Sopressata

[DeejayDebi]

Sopressata is another small Itlaian salumi that just melts in your mouth and makes your mouth water. The texture is much like a hard salami but the size in generally only about 3 to 3.5 inches in diameter. This is a great sandwich sausage or wonderful for antipasto! I add a kiss of smoke to this style and I have a huge backorder right now. Due to it's small size it cures in about 2 months.

[DeejayDebi]

This recipe came from the Charcuterie. So far it is the only one I was totally impressed with bt so much so that it will be a regular part of my arsenal!

Soppressata, similar to salami, is another dry-cured, fermented sausage, though typically the meat is not as finely ground, so it has a less uniform, more speckled appearance, with some bigger chunks of fat in the slice. Because the fat in this sausage should be distinct from the meat, it's especially important during the grinding and mixing stages to keep the fat as cold as possible, to avoid smearing the fat on the meat.


1 pound/450 grams pork back fat, diced 
4 pounds/1800 grams boneless pork shoulder, diced
1/4 cup/20 grams Bactoferm F-RM-52 
1/4 cup/60 milliliters distilled water
1-1/2 ounces/40 grams kosher salt (3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon/6 grams Insta Cure #2 or DQ Curing Salt - I used Prague #2
1/2 cup/70 grams nonfat dry milk powder 
3 tablespoons/30grams dextrose
1 teaspoon/3 grams ground white pepper 
1 teaspoon/6 grams minced garlic
1 teaspoon/2 grams hot red pepper flakes
1/4 cup/6o milliliters Pinot Bianco or comparable dry white wine
12 to 14 inches! 30 to 35 centimeters hog middle 
   or 
10 feet/3 meters hog casings, soaked in tepid water for at least 30 minutes and rinsed

1. While the fat is very cold, grind through the medium die into a bowl set in ice (see Note 2 below). Chill while you grind the meat through the large die. Combine the ground meat and fat in the bowl of a standing mixer and refrigerate while you ready the culture and the remaining ingredients.

2. Dissolve the Bactoferm in the distilled water and add it, along with the remaining ingredients, to the meat. Using the paddle attachment, mix on the lowest speed until the seasonings are thoroughly distributed, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Stuff the sausage into casings. Tie the ends of the hog middle, if using. Or, if using hog casings, twist into 8-inch/20-centimeter links. Using a sterile pin or needle, prick the casings all over to remove any air pockets and facilitate drying.

4. Hang the sausage at room temperature, ideally 85 degrees F./29 degrees2, for 12 hours to "incubate" the bacteria; the beneficial bacteria will grow and produce more lactic acid at a warmer temperature.

5. Hang the sausage (ideally at 60 degrees F./15 degrees C. with 60 to 70 percent humidity) until completely dry or until it's lost 30 percent of its weight. The time will differ depending on the size of the casings you use and your drying conditions—roughly 2 to 3 weeks.
Yield: About 3 pounds/1.5 kilograms sausage; one 14-inch/35-centimeter sausage if using a hog middle, eight 8-inch/2o-centimeter links if using hog casings