Soppressa Modenese Drying...

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indaswamp

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Apr 27, 2017
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Soppressa Modenese

Pork:
2.6Kg. Ham
1 Kg. Belly
400g. Coppa

25g/kg. Salt
3g/kg. Cure #2

2.5g./kg. Black pepper
0.5g./kg. fresh grated nutmeg
20ml./kg. Lambrusco wine
1 clove garlic/kg. crushed and steeped in the wine for infusion

0.25g/kg. dextrose
1.0g./kg. turbinado raw sugar

0.125g./kg. SM-194 culture in 30ml/kg. distilled water

Grind lean thru 8mm plate; fat thru 6mm plate. Ferment 67-68*F 24-30hrs. to pH below 5.2..

Stuffed into 4-4.5 inch beef bungs
 
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I Finally got around to making this Soppressa today with the fresh ham leg trim from making the 2 Culatello and the left over pork belly from making the pancetta about 2 months ago.
IMG_20221020_172547.jpg


This salame was a natural fit because I already had the Lambrusco wine from doing the Culatello. The only changes I made were to increase the wine to 35mL/Kg. becasue the original recipe calls for one glass of wine for 4KG. meat....and one glass of wine is 5 ounces (142mL)....so that's 35mL/kg.

Starting pH was 5.5 from the addition of the wine. Dry fizzanate wines usually run on the low end of the pH spectrum for wines so this is the reason. Also, the pH of the fresh meat was 5.7, so that helped too.

I added 1.2g/kg. dextrose to fuel fermentation and that should drop it to around 5.25ish from my figuring.

I had 1200g of cured spiced pork belly so I used it all. This salami is running around 35% fat...should be really good and rich. The higher fat is another reason for the lower amount of sugars. Fat has less water than meat so there is less water in this salame. The lactic acid created will be more concentrated in the salame.
 
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Looks delicious, or will be.
Really like your truss. Really nice work.
Thanks SE! Took me a long while to get comfortable working the twine to make it look good, but I have it figured out now...and my speed has increased too. I feel confident I took into account all the variables that affect the pH...we will see...

I about pulled my hair out trying to get my pH meter to calibrate though. Finally figured it out....when I push the temp. plug all the way into the meter, it does not read the temp. I had to fiddle with it to make a connection...then DON'T BUMP IT! LOL!!! Finally got it to calibrate properly. Will call Milwaukee and see about it, maybe send it in if necessary. I'm about done making salami for a while anyhow so I won't be needing it after these salami finish fermenting.
 
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Tip on the trussing...the first vertical wrap is crucial-that is how you tighten up the salame. The rest are for support and even pressure to prevent voids and squeeze out moisture during the dripping phase.
 
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indaswamp indaswamp I really like your approach with good concise measurements and accounting for sugars. I will be looking back at your posts before I try any particular salami, as they are a great resource.

My problem is I haven't eaten much salami, and didn't love most of what I've bought... it seldom lasted long enough in fridge to eat a whole stick, before it just smelled off to me. I'm not buying top end stuff though. But I DO eat a TON of various pepperoni, probably my main snack. And I'm doing simple quick lactic tang ferments for snacksticks and Taylor Pork roll, since I love those.

I need something salami that I just love, to put in the time on one :( Your orange one sounded good...

I've got the whole 2guysandaCooler fridge chamber setup.
 
There are a LOT of variables that come into play which determine the final pH. The biggest of which is the type and amounts of sugars....then the temperature of fermentation.
 
I've got the whole 2guysandaCooler fridge chamber setup.
I consider Eric a friend of mine. He really helped me get lined out early on in my adventure into Salume and Salame. I was about to set up my first chamber when I talked to him. One thing I can tell you is that most home DIY chambers that hack a refrigerator tend to have a little too much airflow.
It was a challenge for me as I started because I did not have any reference to go off of....I was winging it from the get go. Eric was my man on the mountain giving me direction. I am grateful for that. To compensate-run the RH% up to 81.5-82% and keep the chamber full of product. Invert the product periodically and move stuff around.
Angle the return vent up onto the ceiling of the chamber if possible and not down on your product.......
 
My pH meter is still reading temperature this morning so I went ahead and checked the pH @ 20hours fermentation...
IMG_20221021_075143.jpg

Looking good....and it smells amazing!
 
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25 Hours fermentation and down to 5.17...awesome!
IMG_20221021_145741.jpg

This one smells so good! The combo of the fruity Fizzante Wine (in the dry Lambrusco style) with the Nutmeg is a combo made in heaven!!! I'm really looking forward to sampling this one when it dries!
 
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The combo of 35mL Dry Lambrusco style wine (low pH near 2.9), the fresh pork (pH 5.7), the higher fat ratio (35%), and the larger diameter (2.5-3") were the factors that went into deciding on 1.2g. dextrose/Kg. pork mince.

1.2g. does not sound like a lot...add in the residual glucose in the meat (0.05-0.1 pH drop) and it was enough to fuel fermentation with a starting pH around 5.5 (acid drop from the wine). A pH drop of 0.38 from the SM-194 culture consuming the available sugar. Awesome!
 
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My problem is I haven't eaten much salami, and didn't love most of what I've bought...
Well, truth be told-most of the stuff made commercially lacks flavor from fast acidification and fast drying to get product to market as soon as possible...this is especially so in the U.S.

My favorites so far are the Nduja (so rich and creamy with a deep umamai!), Sopressa di Veneto, Sopressa di Calabria, Fennel, and Pistachio with Lemon. The Piemonte is real good, just need to dial in the spice profile for balance. The Campania really smells awesome...but I forgot the ground fennel seed in the spice grinder! Should still be a good salami as the acid profile is where it needs to be for full flavor formation. The Modenese has the potential to be phenomenal. The aroma as it ferments in the accelerated drying cabinet is indescribably awesome!
 
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25 Hours fermentation and down to 5.17...awesome!
View attachment 646487
This one smells so good! The combo of the fruity Fizzante Wine (in the dry Lambrusco style) with the Nutmeg is a combo made in heaven!!! I'm really looking forward to sampling this one when it dries!

Very nice pH drop on that fermentation. How is your new chamber working so far?

JC :emoji_cat:
 
Very nice pH drop on that fermentation. How is your new chamber working so far?

JC :emoji_cat:
It is running great! I've made some adjustments, and have a punch list of things I want to address but will wait until it is cold so I can hang everything is a spare room with a window open and a humidifier in the room...then I can tweak a few things....

I want to install a recirculation fan in the little dH fridge...pop a hole through the ceiling plate and force air from the main body of the little fridge, over and down through the cooling plate baffle. This will do two things-it will maintain a lower temp. in the little fridge evenly for start up, and it will melt ice build up on the chiller plate-which is a problem when I put 20# of new product in the chamber. With so much moisture coming out of the pieces, the dH system kicks on more often so the frost on the plate never gets a chance to melt off before the next cycle. That is the main tweak...got a bunch of small stuff.....
 
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It is running great! I've made some adjustments, and have a punch list of things I want to address but will wait until it is cold so I can hang everything is a spare room with a window open and a humidifier in the room...then I can tweak a few things....

I want to install a recirculation fan in the little dH fridge...pop a hole through the ceiling plate and force air from the main body of the little fridge, over and down through the cooling plate baffle. This will do two things-it will maintain a lower temp. in the little fridge evenly for start up, and it will melt ice build up on the chiller plate-which is a problem when I put 20# of new product in the chamber. With so much moisture coming out of the pieces, the dH system kicks on more often so the frost on the plate never gets a chance to melt off before the next cycle. That is the main tweak...got a bunch of small stuff.....

Awesome news. Glad to see that you are tuning that chamber in to perfection. I will be watching your progress. Things are a still a bit hectic for me right now but I do find time here and there for projects. If you need any assistance, let me know and I will try to help.

I am going to get my chamber back up and running in the next month. I want to do some pepperoni for pizza. I may also try another Italian style salami. My first try was just okay. It was technically correct but just didn't 'pop' on the palate.

JC :emoji_cat:
 
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Looks delicious, or will be.
Really like your truss. Really nice work.
Well the man is a expert at tying stuff up. Ask him to show you some of his paracord work. My hands and fingers don't work well from 40 years of working in a paper mill so tying knots is not easy for me. Reason I use netting.
 
Glad you bumped this thread KBFlyer KBFlyer , I wanted to post that his salami was a fail for me due to severe fat out. This salami had a significant amount of belly fat in it and I either had the fat too cold, or not enough meat in with the fat when I passed it through the 8mm plate. The next salami I made using the rest of the belly I had on hand was the most recent batch of Calabrian Soppresatta and I ground all the meat and fat through the 8mm plate instead of stepping up to a 12mm plate for the lean.....no fat out.

So I will remake this salami this fall....
 
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