tristar

Okay, and how does that make UVC different from a harsh chemical? Anyway, with some normal construction plastic drop cloth, some PVC, and duct-tape, you could make yourself a reasonable enclosure (there are many variations on this theme), but it wouldn't hold up to a bunch of traffic. And for your question, tristar, temperature is very important. That's why refrigeration was such a revolution. The better you can control the temperature, the better things will turn out. ← It's just that we carry out our innoculation at elevated temperatures for an extended period of time, I would have assumed that as our ph decreased and our cured sausages dry they would become more resistant to bacterial growth rather than less. Michael himself says in the book that humidity control is more important than temperature control I believe. I was just curious about how important temperature control is, as I said in my original post the locally dried meats are dried in the sun, and in South Africa Biltong is dried without the benefits of refrigeration! Best Regards, Richard

My take on Pancetta from 'Charcuterie' using a loin and breast of lamb, substituted Rosemary and rainbow peppercorns in the recipe. What else to call it but Lambcetta! I will let you know how it turns out after drying! Regards, Richard

Do a search on the internet for a Johnson Controls A19AAT Thermostat. This is a $50 - $60 items that essentially bypasses your refrigerators thermostat. The unit has a socket that you plug your fridge into and a probe that you insert into the fridge. You set the temp on the unit and when the temp rises above your temp it will turn your fridge on and lower the temp. It works in a range of 20 to 80F or -7 to 27C. Also, for about $20 you can get a digital temp and humidity gauge with a probe so you can tell the humidity without opening the fridge. I haven't tried this, but you might be able to use any of the dry desiccant products like Indicating Silica Gel dry boxes. If you see the humidity climbing you could throw one of these in the fridge for a while. They can be dried out in the microwave and reused. ← Unfortunately I live in Indonesia, the utility power is 220 volt. also the number of companies in the US willing to trade with anybody located here is very low due to the high rate of credit card fraud! I will keep looking and I am sure I will be able to find something eventually! Thanks for your suggestions though, I was planning along those lines. Best Regards, Richard

How important is temperature in drying cured sausages? We have salt, Prague Powder, and a lactic acid starter, shouldn't this be enough to protect the sausage during the drying phase? As I understand it the salt stops a large proportion of the microbial and/or bacterial growth, the prague powder prevents botulism, and the lactic acid changes the PH to further retard microbial and/or bacterial growth. When we cure at the start of the process at room temperature, and we have the protection of the changed ph plus the casing which will have started to dry and form another barrier is it possible for anything other than incorrect drying to cause our sausages to fail? Is humidity more important than the temperature? The reason I am asking all these question is that I would like to make some peperone and chorizo using lamb casing to speed up the drying process, but lack a drying chamber. I have on old refrigerator but even turning the thermostat down to its lowest setting I am unable to raise the temperature above 8 degrees celsius! I have looked for a differnt thermostat but as yet have found nothing suitable. I have seem local meats cured with just palm sugar and salt and they are just placed in direct sunlight during the day and brought into the house at night until they are dried sufficiently The ambient temperatures here are between 28-32 degrees Celsius and the humidity is approximately 75-80 percent. Regards, Richard

Hi Snowangel, I suffered for months with a similar stuffer from Kenwood, the fats in my sausages were smearing causing poor definition, it used to take forever to complete a batch, and was generally a right royal pain in the butt! Not caused by wind though! I sought advice from different forums and was convinced that the problems were of my making and possibly from lack of experience or skill, I tried all the recommended solutions, temperature lowered, added water, minced more finely but nothing seemed to help. Three months ago I bought one of the small cheap vertical stuffers and my life changed completely, so quick, easy to clean, more clear definition in the sausages, well worth the cost which I have to say was not too high anyway! I can only assume that from the number of hobby sausage makers who are happy with their KA or Kenwood stuffers, that they don't know what they are missing! I certainly do now! Take the plunge and buy a plunger style stuffer and you will find a whole new world opens up to you and your enthusiasm for sausage making will return with a vengance! I bought this model Sausagemaking.org, but i am sure you can find something from Northern Tool or one of the many Stateside suppliers for a much more reasonable price. Regards, Richard

Hi Guys, I just take the mustard seeds and mix them in, I haven't tried toasting them as I don't want them to lose their seedcoat! It's just that I think they may soften too much if they don't have that protection. They seem to absorb enough moisture from the forcemeat without any problems, and they seem to pass through the mincer plate without damage but I am using the the medium plate for the second grind and not the fine! I just like the little extra bite they give to the sausage, texturally I mean, rather than flavourwise, as you probably already know during the cooking they loose all their heat and just add a little nuttiness when one pops between your teeth! Regards, Richard

Kielbasa (Polish Smoked Sausage) Modified from the original by the replacement of Pork Back Fat by Beef Fat, doubled the garlic, added whole mustard seeds, and used collagen casings. The sausages were hot smoked in a kettle grill! albeit at too high a temperature as is evidenced by the cavities, but the texture and the taste are just fantastic. Best Regards, Richard P.S. It sure is difficult taking sexy photo's of your own sausage!

Is there a more scientific approach than this, for instance if you were confronted with this: Would you be prepared to eat it? Tens of thousands of Indonesians, eat this everyday, but from the white = good, green equals = bad perspective, where does orange come in? and would it actually do any harm to my salami if they came out this colour? Just for your information, for those who have never come across it before, Oncom is a fermented peanut or soya bean cake, and tastes a little like nutty mushroom. Best Regards, Richard

Hi Dougal, I actually have a Philips HR 7805/A which is an old combination machine that I bought here in Indonesia about 8 years ago at a sale. You are correct in thinking that the paddle is similar to the Kitchenaid and Kenwood paddles. I drool when I see some of the machines in this and other forums, but due to the low demand here for kitchen equipment, prices are double what you would pay in the West if you can actually find the machines! So I have to make do! In actual fact condsidering that I normally produce small quantities, it seems to work out quite well, I can beat, whisk, knead, process and slice\grate with one machine! Regards, Richard

Hi Abra, Actually goat is easily obtained in the traditional markets, but the standards of hygiene are sorely lacking there I do ocassionally buy from there but only if I go myself! The supermarkets here generally only sell beef or chicken, although in the chinese areas they do occassionally have duck, but not with sufficient flesh for duck prosciutto unfortunately! The chicken is generally jointed for frying and the beef is generally cubed for stews etc. I have had to cultivate a special friendship with the manager of the local supermarket who will indulge the crazy foreigner and supply me with prime cuts which I butcher at home. I have noticed some changes recently which indicate that more choice is coming onto the market, with goat and lamb sometime available, but at premium prices! I have experimented with Indonesian spicing as per the Seafood Sausages, which were quite nice, but as a first attempt and working without the benefit of all the lessons in Michael and Brians book found they were a little dry, I think I have learnt from the Chicken and Mushroom Mouselline Sausage how to fix that problem. Other Indonesian flavours are generally produced from extended cooking ala "Beef Rendang" and are not easily reproduced in the short cooking time required for sausages, although I do intend to experiment more, perhaps cooking the forcemeat prior to stuffing. Regarding the mealy sausages, I have, again since acquiring "Charcuterie", found that if the forcemeat is worked, in my case using a K beater in the food processor for a few minutes, I am able to avoid that problem. I presume due to the more thorough incorporation of the meat proteins which are made water soluble by the addition of the salt, this seems to allow more liquid to be held in the sausage and also seems to prevent the fats from leaching out during the cooking process. I am assuming that some type of protein matrix forms which holds the liquid and fats, similar to an emulsion type sausage. Please anybody who understands the science of sausages correct me if I am wrong, but that is what seems to be happening. I do have to be careful and only use the hard fats with the meat, but it seems to work for beef, lamb and goat. Which is a good job really as originally I was informed that I would only get juicy sausages if I used pork backfat or beef suet! I don't actually eat pork so the unavailability of pork fat is not really a problem only a problem to be solved! The book really has been an inspiration to me, as is all the work being carried out and documented on the forum. Regards, Richard

Ron Kaplan (aka ronnie_suburban) said: Well I have made all of the following: Goat Haggis Which used 'beef middles' rather than stomach for the casing, 2 out of 10 of the 'puddings survived the poaching (far too hot) and they would have given a suitable soundtrack for a WWII submarine movie, infact 'Das Boot' came to mind as I listened to them exploding like a string of depth charges! . Goat was used because lamb is rarely found in the supermarkets here, and Haggis was a spur of the moment decision when I found all of the required meat ingredients in the same meat display! Opportunistic heh? Brisket Bacon On this I cheat somewhat, by using Hickory Smoke Powder during the curing phase, but the results have been quite successfull so far. Had to use Brisket as there was is no Plate available in Indonesia. Haven't found a simple way of cold smoking in a climate in which the temperature doesn't fall below 28 degrees C! Corned Beef Maybe a common item in the States, but here in Indonesia comes in a can! Results excellent, didn't last 24 hours. Chicken Liver Pate One of my favourites,so simple and quick to make, and what a wonderful simple breakfast on freshly baked bread. Pastrami Followed a Dry Cure recipe from Sausagemaking .org, was cured for 6 weeks! I have to juggle my work schedule with charcuterie! The cured Silverside was given the spice rub and indirectly smoked on a Weber Kettle for 6 hours, unfortunately the family were at the house at the time and only half of the original joint was left by the next day! This was then steamed for 3 hours and was absolutely exquisite. Rumanian Jewish Beef and Mustard Sausage Mealy! Beef and Sun Dried Tomato Not too bad at all and had some definition, but this was likely due to the fact that mustard flour was included in the ingredients! Chicken Franks Tasty but mealy! Chicken and Portobello Mushroom Mouselline Sausages Had problems when all of the lamb casings burst during poaching, I was unfortunately distracted by my twin children who were heading off to bed and wanted a kiss goodnight! didn't really think two minutes longer would matter but it did! temperature rose from 80 degrees C to 100 degrees C and the water in the casings turned to steam with predictable results. I had during this run of sausages run out of casings and improvised by using plastic bags which are available locally for making icepops, those turned out perfectly! Goat with Pinenuts and Dried Apricot What can I say, but delicious! Goat with Rosemary and Garlic Again one of my better sausages, but still haven't figured out what I did differently! Chicago Style All Beef Franks Didn't realise that collagen casings couldn't be used for poaching sausages! looked ...... well I won't decribe what it looked like, just use your imagination! but just to help the picture think of a shrivelled, naked old man in a transparent plastic raincoat however the emulsion didn't break and did in fact set sufficiently for the sausage to be passed of as skinless to my friends who were very impressed with my skills! hadn't the heart to tell them the truth! Seafood Nice, a mixture of white fish, squid and shrimps, with lemon grass, garlic and hot red chillies, bound with tapioca flour! Dill Cured Salmon, How can you go wrong with this one! I want to try a Pepperone, and have just recently relegated an old refrigerator to the utility room, but am having difficulty finding a suitable thermostat to control the temperature in the correct range, just need to keep looking for a while longer I guess. If any of you have any wisdom to share for drying in the tropics I would appreciate your sharing it, the locals dry some types of meat in the sun but I don't know how this would affect salumni or even if it would be at all possible. I am slowly coming to terms with the lack of ingredients and the climate in Indonesia, more slowly coming to realise that I need to concentrate more but I am learning everyday. What a fantastic hobby! Best Regards, Richard

Hi Everybody, Just got posting status and wanted to introduce myself, I have been following this thread for some time and have to say it is for me the most interesting and educational on the forum. I have been producing my own sausages for about a year and have always been disappointed in some way with the result, maybe too much of a perfectionist! That all changed when I recently purchased 'Charcuterie', this book has to be a classic! It is not only a collection of recipes and techniques, for me it has been an inspiration, leading me to experiment with different meats and techniques with great success, I am probably one of the few following this thread that doesn't eat pork, but I have found that this doesn't exclude me from the world of charcuterie, following what I have learned in the book I have been able to substitute and improvise and am now enjoying a hobby which prior to reading this book was looking to be somehat restricted! Thanks Michael and Brian for producing what has to become a major reference in the field and thanks to all on this thread, and others, who have shared their experiences, both good and bad for the benefit of all who are interested in this marvellous aspect of our lives. I know it has been suggested before, but I think it would be a good idea for people to post their recipes and modifications to the recipe gullet and have a collection of peoples projects as a sticky topic which has links to the recipes. Thanks to you all. Best Regards, Richard