Photo by Meredith Leigh
Fermentation type: Lacto
Primary Fermentation: 7 to 10 days
Secondary Fermentation: 3 to 4 weeks
Total Time: 5 weeks and 3 days
Ingredients:
- 5 ounces dried plums, chopped
- 5 fluid ounces Sangiovese wine
- 2 1/2 pounds pork shoulder meat
- 1 1/2 pounds pork back fat
- 1/2 ounce organic dextrose
- 1 ounce garlic, peeled but left whole
- 4 grams sodium nitrate (curing salt #2)
- 40 grams sale de Cervia
- 5 grams T-SPX starter culture
- 33 feet natural hog casings, rinsed and hydrated
Photo from Getty Images/nata_vkusidey
Instructions:
- Soak the chopped prunes in wine and let sit for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, put the moving parts of your meat grinder in the freezer.
- Trim pork off bone and connective tissue. Cut into pieces that will fit through your grinder.
- Combine dextrose, garlic, and sodium nitrate with meat, and grind all through the coarse plate of the grinder.
- Mix in sale di Cervia, wine, and prunes. Send half of the mixture back through the grinder on the same plate.
- With gloved hands, mix the sausage thoroughly until quite sticky.
- Sprinkle in the starter culture. Mix to incorporate.
- Cover and refrigerate 3 hours before stuffing into the hog casings.
- Once stuffed, tie links and prick thoroughly with a sterilized needle.
- Record the weight of the sausages, and then hang them for 7 to 10 days at 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit to ferment.
- Hang to dry for 3 to 4 weeks at 50 to 60 degrees and 55 to 75 percent relative humidity. When done, sausage will weigh half the previously recorded weight.
For more on dry-aged salami, see Salsiccia Romagnola: The Elegance of Flavor.
The analogies drawn between art and food, along with creative and accessible photographic discussions of charcuterie technique, make this book an essential primer on the basics of charcuterie: the mystery, the science, the art, and the technique. Ideal for home cooks working in small spaces, Pure Charcuterie is a must-have for experienced and new cooks alike — and any home artisan. This title is available on our online store or by calling 800-978-7464. Mention promo code MFRPAJZ1. Item #8707.
Over the past 17 years, Meredith Leigh has worked as a farmer, butcher, chef, teacher, non-profit executive director, and writer, all in pursuit of good food. Meredith works part time for Living Web Farms, where she travels extensively teaching charcuterie and food production and processing. For more information, visit her website.
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