Zip ties aren’t sealing effectively?

[Eugene]

Hello all!

Last week I made a batch of fennel salami and used the zip ties that came with the dry sausage kit. Everything went well until the meat started to shrink and now air pockets are developing at each end and traveling down the length of each salami. Some others seem to have similar issues but no one else has suggested the zip ties are the problem. The salamis were looking fantastic so it’s a shame how they look now as I was hoping to give some away as gifts, but I’ll wait a further few weeks for the finished result and see how they turn out before complaining too much. Next time I’ll be sure to toss the zip ties and vacuum seal the bags instead.

[Jim]

Hey Eugene,

Don’t worry too much about the air pockets. The casing is not a vacuum bag and it sounds like the zip ties sealed just fine. As the casing shrinks it will separate from the meat and its OK.
Here is a picture of some salami that turned out great:

[Eugene]

Thank you very much for your reply Jim. That certainly puts my mind at ease. I’ve been wanting to make fermented salami for years but have previously stuck with hot smoked due to the lack of a suitable curing chamber. I’ll be waiting with eager anticipation for the next few weeks now 🙂 thanks again.

[Rick]

Have to agree with Jim. The shrinking of the meat makes the bag peel away which is normal. See my pepperoni post and you can see the bag separation from the meat. All is well with yours.

[Sherri]

Eugene,

Sounds like you have your answer from Jim and Nepas, but I will just chime in that the only sausage we have tackled to date is the Salami Finocchiona (Fennel sausage) and very successfully I will add. 🙂 We seal the bottom of the bag, but the top we just tie shut very well with butchers twine. We can then use the twine laces to hang the sausages from a drying rack. Later while drying in the fridge, the bag definitely pulls away from the meat. The sausages have turned out perfect each time. The big thing is % reduction in weight. My husband like the sausages closer to the 50% reduction (maybe that is bad but I don’t know). When they reach that point we put them into ziplock bags to prevent further drying. (again, is that wrong but they are eaten within the month) These are delicious sausages. We now do them per the recipe but also with crushed dried hot peppers added. Yum

[Eugene]

Hi nepas and edukimi

Thanks for the great information and nepas your peperoni sure does look great! Edukimi, I like your idea of adding pepper flakes to the mix and I’ll be sure to do that next time. I’m guessing 1 teaspoon per pound of meat may be a nice safe starting point.

[Sherri]

On the crushed hot peppers, we added two teaspoons of generic crushed hot peppers to half the recipe (net about 2 1/2 pounds). They were very nice and we have yet to alter that number as it is a known result for us. I am guessing your suggestion of 1 teaspoon/pound would be a workable ratio.

[Author]

Posts