This is a must try Italian Sandwich

[Steve H]

I make Hot Dogs so I assume its similar?

What are you using for the emulsification process?

 

[Danblacksher]

What are you using for the emulsification process?

Right now I double grind and use a hand crank mixer until I get the emulsification

 

[Steve H]

Right now I double grind and use a hand crank mixer until I get the emulsificationView attachment 722310

Ah. Just being nosey. I use a Champion juicer when I do dogs. Which was twice so far. I need to make more. And I really like Mortadella.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Ah. Just being nosey. I use a Champion juicer when I do dogs. Which was twice so far. I need to make more. And I really like Mortadella.

Champion juicer is king for home emulsifying. Double grind just doesn’t cut it.

 

[mneeley490]

Watching this one with fascination. I love mortadella, also. There is an Italian deli in downtown Seattle that makes it, and I get some now and then.
The closest sandwich shop in that chain to me is in Las Vegas, about 1,100 miles away. Guess it's cheaper to make it yourself.
BTW, Mortadella loosely translates to "Little Death", so live dangerously!

 

[Danblacksher]

Ok first attempt at Mortadella. I did not get the look I was hoping for, more like salami, but the flavor and mouth feel is fantastic. There will be Italian sandwiches on the menu tonight. I made both a beef and pork Mortadella. Each one came out to 7 pounds. For perspective the Mortadella around here is $2.80/ounce which is $313.60 for 7 pounds. I had $28 in the pork Mortadella And used leftover brisket trim for the beef mortadella. In total I had right at $40 for 14 pounds. Used a pork shoulder that was $23 for the pork Mortadella. So I went from $2.80/ounce to $.18/ounce I do need a better meat slicer.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Looks delicious, nice work.

That emulsifying step when doing bigger batches is why I bought the Champion juicer. It does a decent job and is fairly fast while creating almost no heat to the meat.

 

[Danblacksher]

Looks delicious, nice work.

That emulsifying step when doing bigger batches is why I bought the Champion juicer. It does a decent job and is fairly fast while creating almost no heat to the meat.

Definitely something I will look into. I could have kept going with my hand mixer, but got tho the tacky feel I am accustomed to with hot dogs and sausages and stopped. Next time I will try my mixer with the cookie paddles. Not sure why I did not think of that until now. My Bosch mixer with the cookie paddles would be perfect, but it never crossed my mind.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Definitely something I will look into. I could have kept going with my hand mixer, but got tho the tacky feel I am accustomed to with hot dogs and sausages and stopped. Next time I will try my mixer with the cookie paddles. Not sure why I did not think of that until now. My Bosch mixer with the cookie paddles would be perfect, but it never crossed my mind.

You just have to be careful about over mixing. You can get fat smear and/or break the emulsion, but lots of guys here are successful at it and make nice product.

 

[Danblacksher]

You just have to be careful about over mixing. You can get fat smear and/or break the emulsion, but lots of guys here are successful at it and make nice product.

Overmixing was what I was afraid of.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Overmixing was what I was afraid of.

It’s workable but you have to seriously watch the temperature of the mix, keep it in the 30’s. But I’ve seen people have trouble that were grinding multiple times to get closer to emulsion and didn’t watch the meat temp as well. So keep a sharp eye on that temp.

 

[chopsaw]

There's not 1 thing wrong with that . That right there is some top shelf work . Impressive , and I personally wouldn't change a thing if the taste is good and the mouthfeel is right .

Overmixing was what I was afraid of.

My opinion is you're not gonna get where you want to be with mixing alone .
Also ,, the process and the temps are different when emulsifying .

I use a food processor . It should be done in batches of lean , then add the fat .
Lean gets processed to 45 degrees , the fat gets processed to 58 degrees . You HAVE to keep it under 60 , or it will break , but you need to reach that mid 50's to set the texture and mouthfeel and also incorporate the fat . That comes from Marianski and Len Poli both .

I'm using all pork butt , so I do it all at once . I grind , season , mix . Then for 2 1/2 pounds I do 3 batches in the food processor . I take it to mid 40's , then let it rest a minute . Then take it to mid 50's and stop before you reach 60 . I will add some ice water if needed , but If I'm doing this I go low on liquid in the initial mix .

 

[Steve H]

It does look more like salami. But it looks great all the same! I would really like a sammi with this!

 

[chef k-dude]

That mortadella looks great to me. I'm not a huge fan of baloney and that looks very "unbaloney" and closer to a salami which I love.

This reminds me to get back around to making muffuletta. I love them...mortadella and all and make my own tepenade I prefer to the traditional spread. I want to make individual sandwiches rather than the huge one...maybe on ciabatta...

Good news is tomorrow is Italian sub night! So I'll get my fix with black forest ham, salami and pepperoni to tide me over till I get back around to the muffuletta.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I use a food processor . It should be done in batches of lean , then add the fat .
Lean gets processed to 45 degrees , the fat gets processed to 58 degrees . You HAVE to keep it under 60 , or it will break , but you need to reach that mid 50's to set the texture and mouthfeel and also incorporate the fat . That comes from Marianski and Len Poli both .

I'm using all pork butt , so I do it all at once . I grind , season , mix . Then for 2 1/2 pounds I do 3 batches in the food processor . I take it to mid 40's , then let it rest a minute . Then take it to mid 50's and stop before you reach 60 . I will add some ice water if needed , but If I'm doing this I go low on liquid in the initial mix .

I am glad that that works well for you, but I must disagree.

If you go back and re-read Marianski in “Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages “ look specifically (in book form) at pages 281-289 (emulsified sausages)
In there he specifically explains that he is mostly talking about the use of a bowl chopper and the benefits there of. He also specifically states that the most protein extraction happens when meat is kept between 36-38F. This extraction of protein is important to wrap around the fat (added later in the process) once protein is extracted and fat is added, they can take the emulsion (in a bowl chopper food processor) up to 59F but must not exceed that or it will break.

I don’t have a bowl chopper and already burned up a food processor doing this, that’s why I bought different equipment. But in my experience in home Production keeping the meat cold throughout works very well and is relatively easy to do. The protein extraction is key first and must be cold. The play on higher temps is playing in the maximum. This is my experience.

 

[Steve H]

That mortadella looks great to me. I'm not a huge fan of baloney and that looks very "unbaloney" and closer to a salami which I love.

This reminds me to get back around to making muffuletta. I love them...mortadella and all and make my own tepenade I prefer to the traditional spread. I want to make individual sandwiches rather than the huge one...maybe on ciabatta...

Good news is tomorrow is Italian sub night! So I'll get my fix with black forest ham, salami and pepperoni to tide me over till I get back around to the muffuletta.

I haven't made muffuletta in a while. I was making it a few times a year. Thanks for bringing this up!

 

[indaswamp]

Beautiful!

 

[zwiller]

Gonna agree. Looks GREAT to me! If emulsifying is of interest to you, you should dive in and learn more. More going on than just high speed mixing. Do not claim to be a master and as usual some is debated but to me there are 2 keys. Extraction of protein and adding liquid. IMO a double grind is passable BUT only if you extract/mix before 2nd grind (using fine plate). True emulsions are adding some serious amount of water which make the texture of the product much lighter/delicate. Around here Champions are CHEAP on FB Marketplace. I could probably create a side gig flipping them. Most people selling them have NO IDEA and just dumping Mom's junk. $50-75 typically.

 

[Danblacksher]

Take 2 with Home made Mortadella, stracciatella: A soft, fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream, Pistachio pesto, home made Schiacciata bread, arugula and Roma tomato’s.

My home made mortadella had more flavor than store bought, but probably because the store bought had to travel all the way from Italy. 100 out of 10

 

[SmokinEdge]

Take 2 with Home made Mortadella, stracciatella: A soft, fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream, Pistachio pesto, home made Schiacciata bread, arugula and Roma tomato’s.

My home made mortadella had more flavor than store bought, but probably because the store bought had to travel all the way from Italy. 100 out of 10

Fine looking Sammie right there. Nice work.