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Hungarian Salami is a wonderful dry sausage which became very popular in Poland during the Communist Era and continues to be popular today. Hungarian Salami is made of lean pork and back fat and being a dry sausage requires more time to make and also more skill is needed. This recipe shows a classical and traditional way of making slow-fermented salami without commercially prepared starter cultures, the way it has been made for centuries. The recipe comes from the Polish Government Collection of Recipes that were issued to meat plants and licensed sausage makers in 1958. The original recipe called for 100 kg of meat total and we have scaled down that amount to 5 kg of meat, leaving all other instructions in their original form. The instructions are so detailed that anybody can give it a try and learn about making salami in general. We also provide our own comments in brown ink where we deem them to be of help.
| 1. | meat selection |
Cuts of lean pork (Class I) - ham, butt, loin, not cured, 4 kg Back fat, not salted, 1 kg Meat total: 5 kg more on meat selection in Meat Classification |
salt pepper paprika (Spanish) garlic sugar Cure # 2
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130 g 9 g 6 g 2 g 7.5 g 12.48 g
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7 Tbs. 4 tsp 2-1/2 tsp 1 clove 1 1/2 tsp 2 tsp
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| ingredients | |||||
| 2. | cutting and moisture removal | A. Cut meat into 10 cm (4") pieces and place in wooden box with perforated bottom. You can leave meats at slightly sloped table. This will facilitate moisture removal and any accumulated water will drain away. This process lasts 24 hours and should be performed at 1-2º C (33º-35º F). B. Grind meats with 3/4" plate and place in a box (step A above) for additional 2-3 days. Re-arrange meats once or twice. C. Unsalted back fat is stored at -2º to - 4º C (-28º to - 24º F) for 3 days and then ground with a 3/16" grinder plate. If you keep back fat in a refrigerator place it for a few hours in a freezer and then grind it with 3/16" plate. Grinding partially frozen fat will prevent it from smearing. | |||
| 3. | mixing/grinding | Mix meat, fat, salt, Cure 2 and spices together. Grind the mixture through 3/16" plate. | |||
| 4. | mixing | Knead with your fists everything well together until mixture feels gluey. Do not add water. | |||
| 5. | curing | Place the meat mass for 36- 48 hours at 2º- 4º C (35º-39º F) in a refrigerator. | |||
| 6. | stuffing | Stuff firmly into 50-60 mm casings and form 45-55 cm (17 - 21") long links. Use beef middles or synthetic protein-lined fibrous casings. Casings must allow smoke to go through and they have to shrink with the sausage which will keep on losing moisture and will become smaller. Do not add water inside casings. Tie the ends with a butcher twine and form 4" (10 cm) long loop for hanging. The original sausage was additionally looped with twine: once lengthwise and 3-4 times accross to provide additional strength. | |||
| 7. | conditioning | Hang sausages for 2- 4 days at 2º- 4º C (35º-39º F) and 85-90% relative humidity. This is the curing, color and fermentation stage. | |||
| 8. | smoking | Smoke for 5-7 days with a thin cold smoke at 16º-18º C (60º-64º F) until dark reddish color is obtained (paprika imparts reddish tint). Cold smoking is not a continuous process, smoke for a few hours, make a break for a few hours etc. You are drying your sausage with cold smoke making it at the same time more resistant to bacteria spoilage. | |||
| 9. | drying and mold development | For about 2 weeks at 10º-12º C (50º-54º F) in a dark place with a little draft. The entire surface of the sausage should develop dry white mold. If green mold is noticed, the sausage surface should be wiped off with a dry cloth and the sausage should be hung for 4-5 hours in a drier room. | |||
| 10. | drying | Salami covered in white mold should continue to dry in a dark and drafty area for additional 2-3 months at 12º-16º C (53º-60º F) and 75-85% relative humidity. After that time salami should lose about 40% of its original weight. | |||
Notes:
These are original instructions and you could probably make an easier version by skipping Step 2 and going directly to grinding meats through 3/16" plate and then going to Step 3.
- Lean pork cuts should be used and all sinews removed. Salami is not a cooked sausage and any connective tissue will remain tough in a finished product
- Pork back fat is preferred choice as it is hard and less prone to smearing
- No water is added at any stage during manufacturing, even casings should be dry. Any unnecessary moisture can facilitate the bacteria growth and ruin the sausage
- Meat should have a low bacteria count. What it means is that they must be either fresh or if previously frozen they must be thawed in a refrigerator and immediately submitted for processing. If commercial equipment is used (bowl cutters) the meat can be chopped in its partially frozen state. At home the sausage should be processed fast and at the lowest possible conditions as we do not want bacteria to multiple. Even at refrigerator temperature bacteria will double in size every 12 hours - see graph
- The original recipe calls for 4 g of potassium nitrate as in earlier days Cure1 or Cure 2 were not available yet
- The slow - fermented salami is the King of salamis and the whole process relays on moisture removal and control of the temperature, humidity and air speed (draft). The fast-fermented salamis are modern substitutions and employing commercially prepared starter cultures they can be produced in 2 weeks (pizza toppings and other purposes). You easily can spot these recipes as they employ all kinds of ingredients such as wine. Adding wine (water) to a slow-fermented salami will ruin the process which is based on moisture removal and not supplying it.
- More salt is needed as the salt and moisture removal are the main barriers to prevent bacteria from multiplying and ruining the sausage. In time nitrite (Cure 2) and smoke introduction will create more protection. The salt content in this recipe is 2.8% (salt plus salt in Cure 2) and it is normally assumed that a minimum of 2.5% of salt is needed when making a traditional salami.
Page added on December 16, 2007
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