Semi-Dry Cured Smoked Pepperoni (w/pics)

[Stickbowcrafter]

Well, I still have not had a chance to continue my dry curing experiments. I'm hoping to add a small drying room to my basement if I can ever get caught up on everything else. The fridge and pan of salt was not working out favorably. Anyway, here's a semi-dry cured smoked pepperoni I made last night.

I was in Texas last week and hunted some wild boars with some bowhunting friends. I managed to bring some wild boar home and put some fresh meat through the grinder. Here's the recipe and process:



5 lbs lean pork or beef or combination of the two
1 tsp pink salt (instacure #1, prague powder #1, DQ #1, etc.)
3 Tbl salt
1 Tbl powdered dextrose
1/2 Tbl hot pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground allspice
2-1/2 tsp ground anise seed
1/2 cup soy protein concentrate or non-fat milk powder
1 cup water
6 Tbl Fermento
1-1/2 Tbl corn syrup solids (artificial sweetner works here too)

-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

I didn't really feel like soaking natural hog casings so I grabbed the 32 mm collagen casings for smoke sausages I had in my supplies. I know, I know, if it was my famous kielbasa, I would have gone through the trouble for natural  ;D I stuffed the casings into Bradley friendly size for hanging and tied hanging loops with butcher's twine.



-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

I hung the pepperoni on my hickory dowels cut to fit the Bradley and placed them into a 125 degree F smoker with the vent wide open. This is to dry the casings and would take a little longer if I was using natural casings. Some of you know that I installed a digital temperature switch in my OBS and that's why I quote these exact temperatures. If you don't have this ability, at least have another accurate thermometer probe on hand to verify the temps inside the cabinet.



Once the casings are dry, close vent to 1/4 open, raise the smoker to 165 degrees F, add wood bisquettes if you like, and hold until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. Pepperoni is usually not smoked but I used 6 apple bisquettes for a mild smoke flavor.

-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

Remove from the smoker once the internal temperature has reached 145 degrees F. I like to check at least 2 of the sausages on different sides of the smoker. Using a remote probe system like the Maverick really makes this a snap.



-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

Chill with cold water until the internal temperature is reduced to 90-100 degrees F.



-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

You can eat the smoked pepperoni right away...



Or you can take it one step further and hang the sausage to dry, which in turn will prolong it's keeping qualities. Ideally, you want to hang the pepperoni in a cool, humid environment. Around 45-50 degrees F and 70-80% humidity. My basement is pretty close this time of year so I have the majority of the sticks hanging there now. Again, the sausages can be eaten at any time during this process since they are already cured and smoked. I've never tried this method of smoking followed by drying, so I'll keep you posted.

Since my basement is not a controlled environment, I will monitor the sticks daily. Ideally, you want to remove 30-35% of the original weight which could take up to 2 months with the above mentioned conditions. Some mold could form on the sausage while drying. White mold is normal and not harmful. Any other color is bad. The white mold could be wiped off or just peeled off with the casing. Keep the sticks 3-4" apart to allow proper air space for moisture to escape. Use common sense here, if the sausage looks bad or smells wrong, don't eat it or give it to anyone else to eat. Throw it away and try again.

If you don't have an area with these conditions to store store the sticks, don't attempt to dry them. Enjoy them out of the smoker and refigerate what you don't use for up to a few weeks. I'll check back in with updates on the drying.

-Brian

[Mr Walleye]

Looks great Brian!  ;)

A couple of questions for you though....

1. Based on what I have read and by no means by experience, I wonder about the safety of drying the sausage when you didn't use cure #2? Here is some information I took from AlliedKenco.com. I could be wrong but according to this cure #1 "gasses out" at about 130 degrees. Where as cure #2 continues to convert from nitrates to nitrites, then "gasses out". I wonder if this is why a number of recipes for semi-dried sausages let the sausage using cure #1 hang in the smoker for 9 to 20 hours before increasing the heat up. This would allow the cure #1 to protect the sausage over this time frame. Just thinking out loud here.

Prague Powder #1 -
Also called Insta-Cure and Modern Cure. Cures are used to prevent meats from spoiling when being cooked or smoked at low temperatures (under 200 degrees F). This cure is 1 part sodium nitrite (6.25%) and 16 parts salt (93.75%) and are combined and crystallized to assure even distribution. As the meat temperate rises during processing, the sodium nitrite changes to nitric oxide and starts to "gas out" at about 130 degrees F. After the smoking /cooking process is complete only about 10-20% of the original nitrite remains. As the product is stored and later reheated for consumption, the decline of nitrite continues. 4 ounces of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 100 lbs of meat. A more typical measurement for home use is 1 level tsp per 5 lbs of meat. Mix with cold water, then mix into meat like you would mix seasonings into meat.

Mike

[Stickbowcrafter]

Mike, the cooking (over 140 degrees F) destroyed trichinae and the curing, Instacure #1, prevents botulism spores from forming. Instacure #2 is a cure specifically formulated to be used with dry-cured, not semi-dry cured, products. These products do not require cooking, smoking or refrigeration.

The reason you want Instacure #1 to "gas out" as you say, it takes heat in the range of 130-140 degrees F in order to attain the pink color which is associated with cured meat.

Refer to page 379 of your Great Sausage Recipes And Meat Curing book. The above recipe and process is from page 380.

Those were some great points Mike. Discussion like this keeps us all learning, as I will be with this new process...

-Brian

[Mr Walleye]

Thanks for the response Brian. Your right, it's definitely a "continuing education" for sure.  ;)

I will re-read that in the book. The more you understand the better off you are!  ;)

Mike

[Stickbowcrafter]

It's a great idea to cross reference information and question one another as we continue our journey. Heck, that's a great way for us to learn, as we have seen countless times on this forum. However, like any subject, not all of the information out there is reliable. I once heard of a recipe that advocated grinding meat and spreading out the freshly ground meat on the table to dry overnight. Needless to say, I never tried that recipe  :o I've made dozens of recipes from the resource I mentioned above and all have been excellent and nobody has ever gotten sick. I plan to continue to trust this resource until proven otherwise.

UPDATE: My daughter wanted some of the pepperoni with cheese and crackers for lunch. The stick I cut and put in the fridge last night tasted even better today. Speaking of cheese...these cheese smokers got me worked up. Heading to the market later and hopefully will find time to smoke some tonight. I think a hickory smoked mozzarella is in order for these sausages...

-Brian

[winemakers]

Stick,

I want to be you when I grow up   ::)

[Stickbowcrafter]

I detect a slight bit of sarcasm  ;D

-Brian

[bigredsmoker]

Hi Stick, your pepperoni looks great! I am curious about this whole "wild boar" thing. How do they compare to "un-wild boar?"
Do they have the "gamey" taste? I have had a fair amount of wild game and am just wondering how it compares. Thanks!

Terry

[Stickbowcrafter]

Most of the wild stock is related to domestic hogs very closely. Since the time foreign explorers reached our coastlines, the open range style of raising pork provided more than a few escapees over the years. Sometimes I actually like the feral hogs better than domestic stock. For one, being wild, they are certainly "organic". Of course you will never find one with enough belly to make bacon from because they are built for survival, not standing around fattening up or getting "juiced" up for sale. So the meat is a little leaner but not gamey at all.

The "gamey" taste usually results from the improper field care of the critter involved. How many times do you see hunters driving around with deer, etc. in the back of their uncovered truck in the sunshine. Spend a few hours making stops to show friends and family and you can see why the meat tastes funny. Beware of the hunter who gives all his meat away ;D I share some but I don't give away too much from our dinner table.

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now  :D



-Brian

[bigredsmoker]

Thanks for the education Brian! I am (or used to be before kids) an avid upland game hunter. I've never made the leap to large game, have stuck to my birds, but I am interested in all sorts of hunting. So are you an exclusive bow hunter? I take it from your name you craft your own bows. That is very intriguing to me. I would love to know more about the whole bow hunting for wild hogs works. How close do you have to be, how do you find them, camo, blind, etc. Just very interesting to hear about other ways to hunt. Thanks again for the info.

Terry