I’ve joined up to help my friend Sean at Punk Domestics with his #FestaDiSalumi challenge. It’s not as rigorous as last year’s #CharcutePalooza, thank goodness. There aren’t any prizes, and only four challenges. Please consider joining in. A couple of weeks ago we go together to make Salami. Two kinds. It only took about 4-5 hours with plenty of time for gossip and catching up. We made two kinds, Finocchiona and Porcini. We each choose a favorite from Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn’s new book Salumi. The next day after siting inoculating in my oven I sprayed them with beneficial mold spores and hung them in the curing fridge.
It’s been hanging for a little over two weeks and has lost about 20% of weight. That’s pretty much on schedule to loose 30% in three weeks. Whenever I open the curing fridge, the entire downstairs smells like a curing room. It’s a meaty, somewhat sour smell. At first I found it nice, but now it’s getting to be a bit much. I open the windows wide to air out the smell, but it even comes through closed doors. My car gets the full effect too.
Here it is hanging today, covered in good penicillin mold.