Easy Salami Recipe
Salami season is here again!
This guide shows you how to make salami at home, with a step-by-step recipe for Finocchiona, a classic Tuscan fennel salami. When Melbourne’s winter weather kicks in, artisans from far and wide get together in enthusiastic, organised groups of keen salami makers to banter, mince meat, fill casings and hang their newly made product to dry for the months to come. What was once a ritual revered only by the European community has, in the last few years, become a practice that so many other cultures here in Australia have embraced! Each culture has its own wonderful twist on the tradition, which makes it a wonderful way for us to diversify and experience old and new traditions together.
It is extremely gratifying to hear about and see more and more eager artisans giving salami making a go, and to see the magnificent results they produce and enjoy. Talking to customers and friends, we come across so many varieties, from the slowly fermented, coarse-textured Italian salami to the lightly smoked Polish and the finely minced Hungarian. Not to mention the infinite variations of all the most famous recipes, depending on cultures and family traditions. It’s a practice and a pastime that a lot of us hold dear to our hearts, reminiscing about warm memories from our carefree childhoods and time spent with family. We want to help bring these practices forward in the 21st century so that the art of salami making never dies.
One of our favourites, which we will be looking at today, is Finocchiona, an enticing Tuscan salami made with fennel (“finocchio”). The recipe was given to us by our friend Michela’s grandmother from Carrara, Tuscany.
Ingredients for 5 kg of pork
- 5 kg of a lean cut of pork (we suggest free range and normally use shoulder)
- 1-1.5 kg of pork fat
- 2 garlic cloves, diced (or 50g garlic powder)
- Approx. 120-130g medium-grain sea salt
- 10-15g black peppercorns
- 10-15g cracked black pepper
- 10-15g dried fennel seeds (or a bit more if you really like fennel!)
- About 1 cup Tuscan red wine
- Salami casings size 70-80 (can be the type you prefer)
If you don’t have the time to source all the spices (or some of them are not currently available), try our new Toscano recipe! Adjust the salt, mix well and enjoy your salami shortcut!
HOT TIP
Make sure to dice the garlic and leave it infused in the wine for 4-24 hours before adding it to the mix, as garlic can cause mould in your meat if it is not evenly distributed through the mix.
How to make Finocchiona salami
- Mince the meat to a fine texture (we suggest a 12-14 for this type of salami), and then mince the fat into chunkier bits. Mix them in a food-grade crate (or a meat mixer for bigger quantities).
- Combine all the dried ingredients and add them to the meat mix.
- Add the garlic-infused wine and mix very well. Knead the meat for at least 10 minutes.
- Fill the casings with a sausage piston filler or a hand mincer with filling attachments, then use a pricker to lightly pierce the casings, allowing air pockets to break and release air from the meat.
- Press the meat down from the outside for a compact and safe filling. The casing has to be tightly tied.
- Using a strong waxed string, close off the end and knot a ring to hang them (or try our salami crimping tool for a quicker and easier procedure!).
- With the aid of a netting tube, net the salami to keep the meat nice and tight.
- Quickly ferment at room temperature for one day, then hang in a cool, humid (9-12°C and 65-80% humidity) and draught-free place. Keep an eye out for bad moulds (black-bluish), and don’t worry about white-green ones, which give salami that awesome, earthy, mushroom-like aroma and taste. Your salami will be ready in about 9-12 weeks (or several weeks less if you are using casings with a smaller diameter).
- And voilà, your delicious salami is ready to be eaten. Enjoy!
If you would like to learn how to make salami or brush up on your skills, you can book a course online through our website or at www.weteachme.com/artisansbottega.
