Umai pepperoni 40% Loss in weight.Case hardened

[Donald]

Pepperoni had a 40% loss after two weeks and is irregular in shape.Fermented sausage 24 hrs prior to refrigeration.Then placed on wire rack in Frig to cure.I would turn sausage every day on rack and it was a frost free refrigerator.Casing is bonded to meat slight hardening on outside of sausage.Inside is soft but cured ..Taste ok..In truth substitution of meat was made.I used pork shoulder and beef chuck steak as pork back fat was unavailable I was told on another site that it would be OK to substitute as pork back fat is hard to find.I was told in another forum to vacuum pack pepperoni after taking Umai casing off and that the outside of sausage wold soften and inside of sausage would firm up somewhat after a month.I was told also to hang sausage And that a lot of people do ph tests for safety..Any tips or comments appreciated..I am overall happy with Umai as I don’t have a curing chamber and it’s a pretty straightforward process.Thank You…Don A

[Jim]

Slight case hardening is quite common. I would say that fermenting for only 24 hours was likely not enough to drop the PH and if the PH is high, case hardening and “collapsing”/wrinkling – irregular shape you describe is one of the consequences. Meat substitution could have made the sausage more lean, but wouldn’t contribute much to case hardening.

[Donald]

Jim….I fermented the pepperoni in our basement which was hotter temperature than recommended .I let it goe 24 hrs which was the min recommended it turned bright red..How long should I let I go for ? at what temperature?Is it safe? should I check the ph next time I bought the test strips although I heard they are not great.You said the sausage may have been too lean it was made of pork shoulder and beef chuck roast which a lot of people I was told make there pepperoni out of as I could not get pork fat back.Love the Umai process.No curing chamber etc…Thank you in advance Jim for any advice….Or if anyone else knows a solution let me know….Thank You…Donald A

[Jim]

It’s hard to say, but I would go 48 hours next time. Also, it is best to make sure that there isn’t much airflow in the fermentation space, otherwise the outside of the sausage will dry before it has a chance to ferment. That could be a cause of some case hardening. As for the meat, the blend you describe should produce good pepperoni.
In commercial operations they use all kinds of cheap meat to make pepperoni (beef cheeks, etc.)
How big was the grind size? Bigger grind size like 3/8 in would give you more even drying.
As you are finding out, making dry sausage is an art.

[Donald]

Thanks again Jim..It was 3/8 grind….I was told on another board to loosely cover fermenting sausages to restrict airflow with a oderless trash bag…Itook all the sausages out of the casing and foodsavered them..I was advised to leave them in the Frig for at least a month and that the sausage may have less case Harding and a firmer center…yes Jim your right it is an art..I will keep at it till I’m happy..Umai is great just emailed a chef friend of mine in Hong Kong about it..Have a great day…
Donald A

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