Thursday, January 13, 2011

Doin It Doin It Doin It



Genoa Salami is the favorite in my house. We just can't seem to get enough of it and it's the first to go before ham and chicken and turkey breast cold cuts.
It seems to be a very popular salami because as opposed to pepperoni, which we can buy as a whole salami for 4.99 , Genoa goes for over 10 dollars and even 15.00.

I made a few whole salamis a long while back but today I am finding a hard time finding beef casings.
They are usually sold in butcher shops for sausages, since butchers like to make their own sausages and therefore they are much smaller than what you would need for a 3 inch diameter salami. I found sausages do not need curing or casings since they taste the same from the freezer when you fry them and you can make them in any shape you like. lol
For Genoa,
You would need the following ingredients and usually two people for stuffing them.


5 pounds Beef chuck, round or shank
3 pounds Lean pork butt, cubed
2 pounds Pork fat, cubed
5 tablespoons Salt
1 cup Brandy, good quality
1 1/2 tablespoon Sugar
2 tablespoons Whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon Ground white pepper
1 teaspoon Coriander seed-finely ground
2 teaspoons Garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon Cardamom
1/2 teaspoon Ascorbic acid
1 teaspoon Saltpeter
4 Feet large beef casings

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The beef and pork and fat are ground separately coursely then mixed together and chilled in the fridge for half an hour. Then you regrind it again through a smaller grinder disk.
Then the other ingredients are added and mixed my hand after which you put it into the refrigerator in a plastic bag and let it marinate in the seasonings overnight. (24 hrs)

Then you need a nozzle to place on your grinder and the casings need to be a little wet so they slide over the nozzle. You tie one end then you place the meat into the grinder and grind it into the the casings tightly packing the meat inside with no bubbles.
If you get casings 4 ft long this should make 4 salamis.
After each foot you tie the casing off and continue to the next foot.
After you tie them off and cut them and have 4 separate salamis, its a good idea to roll them and smooth them to get rid of any trapped air pockets.

It takes 8-12 weeks to hang dry the salami but then you will have something really good that will take a while to eat and once you get good at it, they make for great presents for family and close friends. :)

I covered mine with cloth and hung them off the ceiling in the garage. This way they stayed
clean and out of the way. If you have a basement that is good too.

:)

Now this is interesting. Zodiac Sign changes. Think you are a Libra? Nope. You are a Virgo. Signs changed to one month back. But most people decided they will stay what they are. lol Video is found at address below http://rah.posterous.com/new-zodiac-sign-2012

10 comments:

George said...

This sounds absolutely delicious. I'm not sure I'm ready to make my own salami, but I sure would like to eat it if someone else made it for me.

A Lady's Life said...

lol It is not very hard to do George and well worth it.
If you do it once, you will never like to buy it again from the store.
The thing with home made products is that they do not have preservatives.
I would make it but I have to find the casings and here as I said they only sell the small ones.

SandyCarlson said...

You are resourceful! I am not a meat eater, but I do love a good salami. I didn't understand the work, though.

Gattina said...

I am already getting tired by only reading what I should do to make a salami, lol ! Fortunately we prefer cheese !

Zuzana said...

Thank you for your very beautiful recent comments at my place.;)
Yes indeed, my sign has changed too, instead of being a Cancer I am now a Gemini, a prefect match for my Aquarius (who is still the same sign.;)
This salami is one of my favorites too, but I am not good enough chef to attempt making my own.;))
Have a lovely weekend,
xoxo

A Lady's Life said...

Sandy - basically it's just meat and spices mixed and refrigerated overnight for the spices to marinate then stuffing and then keeping it in 85Degrees for three days and then normal drying.

A Lady's Life said...

Zuzana - I have to admit it does take a little know how so wouldn't recommend doing more than one to try it first. But then once you get it right, if you make one or two a week,
you would have salamis coming out of your ears cause it becomes addictive lol

A Lady's Life said...

Gattina - well you are in luck cause I have cheese recipes too lol

Baron's Life said...

Recipe was hard to follow...but man, my Lady...if you can make these Kalbaskas...then I am your slave for life

A Lady's Life said...

lol
prepare then lol MR B.