How to Make Salami

I'm using a bone in pork shoulder. I prefer to use these as they have a perfect meat/fat ratio. Remember, we're 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 it in cling film and place it in the freezer. This will help when cubing up later.

Remove the bone and cut the meat ready for mincing. The size will largely depend on the type of mincer you're using but generally speaking, if using a smaller domestic-type grinder then it's best to cube the meat into smaller pieces as this will help prevent the grinder from overloading. For this batch, I'm 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 the meat and grinder head in the freezer 1 hour prior to cutting to firm it up a bit which will make it much easier to break down, and having the grinder head chilled helps prevent the fat from smearing.

Step 2:

Remove the fat from the freezer (it should be nice and firm now) and dice it 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)

Step 3:

This is what it looks like after approximately 15 minutes of mixing. Note the change in colour and texture, as this is a good indication that the bind has been successful.

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

Pull some casing over the end and tie off like so

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 Ð 208g). Personally, I prefer mine around a 40% loss, so I let them hang for another week or two.

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

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

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