Two weeks ago I took my first steps in the world of fermenting and dry curing sausage. I made pepperoni, which still has about a week to go and I made summer sausage. I had made summer sausage before, but in the past I used encapsulated citric acid in lieu of fermentation. So this is a whole new experience for me.
I have to say I am extremely happy with the results. I pulled out a smaller chub about a week into drying and it was good, but after two weeks of drying, it is so much better! If this pepperoni turns out, I may be hooked.
Btw this is a beef and pork sausage.
by Alarmed-Cockroach-50
5 Comments
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Looks great! I went through some trials & tribulations with encapsulated citric acid, but once you get things dialed in it’s awesome to cruise things along.
Looks great! What’s your recipe/method?
Real fermented sausage flavor is head and shoulders above ECA. Looks great
Looks great! You can tell how much effort you put into this by how good it looks. Bravo – The F-LC culture is a great starting point as it is a pretty straightforward and fast acting so it eliminates a little of the “is it fermenting “ worry.
Some friendly advice – If you’re going to get into the ferm side of this I would highly suggest you invest in a PH meter – All things considered its not crazy expensive and it will help you tremendously with your future batches, not to mention the fermentation is a crucial CCP (critical control point) in this entire process. Without a successful ferment you’re dead in the water and bummed from wasting time and product.
If the summer sausage looks this good on your first go around, I have faith your Pepperoni will be just fine. Not sure how much research you’ve done but if you have any questions on technique or different strains to ferment with, feel free to reach out. I have experience all the way from a home built cave in my kitchen to a USDA certified charcuterie program that is still crushing it today.
Love seeing posts like this. Keep at it and upload pics of the pepperoni when it’s ready.
Here’s a super spicy and fatty “Sopressatta” I made at home just recently for R&D – It’s a hybrid of Nduja and Sopressatta. Fermented with F-RM-52 @ 73°f for 52 hrs at 85% RH – Dried to 37% weight loss
https://preview.redd.it/p16tf98srj0h1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=34e998a06543e06e829ffbe6acb60235bc629210