Salami is the perfect party food because it shows off your skills of attention to detail, patience, and love for doing things yourself. Making it is not as complicated as you may think in parentheses we’ve included a tutorial about how to make it. Reading the post will give you all the insights needed to make an amazing salami that will impress even the most avid carnivore. You’re going to need some casings, spices, meat, and a lot of time.
Ingredients
1 pork shoulder butt or picnic ham (about 45 pounds) or 5 pounds of lean pork and 40 pounds of beef. To trim the meat you will need string, a binder clip and a sharp knife. Start by tying the string around your roast in order to create even intervals all around and then cut the fat with your butcher knife to improve the flavor. Also, cut the strings off when you are done trimming.
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of pink salt or Insta Cure No. 1, or 2 tablespoons of Prague Powder II (see below for info)
When you place your meat order with the butcher shop you will ask them to give you a pack of casings that they’ll normally tie up with string in strategic places. If not, you can buy them at some specialty shops and mail order suppliers.
1 pack salami casings (or 1 DIY casings if you’re so inclined). You can buy them at some specialty shops or mail order suppliers such as Hrubetz in New York City.
2 teaspoons of yellow mustard seeds
2 teaspoons of coriander seeds (optional)
The first step is to mix all the spices with the powder and then sprinkle it evenly on the meat. Some experts recommend mixing the spices in vinegar and letting them sit for at least 24 hours before sprinkling it evenly on the pork. In any case, you need to let it sit for at least two hours before going next step.
Break up the meat with your hands and grind it through a 3/8-inch plate into a bowl so you can mix it properly with all the spices.
Pour your meat back into the grinder and grind again twice.
In a large saucepan, heat up your water (or beer) and place the meat into the pan with the spices in it and let it simmer for one hour uncovered. Then take some salt and wrap it around one end of the twine that you tied to the pork with string. This will help create a casing for your salami. Do this for four ends or as many sets of casings as you have on hand.
When you’re done tying the casings, take them out of the water, and let them sit for 20 minutes. Then hang them in a cool place to dry. When they are completely dry, the casings will have tightened up and they will hold the sausages better. You can dehydrate the salami further by placing it in a smoker or curing it in some kind of brine to ensure that it doesn’t spoil when you cook it.
After all of the casings are filled with meat, tie the open end with string. This is where you will have to be careful because if you do your tying job well, then your salami will stay good for about a year. If not, then it may only last for four days or even two weeks.
Finally, the salami needs to rest for at least 30 days. It can be cut and wrapped, but you need to keep in mind that the longer it rests, the better it will taste. Don’t try eating it before 30 days because the risk of botulism poisoning is too great.