At the same time I decided to step up from 15-20 lb. batches to 35lbs, I decided to start this blog. Great thinking Jeff…
There’s a huge difference between 17lbs and 35lbs of salami,the math is easy, it’s double, but what is required is organization. I made 5 different types of salami, and I did it very systematically, first grind all the meat, second put all of the spices into separate bowls, then start assembly, one type at a time, mixing, stuffing then cleaning up, then mixing, stuffing and cleaning up.
Overall I did all the grinding using our 30+year old Kitchen-Aid standing mixer with the grinder attachment. It’s more than capable of grinding the meat, but when you do that much at a time the motor starts to get a little hot. I’m not sure you can push that machine to do much more in one session.
The meat was all pork butts, half bone in (bones go to the dogs) and half De-boned. No particular reason, that’s just what I grabbed at the store. De-boned is easier, but if I can save money with the bone in I do. We’ll talk about which meat to buy in another post.
Here’s what I made:
- 12 lbs of what I call “Finno” – basically it’s a Finocchiona with extra fennel, garlic and pepper and I used sherry. This is my favorite salami and one my good friend says “of all the salami’s you make,don’t change this recipe” glad I wrote that one down.
- 5lbs of Calabrese Salami – a la Len Poli. This is my first shot at this one so I followed his recipe. That’s pretty typical, I follow someone else the first time, then modify it if I like it. This one features lots of crushed red pepper and anise seed, stuffed into hog cassings. most of my salami is in 2+ inch calogen casings, these are thinner and should be ready faster.
- 6 lbs of Salami Artigiano – another Len Poli recipe, only modified in the meat mixture – I didn’t use any beef. What interested me about this was the mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves with garlic powder in a classic Italian salami… we’ll see.
- 5 lbs Soppressa Veneta da Friuili – the last Len Poli recipe of this batch (anyone who decides to make salami sooner or later will come accross Len’s recipes. I have never met him but he’s already had a profound influence on my salami making). What interested me about this recipe was the use of Droga dolce (a blend of cinnamon, cardomom, nutmeg, sugar and galingal(a type of ginger). He called for white wine and I used madiera, we’ll see.
- 7 lbs – Tarra Special – this one’s all custom, using tarragon, garlic powder, & sherry. Tarragon is among my favorite herbs to cook with so I had to try it. Stay Tuned!
I ground the meat and prepared the spices on Sunday afternoon, then on Monday after work I mixed stuffed and cleaned from 6 p.m. until about 10, then another hour of dishes to stay out of trouble and it’s all in the case. I’m pretty sure you can’t fit much more into my case, but I’m not opposed to trying. I believe that when it’s this full they will dry slower but that’s another experiment for this batch.
I can’t wait to taste these!