Wild Boar Finocchiona started....

[indaswamp]

Stopped by my butcher Friday and picked up 10# of fresh (butchered that day) pastured Berkshire back fat. Pulled out a bag of wild hog meat from the freezer to thaw when I got home. Meat was thawed Saturday afternoon in the ice chest with cold ice water. Trimmed the meat and removed all fat, sinew and connective tissue to have 2400g of class 1 pork meat.

Got the casings cut to size and ends tied, soaking in cool water to remove salt from the brine. weighed out the salt, cure #2 and spices. measured out 15mL/kg. of chianti wine and added 5.5g./kg. thin sliced garlic to the wine to steep overnight. Sunday morning...ready to go. Meat and fat in the freezer to chill below 33*F. got the culture measured out and rehydrating in 60mL distilled water. Then ground the meat and fat thru 8mm plate. Added the salt, cure #2, and spices, the garlic steeped wine then mixed very well. Added the culture and mixed that in well. Then I checked the pH with my meter to calculate how much sugars I needed for fermentation. The pH was 5.58 after adding the wine to the meat. I needed 1.75g/kg. of dextrose to drop the pH to just under 5.3. Weighed that out and mixed the sugars in well, stuffed then trussed, pricked, weighed and mold 600 applied. In fermentation can to ferment...

 

[indaswamp]

You can see how dark the wild pork meat is. This is meat from the 200+lb. sow that was given to me.

 

[indaswamp]

I used Cajuneric's recipe:
https://twoguysandacooler.com/how-to-make-tuscan-finocchiona-salami/

Changes:
I used Chianti wine which is traditional in finocchiona salami. The addition of the wine dropped the starting pH of the meat 1.5-2 points...down to pH5.58. Thus I reduced the sugars added to 1.75g/kg. I used 1 g./kg. of dextrose and 0.75g./kg. Raw Turbinado sugar crushed in a mortar and pestle into a fine powder for even fermentation.
I also steeped the garlic in the wine overnight and did not add the garlic to the salami, as is traditional in Italy.
Used Flavor of Italy starter culture. Stuffed into 50-55mm beef middles. Fermenting at 68*F.

I ended up with 3428g of meat and fat. This gave me 3 and a half salami.

I did not add any NFDM powder.

 

[jcam222]

You can see how dark the wild pork meat is. This is meat from the 200+lb. sow that was given to me.

I was thinking exactly that when looking at the pic. Even darker than some of the heritage pig breeds like Duroc and Berkshire. Much closer to what pork should be before the bred it to support “the other white meat” marketing campaign.

 

[indaswamp]

I was thinking exactly that when looking at the pic. Even darker than some of the heritage pig breeds like Duroc and Berkshire. Much closer to what pork should be before the bred it to support “the other white meat” marketing campaign.

And packed with strong porky flavor! Once fermented, the meat will mellow but will still be very porky. Wild hog makes great salami!

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Awesome, looking forward to the finish!

 

[indaswamp]

Even darker than some of the heritage pig breeds like Duroc and Berkshire.

The wild hog meat is as dark as the mangalista hogs my buddy breeds...

 

[Fueling Around]

Yum. That is some great looking pork.
The old pasture raised hogs had a deep color. Similar to how true farm raised chickens actually have dark meat.

You have me scratching my ear a few times. I was wondering how 10# of back fat mixed with ~ 5# of pork trim.
Did you finish off the Chianti while mixing and forget to post the blend to get to 7# of salum?
Maybe I missed it after my (nevermind) Yuengling.

I don't indulge very often, but I have a source for Spanish dry cured. Yum

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Looks good inda.

Im having a hard time getting back into much after this surgery.

 

[indaswamp]

Yum. That is some great looking pork.
The old pasture raised hogs had a deep color. Similar to how true farm raised chickens actually have dark meat.

You have me scratching my ear a few times. I was wondering how 10# of back fat mixed with ~ 5# of pork trim.
Did you finish off the Chianti while mixing and forget to post the blend to get to 7# of salum?
Maybe I missed it after my (nevermind) Yuengling.

I don't indulge very often, but I have a source for Spanish dry cured. Yum

I only used 1028g. of the back fat. I will be making more salami this week so I will use some more of it then. I will be rendering down about 5# of the fat to make sugna to apply to the Berkshire culatello once it reaches about 22% weigh loss in about another month.

 

[indaswamp]

Looks good inda.

Im having a hard time getting back into much after this surgery.

Thanks Rick....surgery?? I must have missed it. Been out of town hunting a lot this season.

 

[indaswamp]

Also, for those concerned with trichinae dry curing wild boar, read this:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/dry-curing-and-trichinae-parasites.312307/#post-2283985

 

[indaswamp]

The pH is down to 5.10 @26 hours fermentation avg. temp of 70*F...