How to Make Salami

Today were making dried chorizo salami from Carnivore Collective who produce a range of different salami & sausage seasonings now available here at BBQ Spit Rotisseries.

Each kit comes supplied with pre measured spices and curing salts taking all the guess work out providing you with a safe and consistent product. Just add 5kg of meat and some liquid of your choice and you’re set.

Before starting here is a list of equipment you’ll need:

*Meat grinder

*Sausage stuffer

*Salami casing (natural or collagen)

*Carnivore Collective Salami seasoning

*Meat (containing at least 20% fat)

*Red/white wine (depending on flavour of seasoning kit)

*Butchers twine

*Sharp knives for deboning/breaking down meat for grinder

*Measuring cup & kitchen scales

Step 1:

I’m using a bone in pork shoulder. I prefer to use these as they have a perfect meat/fat ratio. Remember were looking for a net yield of 5kg of ground meat so look for the largest shoulder you can find as there will be losses removing the bone and putting it through the grinder. Remove the meat from the packaging and pat dry

Remove the fat cap, wrap in cling film and place into the freezer. This will help when cubing up later.

How to make Salami

Remove the bone and cut the meat ready for mincing. The size will largely depend on the type of mincer you’re using using but generally speaking if using a smaller domestic type grinder then its best to cube the meat into smaller pieces as this will help prevent the grinder from overloading. In this batch im using a 1hp grinder which can easily handle large strips of meat. Most important though is to use a course plate (8 – 10mm). I used an 8mm plate for this batch.

Tip: Place meat and grinder head in the freezer 1 hour prior to cutting to firm it up a bit as it will make it much easier to breakdown and having the grinder head chilled also helps prevent the fat from smearing.

Step 2:

Run the meat through the mincer

Remove fat from freezer (should now be nice and firm) and dice up into small pieces (alternatively to make things a little simpler you can run the semi frozen fat through the grinder instead of hand cutting however the finished product won’t have quite the same texture). Combine and weigh for a total of 5kg (don’t forget to allow for the weights of the containers also)

Combine fat and meat.

Step 3:

Add curing salts

Add seasonings

Finally add in the liquid. I’m using 250ml of Shiraz.

Now for the fun part! With a clean pair of hands start mixing it all together working it like a ball of dough. This is one of the most critical aspects as what we are doing is breaking down the proteins to create what is referred to as the "bind" and if not done correctly you will end up with a product that’s dry and crumbly.

This is what it looks like after approx.15mins of mixing. Note the change in colour and texture.

How to make Salami

At this point it should be so sticky that you will be able to roll a ball, press it into your palm and hold inverted without dropping. If so your all done and can proceed to the next step.

Step 4:

Now your ready to load the mixture into the sausage filling machine. The key point here is to load without creating any air pockets and the best way to achieve this is to garb a hand full of mixture throw it into the hopper and with a clenched fist punch it down 2-3 times to remove any potential air pockets. Repeat until full. Next we need to load up the filling nozzle with whatever casing you’re using. Today im using 43mm fibrous casings which are more durable than natural animal casings. These also do not require any pre-soak making the process a little easier. To begin, start cranking the handle until you see the mixture slightly protrude from the end

Next we need to load up the filling nozzle with whatever casing you’re using. Today im using 43mm fibrous casings which are more durable than natural animal casings. These also do not require any pre-soak making the process a little easier. To begin, start cranking the handle until you see the mixture slightly protrude from the end

Pull some casing over the end and tie off like so

How to Make Salami

To ensure the twine doesn’t slip off we will do a safety knot by lifting the end and tying a second knot on the opposite side.

How to make Salami

Step 5:

With a semi firm grip holding the casing at the end of the filling nozzle slowly crank the handle to begin filling the casing. We want it to be as tight as possible with no visible air pockets however if you do notice any don’t worry as they can be removed later.

How to make Salami

Keep filling 2-3cm past the desired length and with a piece of butchers twine tie a knot at the end and begin to tie off. This method will ensure each salami is sufficiently filled and will also help prevent any unwanted air pockets inside.

Pinch and pull back the filling past the knot as shown below

Tie off another knot on the opposite end and cut

Finish by applying a safety knot as described in the previous step and then tie a knot at the end to create a loop for hanging.

Step 6:

Next we need to weigh and tag each salami. We use this “green weight” to calculate for a minimum of 30% weight loss at which point it’s ready to eat. In the example below the green weight is 694g so 30% is 208g (694 x 0.3) meaning that this will be ready when it reaches 486g or less (694g – 208g). Personally I prefer mine around a 40% loss so I let them hang for another week or two.

How yo make Salami

At this stage I also check for any air pockets that are visible on the surface and if found I prick with the end of a toothpick and gently push the air out.

How to make Salami

The only thing left to do is finding a suitable place to hang and wait. The best place to hang is somewhere that’s consistent in temperature and humidity (ideally below 20c). A lot of garage’s, large cupboards or even under the house are ideal places for this. That’s it for this tutorial, if you have any further questions please contact us hare at BBQ Spit Rotisseries.

Check out our range of Salami Seasonings & meat Grinder

by Doug Johansson

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