spreadable because of the high amount of fat.
 
2.75%     Sicilian sea salt

0.25%     Cure #2

0.4%       Dextrose

20-30% Calabrian Pepper Products

Bactoferm B-LC-007 Starter Culture

Hog Middle Caps

That is literally all the percentages...quick.
 
Evan, thanks..... Hey..... I'm still thinking about fermenting stuff.... a few weeks ago I ran across the B-LC-007 and was impressed... Seems it adds an extra margin of safety in ALL directions.... So, that culture has me one step closer....

I can only find it at Butcher&Packer.... their website won't let me log in.... I have purchased from them previously... I've written them twice to fix the login... they haven't responded.... so, now I'm looking for another source... any suggestions....


Dave
 
Last edited:
Dave,



I don't really know the rules here for posting about your business, but I own an online store specializing in salumi needs and ingredients. 



My company is called the Craft Butchers' Pantry.It truly is an amazing culture, and I summarize why in the description...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
2.75%     Sicilian sea salt
0.25%     Cure #2
0.4%       Dextrose
20-30% Calabrian Pepper Products
Bactoferm B-LC-007 Starter Culture
Hog Middle Caps

That is literally all the percentages...quick.
Calabrian pepper products? That means combination of pepper sauces?
I looked up Nduja as soon as I saw your OP. One recipe mentioned roasted peppers. What do you think?
 
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You know you are required to send out samples, !!!!

Gary
 
If you become a premium member, ~$15 year, you can link to your businesses....


http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/payment.php



Nice website by the way.... Thanks much.... B&P had 2 chances.... their loss.....
Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the membership! I had no idea. Thanks for helping me out, and meant no harm. Brand new to this forum, and need to learn the rules!

As for:
What % of fat are we talking about?
This really varies by the producer. I have seen so many recipes for 'Nduja, and they are all different. Basically you want above 80% fat, but you can mix meats. I made this with Pork Jowl and Pork Belly at 80% jowl and 20% belly, but it is not strict to that. You could use fatback etc... If you get too much lean it wont be spreadable.
Calabrian pepper products? That means combination of pepper sauces?
I looked up Nduja as soon as I saw your OP. One recipe mentioned roasted peppers. What do you think?
I say Calabrian Pepper Products because again it is kinda up to you as long as the percentages are between 20-30%. I mix for flavor! I use whole chile, powder, and paste. You dont have to, as I believe in Italy they use all dry peppers. They actually grind the whole chile with the meat like I did here:


Just play with what you like! If you want to use paste keep the percentages of the total lower because you are adding water to the system, and it will take longer to dry. 
 
Thats freakin awesome

Maybe you can teach us something, even us old dogs.
 
been reading up on nduja and setting forth to make a 50# batch of nduja as a trial for my restaurant and wanted to get your feedback on a pew points.

since nduja is in the tradition of cucina povera, making the best food from the poorest ingredients, wondering what experience you have in making it from chilies other than imported. seems counter to that ideal to spend $2-3/pound for the pork and then have to spend 2-4x as much on spice imorted from halfway around the world when there are amazing domestic chilies. so wondering what knowledge/experience you have of substituting other more common varietals. that said for the first batch also want to try your products for at least a baseline. i was thinking for 50# of meat i’d want 10-15# of peppers. was thinking 2000g hot powder, 500g sweet powder, 2000g whole hot, 500g whole sweet. but, dang, that’s almost $350 worth of chile. am i crazy? what would you do?
 
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