Soppressata percentages question

[John Belvedere]

Im getting ready to make Soppressata tomorrow. The issue I’m having is your recipe calls for 1KG ground pork and I have 1.5KG ground pork. I did some math and I would like to know if these are the correct percentages for the spices, dextrose and cure for the additional meat.

Original recipe 1kg. Pork. Percentage. 1.5kg. Pork.
Salt 28 grams 2.8%. Salt 42 grams
Cure 2.5 grams .25%. Cure 3.75 grams
Dextrose 12 grams. 1.2%. Dextrose 3.75 grams
Black Pepper 2 grams. .2%. Black pepper 3 grams
Red Pepper 1 gram. .1%. Red Pepper 1.5 grams
Peppercorns 1gram. .1%. Peppercorns 1.5 grams
Chili Powder 1gram. .1%. Chili Powder 1.5 grams
Garlic powder 1 gram. .1%. Garlic Powder 1.5 grams
Bactoferm .12 grams. .012%. Bactoferm .18 grams
Water 2tsp. Water 3tsp.

Any help regarding this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Jim]

Well I didn’t have my calculator, but I see that the dextrose went from 12 g to 3.75 g, instead it should go to 18 g
I think.
Also, unless you have a very precise scale and willing to fuss with this small a weight, I wouldn’t weigh the Bactoferm but just use 1/4 – 1/2 tsp or so.

[John Belvedere]

Thanks Jim the dextrose should be 18 grams. My math skills are good but my copying skills need some work. I do have a scale that measures down to .001 grams. I use it in baking and other stuff.

[Jim]

Sounds like you have some high precision equipment. You are going to grind the pork yourself, right?

[John Belvedere]

I cutup a pork butt and pork fatback into 1 – 1 1/2 in cubes today. Currently they are in the fridge in a ziplock bag. Tomorrow I will put the cutup pieces in the freezer to partially freeze them prior to using the grinder. I’m using a Kitchenaire #12 grinder with a 3/8 in plate for the grind. I may add a little more red pepper flakes and some cayenne pepper as I like my sausage on the spicy side. Since I have the 32mm UMAI casing I will be using that.

[Jim]

Sounds like your set up is great. The reason I asked is you said “ground pork”. Sometimes people think they can buy ground meat in a store and make dry sausage out of it. That is usually a recipe for disaster.

[Bob]

RR-
I would use Jims suggestion and use 1/2 tsp of T-SPX or if you use a scale (I do) use 2-3 grams.

The 012 gram per Kg comes from the Marianski recipes which base the amount of culture on the amount of product the whole package can produce.

It is best for the home producer to use more culture than recommended as using more will not harm the product but too little can result in incomplete fermentation.

For a bit spicier sausage try adding 0.3 red pepper (1/2 ground cayenne and 1/ 2 flakes) and also add 0.2 ground white pepper. Not overly spicy just enough ! 🙂

[John Belvedere]

quote Jim” post=6923:

Sounds like your set up is great. The reason I asked is you said “ground pork”. Sometimes people think they can buy ground meat in a store and make dry sausage out of it. That is usually a recipe for disaster.

Jim I agree, store bought pork as well as ground beef is a big no no in my house. I grind all my meat and package it vacuum sealer bags for later use.

[John Belvedere]

quote Trebor” post=6925:

RR-
I would use Jims suggestion and use 1/2 tsp of T-SPX or if you use a scale (I do) use 2-3 grams.

For a bit spicier sausage try adding 0.3 red pepper (1/2 ground cayenne and 1/ 2 flakes) and also add 0.2 ground white pepper. Not overly spicy just enough ! 🙂

Thanks Trebor, I will use your recommended spice and T-SPX suggestions. I will let you know how it turns out.

[Bob]

The ground cayenne I use is the 55k variety. Red pepper can vary quite a bit. The hard back fat you are using makes a big difference as you will get well defined fat pieces.

He He It wont last long. I just made another 10Kg batch last week to keep up with demand around here.

Soppressata on the right

[Kevin]

Hi Trebor. When using a pork butt (I’m assuming 80/20), how much back fat did you use per 1KG in addition to the pork butt?

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Bob]

Kevin-
My Soppressata Recipe:
Class l and ll Pork 65% 650 grams ( http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-making/meat-selection/classes )
Beef or Venison 15% 150 grams
Hard Back Fat 20% 200 grams
Per KG 1000 grams

Salt 2.5%
Cure #2 .25%
Dextrose .4 %
Sugar .3%
Black Pepper .2%
Red Pepper ( 1/2 ground cayenne / 1/2 flakes ) .3%
White Pepper .2 %
Garlic Powder .15 %
Ground Cumin .15 %

TSPX

Red meat is optional but it does improve color and firms the texture

Bob

Venison Soppressata 2nd from left

[Kevin]

Thanks Bob for the recipe, much appreciated. Nice read on the classes too, thanks for the link.

Going to give this a try over the next week.

[Author]

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