Time for Some Pepperoni...

[indaswamp]

Have yet to venture into curing yet, but this looks awesome. Definitely something to add to my list. About how long will the total cure / dry take?

On average, 45-55mm casings take 4-6 weeks to fully dry.

 

[indaswamp]

So based on my readings....the glucose in the goose meat (30/70 mix goose/pork) alone dropped the pH by 0.2 points. Pork on the other hand should only drop the pH by 0.5~0.1 points. Will have to take that into consideration for future salamis.

 

[indaswamp]

The pepperoni reached 16.4% weight loss this past Wednesday so I moved them from the accelerated drying to my new Maturing chamber.

 

[tbern]

The pepperoni reached 16.4% weight loss this past Wednesday so I moved them from the accelerated drying to my new Maturing chamber.
View attachment 645488

What is the difference between your accelerated chamber and your maturing one?

 

[indaswamp]

What is the difference between your accelerated chamber and your maturing one?

So here is where I got the idea for the accelerated drying schedule...scroll down to where he talks about fermentation and drying:
https://tasteofartisan.com/salami-sticks/

You basically oscillate from high humidity and low temp., to a lower humidity and a higher temp. with these parameters in mind:

Higher humidity slows moisture loss and vice versa
lower temperature slows moisture loss and vice versa

But higher temp also speeds enzymatic activity and flavor forming bacteria. It also speeds the growth of surface culture...i.e. the beneficial mold and yeast cultures.

The accelerated drying speeds the safety profile as well because drying is one of the main safety hurdles and the strongest...bacteria need a certain amount of moisture to function and the sooner you remove that water, the safer the product is. Once salt is added to the meat, the water activity drops to Aw 0.96-0.97.....Botulism bacteria need an Aw of at least Aw0.95 so the sooner you can drop it below that level, the better....

My old chamber has a inherently higher airflow so I am using that to my advantage drying the salami in the earlier stages.

 

[tbern]

thanks for the info, was a good read! bookmarked it for future.

 

[indaswamp]

So the new accelerated drying schedules I have been using the last 6 months or so have cut 7-10 days of drying off my salami. I am still trying to decide if I like it, or if I am doing it correctly. I don't know if it is the accelerated drying or the parameters with my new chamber as I figure it out, but a little more hard rim than I would like. I was playing with the airflow...both speed and switching from constant to intermittent. I think the constant airflow at the start of the drying is the cause. Too much too soon and the salami can just never catch up diffusing water from the center to the surface.

At any rate, here is a slice shot..

And the final pH...

Mild Italian style pepperoni with full flavor and no tang. I like the sample pieces I cut. It will only get better as it dries a little more and after it equalizes in the fridge.

 

[tbern]

Looks good!!

 

[indaswamp]

Looks good!!

Thanks tbern!

 

[indaswamp]

So I went back and looked at the pictures I posted of the last batch of pepperoni that I dried in my old chamber. It has the same amount of dry rim so I'm not drying them too fast and my airflow is good. This salame has the goose meat ground thru a 3mm plate for the tough connective tissue and to catch shotgun pellets (these geese were wild harvested). The pork is thru a 4.5mm plate. Together the small grind dries slower so the diffusion rate is slower from the middle. No worries now....I figured it out......

Checked a stick this morning. At 35.4% weight loss...will let them go just a little more then I will pull them.

 

[indaswamp]

I went ahead and checked the goose/pork pepperoni pH as well. At roughly 36% weight loss....