Salumi Palooza 2026

[indaswamp]

So figuring the weights..I got about 100# usable of boneless cuts off the 1/2 pig. About 10# of that is skin, which will be used for boudin and head cheese later on this year. 24# of boneless whole muscle cuts to be dried, and 61# of lean, fat, and scraps for salami. I going to take the leaf fat and render that down for lard. Can always use more lard around here with me being Keto.

 

[indaswamp]

Got everything ready to go for grinding salami tomorrow. Then stuffing and trussing. I actually had to put the casings that were soaking in water with lemon in an ice chest to keep the water from freezing tonight. LOL! First up is the Coglioni di Mulo (a.k.a. Mule balls) salame thru the 4.5mm plate, then the Sbriciolona thru the same plate. Then Coarse show fat for the Sbriciolona thru the 10mm plate. And finally the Calabrian and Veneto thru the 10mm plate. Gonna be 21*F tonight so want to grind while the meat is coldest. Meat should be around 30*F at grinding time. Pics tomorrow night of the salami...

 

[indaswamp]

The low last night here was 19*F. That is very cold for south Louisiana, but it chilled the meat to the perfect temp..

The meat and fat is already salted, so this kept it from freezing. As soon as I finish my coffee, I am gonna plow through all the grinding, then mix in the seasoning, culture, and wine, batch by batch, ready for stuffing. Should get a great cut on the meat....no waiting on the meat to chill in the freezer because it's a freezer outdoors!! LOL! Not something I am use to. Grinding will go fast this year.

 

[indaswamp]

All the salami are stuffed. Calabrian Soppressata, Sopressa di Veneto, Coglioni di Mulo (Mule Balls), and Tuscana Sbriciolona. Calabrian is on the counter in a large sheet pan covered in cling film (will press tomorrow), the rest are in the fermentation can Kitchen is 68-69*F so perfect. I like the cool side of 70*F for fermenting, gives the flavor forming bacteria more time to work their magic.

I put this together this morning.

Venison Mississippi pot roast for something hot tonight while I was tied up with the salami. Did not disappoint. Outstanding!


More pics. tomorrow.... I am beat.

 

[indaswamp]

BTW, that is butter on the roasts, and a big dollop of bacon grease top of the pic...lol!

 

[indaswamp]

Picture time...
Sbriciolona fine grind:

Sbriciolona coarse ground fat:

Sbriciolona seasoning. wine mixed in:

Stuffed into 4.5" beef bung and a 2Kg. bladder that I was going to use for the Spalla Cruda, But since I'm not making that this year I used it here.

Coglioni di Mulo (A.K.A... Mule Balls) Salame...

Pre-salted 3/4" X 3/4" X 4" back fat sticks:

Same grind size as the Sbriciolona, 4.5mm plate. Load the hopper, then get ready to stuff. This salame typically uses the pig Cecum, which is a small sized bladder- but I could not locate any prior to this project, so I used 10" sections of 60-65mm beef middles tied off on one end. To Stuff, I used the 1/2" stuffing horn. Put a piece of fat in the casing, slide on the horn...

Fill with enough meat paste to fill 1/2 the volume. pull the casing off, shape the piece. Slide back on the other side of the fat stick and continue filling. Finish shaping the piece. I had to remove some meat paste on the first 4-5 as the meat flows fast thru the 1/2" stuffing horn. When you get ready to tie, fold the bottom flap of casing over, do not tie. The center stick of fat holds pressure on the meat paste and this salami is fairly rigid. Easy to do this. I forgot to take a pic. of them hanging on the rafter, will take a pic. after fermentation is done so you can see them. Here they are hanging in the fermentation can. In the middle tied in pairs: (Veneto on the right)

Here is a picture of one off the internet:

And this is what they look like cross cut...

The Calabrian fermenting on a large sheet pan..I will press them sometime today...

The color before fermentation:

The Salami after stuffing, before trussing...
Staring at the top- Mule Balls, Calabrian, Sbriciolona, Veneto.

 

[indaswamp]

If anyone knows a source where I can buy a small quantity of pig cecum casings, I am searching for a supplier. But I don't need 10,000 of them in a barrel. I already found that source...LOL!

 

[rjob]

Is this it?

Buy Pork Bung near me with free delivery

Pork bung is a culinary delight favored for its unique texture and taste. As a key ingredient in traditional recipes worldwide, it is notably used in salamis, s...

www.sayweee.com

Appears that Asian markets carry pig parts/pieces

 

[indaswamp]

Is this it?

No, not the same...opposite ends of the bung.

 

[indaswamp]

So, the pig cecum is the cap end of the large intestine where the small intestine dumps into the large intestine. if food goes one way, it enters the cecum, if it goes the other way, it enters the large intestine. That pouch is used as a casing in Italy for certain products.

 

[indaswamp]

My pH meter probe is bad. The storage solution had evaporated to below the tip, so it is anywhere from 1.5-3.2 points high. It is also 4 years old. This is a milwaukee MW102 pH meter with Temperature probe and the pH probe is the food spear. I ordered the YINMIK pH meter handheld which is the Apera knock-off, as a get me by because it will be here Friday morning and get me out of a jam. It was $40 bucks, with the Calibration solutions and cleaner. Spare tips are like $20 bucks. So I will give it a go and give a review for you guys.
It is my fault...my current pH probe on the Milwaukee is from jan. 2022...should have checked it for accuracy before Salumi Palooza 2026. Oh well....I will make a check list for next year.

As of now, Low tonight outside will be 33*F, so I have the ferment can in a room with no heat, door closed. Temp. is currently 63*F in the room and may drop a couple degrees. Lacto producing bacteria will slow significantly, but still make acid. But the Staph. bacteria in the starters will slow but be more active than the Lacto bacteria, creating flavor compounds. This will keep fermentation slow until the meter arrives and see where I am at-all the while creating flavor compounds....the slow Italian way. But all the salami look and smell great as of now. Firming up, developing flavor, and getting that sweet ferment smell, so I am not worried. Will adjust and roll with it...all should be fine. Fermentation is at 36 hours currently with TSPX and SM-194. The low temp will really help with the SM-194 because it runs a little faster than the TSPX with the Lactobacillus Sakei Strain in it....which the TSPX does not have. When the meter arrives, will be well within 72 hours. Closer to 56-60 for the large diameter Sbriciolona which took a longer time to warm up and get going fermenting. Also, the initial extreme cold kept the bacteria load really low...so this helps out a lot! Meat never got above 38*F until I added the starter culture...which is ideal. And It was fresh cut off the carcass by me.

Tip of the day- check your pH meter before you do a big run of Salami....

And this is one instance that I am thankful for Amazon 2 day shipping....praying for no delays.....otherwise I will need to find a milwaukee probe locally and pay a premium price.

 

[hoity toit]

Ordered dried hog bladders. They arrived so I filled with water to re-hydrate for about 3 hours, then put them in a container with salt water. Let them totally re-hydrate and relax.

I went to my butcher and picked up 4 slabs of back fat with skin still on. will set 2 aside for lardo. The other 2 will be trimmed into 4" long X 3/4" X 3/4" cube. This will be salted, then vac sealed and in the refrigerator for a couple weeks to let the salt absorb. These fat Lardoons will be used in a specialty salami for this years run of salamis. Will have them ready to go ahead of time. Now checking the weather trying to time an arctic blast to push some cold weather south. Looking for daily highs under 56*F for 2-3 days since I will be processing 1/2 a pig outside under my carport. If I don't get the cold weather soon, will have to process the pork outside at night when the temps. drop. Not Ideal, but I can make it work. Will need lots of coffee though! LOL!

you should have the cold weather by friday night making conditions perfect for the weekend for processing. Im over here in New Braunfels TX. they say we get cold late tonight here all thru the weekend.

HT

 

[indaswamp]

you should have the cold weather by friday night making conditions perfect for the weekend for processing. Im over here in New Braunfels TX. they say we get cold late tonight here all thru the weekend.

HT

I already processed the pig last weekend. Fermenting salami now....

 

[indaswamp]

Whole muscle cuts have been 7 days on 3.25% salt. So, did some trussing today....

Ficco di Culatello:

Bladder sewn tight...

Trussed...

weights in at 2450g.

Culatello:

Black dots are whole peppercorns...

Taking a break, going run some errands, be back with the Coppardo and Lonizno truss pics....

 

[indaswamp]

Some of the salami have finished fermenting...

Coglioni di Mulo (a.k.a. Mule Balls)

Faint mold starting to take off.

Moved the Calabrian, as well, no pics. Veneto is lagging because of the thickness. Sbriciolona is lagging behind because of the high fat content (fat insulates) and the thickness. Took a little longer for the core to warm up from the cold.

 

[indaswamp]

All Salami have been moved to the drying chamber as of this morning. Got the Coppardo trussed. This sucker is huge! I guessed right; 6 1/2-63/4" in diameter. weighs 6,888grams.

Will truss the Lonzino this evening and the hard part of Salumi Palooza 2026 will be done. pics. of the Lonzino when I finish.

 

[indaswamp]

The Tuscan Lonzino, 1 Kg... this thing smells ridiculous!

Will be the first whole piece ready and I can not wait to sample it! 3-4 more days for the Guanciale to cure, then I will add hanging loops to both and put them in my chamber to dry for min. 6 months. 2 weeks for the Country bacon to finish curing, then I will cold smoke it.

 

[DRKsmoking]

That is a lot of great work, and the rewards are worth all the effort.

It must smell amazing there.

David

 

[indaswamp]

Thank you @DRKsmoking . The salami hanging in my chamber are really starting to develop flavor compounds. It smells like nutty bread/bananas with a sweet undertone of fermentation and ammonia. All excellent signs.

 

[indaswamp]

I moved some pieces around today in my old chamber, added last years Culatelli (in the front at the bottom). took a shelf out, and strung up the guanciale to hang. Bumped the old chamber up to 41-47*F with the settings on the refrigerator (It has Cold, Colder, and Coldest). So it is right in the middle at colder. Will let it go for another 2 weeks here, then bump temps, up slowly to 53-58*F for mold bloom explosion.

(The fiocco di Culatello is hanging behind the Coppardo, but you can't see it.)