Ruhlman's summer sausage (Charcuterie, p159)

[hogshead60]

Greetings from SW Ontario.
I have e-mailed Ruhlman with this question, but I'd also like to hear your opinion(s):
In his recipe for Summer Sausage (Charcuterie, p159), he uses Fermento.  This seems to me to be a bit of a "cheat" when he has gone to great lengths to describe microbial action, acidification, etc.
Would anyone care to offer a starter option to replace the use of Fermento?
If you could relate it to Gevurzmuller LM 1 starter I would be much obliged, but the ubiquitous Bactoferm
would serve me just as well.  I think.
Cheers
Hogshead60

[Habanero Smoker]

The recipe you are referring to is a semi-dry cured sausage; so it is a "cheaters" dry cure sausage to begin with because it is cooked, not dry cured. Fermento (buttermilk) or encapsulated citric acid are commonly used in making semi-dry cured sausage. It is used because it is easier to get that "tang" by adding one of those ingredient instead of going through the process of fermenting.

If you want to use a culture instead of fermento then you will need to ferment the sausage before cooking at a certain temperature, at a certain humidity, for a certain amount of time, and that depends on what culture you are using. I'm not familiar with Gevurzmuller LM 1, but generally I find any culture with an L requires a long fermentation time (2 days or more). I use Bactoferm F-RM-52 when I dry cure; its a quick acting bacteria. It requires a fermentation at 80°F - 85°F;  at 85%-90% humidity for 8 hours. Bactoferm F-RM-52 generally comes in a 25 gram package, and I use about 1/3 of a package for 5 pounds; but it can be measured as little as 1/2 teaspoon per 10 pounds.

Since the recipe you are referring to uses Cure #1, and if you go with a culture instead of fermento, you will still need to fully cook the sausage as directed in the recipe.

[hogshead60]

OK, you got me.  Colour me dumb.
I re-read the section and of course you're right; I was in the wrong section.

I have been deeply absorbed in this forum and Charcuterie for a few weeks, and not everything has fallen into the right order in my mind.
However, in the section starting on pg 171, I figured that everything that was to be dry-cured needed a starter culture e.g. Bactoferm.  You know, lower the pH, raise the acidity, so that the bad stuff can't get started.
But, in the same section, the Coppa and the Saucisson Sec don't have Bactoferm, and the Landjager has no Bactoferm but does have Fermento.  Now I thought Fermento added the tangy flavour, but didn't actually function as a starter culture.
These seeming inconsistencies are giving me a helmet fire, so if anyone can give me a simple explanation, in words of one syllable or less, I would be much obliged

To add clarity, I want to make dry-cured sausages - salamis, pepperoni, etc.

[Habanero Smoker]

I had no intent of embarrassing you, and after re-reading my post, it doesn't read as a "I gotcha" post. I'm just replying to your statement and trying to give some clarification. If you are interested in making dry cured salami and pepperoni, you should just concentrate on a few good pepperoni or salami recipes and study those. Work on those recipes and the procedure of curing them, then venture outward.

As with most things, nothing is ever black or white. You don't need a starter culture to lower the pH, some ingredients will lower the pH without changing the texture of the meat, and Fermento is one of those ingredients. Fermento is acidic based (powdered butter milk), so that will lower the pH, though it gives the sausage a harsher tang, and you don't have to wait for a fermenting stage. GDL (Glucono-Delta-Lactone) is not a live culture but can be used to lower the pH for dry cured sausages.  

Adding a culture is the safest way to ensure you will be lowering the pH and it gives you a consistent taste, but airborne bacteria will get into your meat while it is being ground and stuffed and ferment your sausage.

Here is a link that will help explain fermented sausage. It is lengthy, but he puts it in common language. In that article pay particular attention to the discussion of water activity (Aw).
Dry Cure Sausage

These same authors provide a recipe without a starter culture, and go into some explanation.
Salami Milano
(I don't use most of his recipes, because he calls for starter cultures that are not readily available, and I don't dry cure at the humidity levels he recommends.)