¼cupbactoferm mixed with 2 Tablespoons distilled or filtered water
Instructions
Cut the meat and fat into pieces that will go through a meat grinder easily, then chill in the freezer until half-frozen.
Mix the bactoferm with the water and reserve.
Cut the UMAi DRY casings into a foot length, or however long you want your salami to be.
Grind the chilled meat and fat through a ¼ inch die of a meat grinder.
Toast the fennel and pulse a couple times in a spice grinder. Don’t grind the fennel to powder, just pulse it 2-3 times as you want to see some whole seeds in the finished product. Mix the meat with the salt and spices by hand, then mix in the finishing ingredients: dextrose, milk powder, the bactoferm slurry, and wine.
Fermentation
Pack the mixture into the UMAi DRY casings, tying off each end with zip ties or butcher’s twine. Put the salami on a baking sheet with a rack, then allow to ferment at room temperature for 24 hours, or until you can notice the color of the meat visibly lighten.
For fermenting, putting the salami in a still/turned off oven works fine. If you put the salami in the oven, make sure to put a note on the handle so no one turns it on-that won't be fun for anyone.
Drying and finishing
After 24 hours, remove the salami and place in a fridge for 4 weeks, or until dry to your liking. When the salami are finished, I like to vacuum seal and freeze them until I want to use them, which also refreshes the texture.
Finished, dried salami can be stored in the fridge for a few weeks, or frozen for long-term storage.
Video
Notes
Milk PowderMilk powder will give you a superior bind and texture on the finished salami, but if you are at all new to making charcuterie or using a meat grinder and sausage stuffer, you may want to skip it as it can make the packing process much more time consuming. Adding milk powder will firm up the meat mixture, and it is much harder to pack into casings.