Comments on: Charcuterie – Fermentation and Curing Chamber

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:20:03 +0000

Gabi, pepperoni is done it taste good. Next time I will make it with all pork. This recipe had 30% beef in it & I think beef makes it a little dry. I also lost about 50% of green weight in 4 weeks. The starter I used was T-SPX next time I’ll use
F-RM-52 if it is only going to take 3-4 weeks to dry. The genoa’s are all most done to I will give them another day or two.
[Frank] thanks for the info. I hope to go this year if I don’t have to go out of town.

By: Frank Balestri

Frank Balestri — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:23:30 +0000

You Can also see my instructional video Titled Sodfather Part 1thru 3

By: Frank Balestri

Frank Balestri — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:21:45 +0000

This is Frank Balestri if anyone has questions about my Soppressatt Contact me at (773) 370-1621 Thanks

By: frank balestri

frank balestri — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:49:35 +0000

Chicago has a soppressatta contest September 26 2010 at 3 pm parkplace banquet hall 6240 joliet rd countryside up 60525 (708) 588-1756 all participants must bring in one peesliced soppressatta to enter all entries are secretly recorded trophy prizes all profits will be donated to Italian war veterans let’s keep the tradition alive.Italian gift baskets and a homemade soppressatta press will be rattled off.let support are vets!

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:54:16 +0000

Gabi, the web site is [great-chicago-italian-recipes.com] or you can type in soppressatta & find it too. The soppressatta I’m going to enter I made over the winter. I vacuum seal the salami’s when they are done curing. As long as no air gets to them, & you keep them in a cool place they stay. when you vacuum seal them the natural oils come out of the salami’s & get sealed in the bag. It’s like putting them in oil but you don’t have to eat all the oil!!!

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:35:56 +0000

Gabi, I have the same frig you do. It was sitting around doing nothing. I had the same problem with the humidity. I was using kosher salt but I was changing it everyday. I had a bag of rock salt & I was wondering if that would work. IT WORKS GREAT!!!! All I do is dump out the water & put the salt back in the frig.

By: Gabi

Gabi — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:49:22 +0000

Never heard of the Soppressatta contest! Although it sounds very interesting, I don’t think I have a chance to even come close – hehe. I don’t even have the time to make and cure them by that date. But heck, that contest sounds very interesting to attend and sample some of the Soppressattas! Is there a web site with the info? Good luck with your Soppressatta!!!

By: Gabi

Gabi — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:44:04 +0000

Maybe you can clamp it to your counter top? Oh - that Torrey can make wonders!! It is definitely a good investment. Depends also on the thickness of the salami. If it is thinner, it will get dryer faster. I don't suspect the cultures play a major role in the drying speed to be honest. How big is your curing chamber? Mine is a small dorm refrigerator, and the actual problem I usually have when placing the new (green) salamis to cure is too much humidity (>90% RH!). So in the first 2-3 weeks I need to crack the fridge door just a little to let the humidity out. Also I am pricking my salamis quite a bit to get rid of the air pockets. You must have a very dry curing chamber maybe?

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:07:52 +0000

Gabi
I’m from Chicago too. Have you ever heard of this soppressatta contest they have every year.[Well this will be the 4 annual contest] Frank Balesti host it.
It’s on Sunday Sept.26 at 3:00pm. in Countryside. I’m going to enter my soppressatta this year.

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:06:13 +0000

Gabi, I really like my stuffer but I can’t do it by myself it’s to long. My wife helps me but I hate bothering her. So I us my grinder to stuff small batchs of sausage & salami. My grinder is a Torrey M-12FS now that’s a great grinder!!!
Now all the salami recipes & books I read tell me to dry the salami’s for 2-3 months or 35% of the green weight. I just never used those culture starters before, that’s why I’m wondering why they say dry for 2-3 months. If I lost that much weight in the first week.