The real reason why some salami and pepperoni do not have to be cooled

Whether they cut them into slices thinly Sandwiches in Deli-style Or leave them entirely on sausage boards, dried sausages such as salami and pepperoni are a delicious and elegant pleasure. Different forms of sausage production have been around for thousands of years and serve as a means to obtain a limited meat supply before the emergence of modern technologies such as cooling. Today, Charcuterie has for a moment with craftsmanship brands that produce wildly flavored aged meat that is worth sitting at parties and potlucks.

If you have ever bought meat like Salami, Sompata, Coppa and the like, you may have noticed that some are sold in the fridge, while others are on the road at room temperature. Why are some sausages considered? Shelf -stable? To answer this question, we asked Evan Inada, Charcuterie director at Columbus tinkers meatTo explain how this Bay Area Company has been producing craft meat for over 100 years.

“We have recipes that have been passed on from generation to generation for many years,” says Inada. “Before we immigrated to the USA, our founder was a traveling Norcini (butcher) in Italy before the cooling existed. The centuries -old lessons learned how to properly preserve the salami, from generation to generation and became part of our process.”

The importance of salt

Central to the process of Keep meat. The same ingredient we use to season everything Popcorn To mashed potatoesPresent pancakePudding and everything in between is a natural preservative. In addition to smoke and fat, salt is one of the original preserving tools.

In the book “Charcuterie: The Craft of Saling, Smoking and Healing”, the authors Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn explain the meaning of salt as follows: “By pulling water out of the meat, salt, it is dehydrated by definition.

Salt is used in different shapes Get all kinds of salamisIncluding those that you can find in the fridge and which are stored at room temperature. So is salt enough to make sausage shelf stable? It is a little more complicated than just adding salt in ground pork, fat and spice.

What does a few Salami shelf stable

Inada explains that low moisture content and higher acid levels are essential for the preservation of meat. “Not all salami are the same as the results, including the ability to be unstable, depend on the process and how committed a manufacturer for this craft is.”

Good quality, stable salami takes time and a lot of effort. You just can’t Do it at home (At least not without serious care and attention) because you need a very controlled environment. Air humidity and air temperature are crucial for the correct healing of salami.

“The dry and drying process changes the ability that the presence of bacteria exists,” says Inada. “Not everyone does it the same way, and we can only speak for our own products. We do it right by drying it completely so that it can survive without cooling. Build a sausage board And leave it out for some time and it remains to be eaten. ”

After US Agriculture Ministry“Dry sausage require more production time than other sausage starts and lead to a concentrated meat shape. If the product is ready in shelf stability and food, the product does not have to have safe handling, cooking or” cooling products “tuning.”

Dry hardening and dry aging meat

As the name suggests, dry curing is a process in which foods such as salami can heal in dry air. It is the “quintessence of the art of the sausage sausage and the most difficult to achieve because they rely on the ambient air and moisture so strongly,” write Ruhlman and Polcyn in “Charcuterie”. In its foundation, dry hearing typically needs a kind of salt healing to reduce bacterial growth, sodium nitrate in order to prevent botulism, and the correct humidity to control the moisture levels. Useful bacteria feed on sugar in the salami and released themselves on acid, which creates an inhospitable environment for bad bacteria.

High -quality salami with dry age is often covered with a thin white powdery coating. This is called a fiore, a layer of mold that protects against excess drying and even improves the taste with the beginning of fermentation. According to Columbus Craft, this shape is safe to eat meat, similar to the coating on BRIE cheese website. But you can pull off the fiore before eating, if desired.

“Smooth white stuff is usually good, blurry is definitely bad, as is all colors as white,” explain Ruhlman and Polcyn about Salami coating in the book.

The difference with chilled salami

Some commercial brands of Salami are made of cooked meat or are not completely dry. These products do not go through the complex drying and drying-hard process and are therefore not shelf-stable. This type of meat lacks delicious, but there is no complexity of fully aged, durable salami.

Fresh sausages, such as sweet or hot Italian sausage, Mexican chorizoAnd Breakfast sausageare made with raw meat, but not healed for a sensible time. You must be cooled and have relatively short Usage data. Other sausages that are cooked as completely cooked, either by smoking or heating, such as Hot Dogs and Bologna, must also be cooled, but usually have a longer shelf life compared to fresh sausages.

How to enjoy dry -hardened salami

“When it comes to meat in dry age, the rest of the deli differs (dry, hardened salami) as the upper abbey,” says Inada. “Due to its craftsmanship, the meat at dry age is separated from the remains of the delicacies … The time and effort it takes is bigger and longer. It is a love of love to get this high -quality taste.”

So how does Inada recommend using this Craftsman Salamis? Use thinly sliced to end a sandwich, or with cubes or Julienne and add a pasta salad. “Everyday naked is perfect for salumi – use meat, cheese, acid, crunch (and maybe a wow factor like dark chocolate Caramel) and it can increase your mood or event. Charcuterie is great on the road how it is entertaining. ”

Inada recommends eating salami at room temperature or eating as close as possible. This facilitates assembly and presentation and the taste is better at room temperature. As soon as the healed salami is open, you would like to cool it in its original packaging such as paper or wax paper to extend its durability. Yes, even though it is relentless, the sausage has an effect on the quality from the oxygen of the room temperature. You want to use this open salami package within 10 days. Use for pre -cut salami within 7 to 10 days after the opening.

Columbus Craft Meats recommends a embroidery for quality and recommends cooling products when storing them, as they best cut off in this way.