Sausage or Salami – What’s the Difference?
Nothing is more annoying than people who don’t understand the difference between a ground seasoned and COOKED piece of meat, and a ground, seasoned “fermented & dried” piece of meat. They taste amazing home made salami and say “man that’s good sausage” arggg!
The main difference is that salami is not cooked, it is fermented and dried. When you explain it to people they often have a bit of an odd look on their face because most people don’t really consider exactly what it is they are eating. The assumption is that everything they sell in the grocery store must be prepared and good to eat. Government regulation insures that it is of course, but it is the concept of eating a raw piece of meat that startles some people.
I am not saying sausage isn’t a good thing to eat, that’s how I started making salami. What I’m saying is how amazing it is that you take raw meat, add a bacterial starter culture, raise the temperature to 90 degrees for 1-2 days, then let it dry at 55-60 degrees for another month. Can you imagine leaving a steak sitting out for 2 days, then leaving it in 55 degrees for a month, then eating it without cooking it? I didn’t think so. The chemistry and science behind this ancient art is something special.