First and foremost, this Milano salami recipe is adapted from Stanley Marianski's Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages
Salami Milano and Salami Genoa are basically the same sausage. They use the same raw materials and spices. Where they differ is the proportions of pork and beef: Genoa typically has equal amounts of beef and pork, while Milano tends to have slightly more pork than beef. Salami Genoa is also known as Salami di Alessandra. Additionally, salami Milano is chopped somewhat finer than salami Genoa.
This is my second attempt at Marianski's salami Milano. Both were quite successful and I am quite pleased with the results. You may have noticed, this salami uses only a small amount of garlic and pepper for spices. This really lets the beef and pork flavors shine and not be overpowered by spices. The flavor profile here is excellent and very natural. For this reason, it is especially important to use the best quality and the freshest meat for this particular type of dry cured salami. I think that eventually I'd want to try pasture raised beef and pork in this recipe. But for now, regular meat from the local butcher works very well too.
This recipe uses a traditional method of drying, which does not rely on fast pH drop during fermentation (as is the case with Ruhlman's sopressata). Instead, it targets lower aW for food safety, and attains a slow and mild acidification. The resulting sausage has noticeably less tang compared to most North American salami varieties. I personally like this low acidity in my salami and now tend to use the traditional method most of the time for sausages that need at least one month of drying in the curing chamber.
I substituted black pepper for white pepper in this version of Milano salami, it's just a personal preference. I also ground all meat, including beef, through a 3/16" plate. It's hard to say how much grinding of beef through a 1/8" plate would improve the texture, but I will try that next time.
I used fibrous casings the last time I made this salami and wasn't very pleased with the results. They did not shrink with the meat as well as I'd hoped, leaving a few air pockets here and there. Perhaps, it was due to my under-developed technique using them. There was no spoilage but it got me concerned. Besides, natural casings look natural and artisan. That matters a lot to me. I'll stick with them. I used a beef bung cap. It's also sold in some stores as a 'capicola casing'.
It took this salami exactly 2 months to drop 35% of its weight which is what I was targeting given it's smaller diameter. It dried very nicely and had a firm interior. Not hard, but firm. That's exactly what you should be looking for in a Genoa or Milano salami. There is a little bit of case hardening going on here as can be evidenced by the darker color on the outer sides of the salami, but nothing major. The sausage isn't perfect but dried very nicely nevertheless.
I have a very good idea about why case hardening happened. The temperature in the basement in March was below 68F so I used a blow heater to raise it. It was not a great idea in hindsight, but seemed OK at the time. At the end of fermentation I noticed the surface of my salamis was a bit dry-ish. I sprayed it with water several times and hoped for the best. It worked for the most part. I've since changed the way I do fermentation so this should not happen again.
I have recently modified my curing chamber to allow for precise humidity control. So far the results have been very satisfying and the quality of the final products improved significantly. Read more about my upgraded advanced meat curing chamber.
Ingredients
- 500 g lean pork butt trimmings
- 300 g beef chuck
- 200 g pork back fat (or fat trimmings)
- 28 g kosher salt (3% total salt content. Salt in Cure #2 accounted for)
- 2.5 g Cure #2
- 2.0 g dextrose
- 3.0 g sugar
- 3.0 g white pepper
- 1.0 g garlic powder (or 3.5 g fresh garlic)
- 0.12 g T-SPX starter culture
Instructions
- Grind pork and back fat through a 3/16” plate (5 mm). Grind beef through an ⅛” (3mm) plate.
- Mix all ingredients with ground meat.
- Stuff firmly into 80 mm protein lined fibrous casings. Make 25” long links.
- Ferment at 20º C (68º F), 90-85% humidity for 72 hours.
- Dry at 16-12º C (60-54º F), 85-80% humidity for 2-3 months. The sausage is dried until around 35% in weight is lost.
- Store sausages at 10-15º C (50-59º F), 75% humidity.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated on January 25, 2019
Rich says
Can you explain more about the dripping method of salami making?. Thanks.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Never heard of a 'dripping method'. What is it?
Lewis Chisi says
I would love to learn more about meat products and recipes. The explanation 👌 👏 of the recipe is very understanding 👌.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Glad to hear it, Lewis. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Mike and Linda Taege says
American weights?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Once I figure out how to express 1.0 g garlic powder and 0.12 g T-SPX starter culture in 'American weights' I will do that.
Andy says
I made salami a few months ago but it did not solidify and was raw on the inside. I let it lose more than 30% weight and it still was raw. Do you have any tips or thoughts on where I went wrong and what I could do to fix it?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Andy, a very simple yet extremely reliable way to fix this is to keep RH around 75%-76% and let it dry for another month or so; it will firm up all the way to the center and lose about 42-46%.
Gerda says
Just love these recipies head over hill for Salami love it.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Enjoy! I will be posting 4 of my new favorite salami recipes soon. Stay tuned.
Nolan says
My family membesrs loved it. Great recipe.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Happy to hear it. Enjoy!
Mantas S says
Hi Artisan! This looks so good!
I have a question, to use culture and dextrose, do I need to measure ph levels too after fermenting? If I don't have ph meter can I still do this? Many guys recommend to get ph meter but that can be quite expensive ranging 200-300$ and some even more 🤔 so I guess I can just ferment for 48-72hours or so and it will be fine? Thanks!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
It's highly recommended that you add a starter culture and dextrose to feed it. That way, you have consistent, predictable results. You need to use a starter culture to lower the pH to 5.3 or lower; that's essential to making a safe sausage. The acidity helps control the growth of harmful bacteria. Before you attempt making cured sausage, I'd highly recommend reading Marianski's Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages book where he explains safety around making cured meats and sausages and the benefit of using starter cultures.
That said, you don't need an expensive pH meter. You could use pH strips, many people do but I never liked them as they are a bit hard to read. There are good pH meters in the $100 range or even cheaper. I like Hanna ph meters, they are very realibe and accurate, the Meat pH Tester - HI981036 is a very good one and costs just a little over $100. Amazon sell a bunch of them in the $15 - $100 range but I am not familiar with how well they work. A long time ago I used to make sausage without checking pH, but it's not a safe way to make cured sausages. You may get away with it 100 times but there may be a time when things don't go as planned and you end up with an unsafe product and you don't even know it. Good luck!
Janie says
First time trying this salame and it turned out almost perfect. I had some mild case hardening but after two weeks or equalizing in the fridge it's perfect.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Glad to hear it. Enjoy!
Andrew says
Best
Kent says
I love the taste and smell of Oldani salami and would like to make something similar but was wondering what style it is and what is the smell that I cannot describe.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Oh boy, this one is a tough one for me as I've never tasted Oldani salame. However, I've done some research and I think I might be able to help...
It looks like this sausage was invented/made by Charlie Oldani of the Oldani Brothers Sausage Company Inc in St. Louis. One food blogger back in 2007 described this salame as very mild and minimally acidic, and tasting similar to Salame Di Felino. He goes on to say that it was more garlicky, which he liked, and that it tasted a little less like "fresh" pork. It tastes distinctly different from soppresatta/soprasetta and made an excellent counterpoint to these much sharper salami on a plate.
Does the description above match your experience?
If so, you can start with a Salame Di Felino recipe and adjust to your taste if needed. Looking at this salame's DPO description, it uses salt, pepper, white wine and garlic. The ingredient list is simple but don't be fooled by that, the taste is fantastic if using good quality meat and allowing sufficient maturing time. Take a look at my salami sticks recipe, it's very similar except that it uses red wine. It could be a good start too.
Alvar says
About the chemical pink salt, etc. which it was expressed here in comments (and many other comments in many sites)
I would like to say that nitrite is present in several vegetables, and moreover it’s a salt, and not a chemical.
Many people are confused by this still today, in the hazy notion that creates cancer, etc
The use of nitrites (and nitrates) is not new, nor an industrial invention of today.
Romans developed salumi during more than a thousand years, by coincidence you can pinpoint many traditional European salumi and overlap a map of Roman provinces at the time.
Nitrite for sausages and the like was discovered among certain salts they used in the dried meats, noticing a better, more consistent colors when these salts were used, several centuries ago.
The botulism bacteria which is deadly, won’t appear in presence of nitrite, simple as that.
While sodium nitrate acts as a long term nitrite, -it breaks into nitrite in about 28 days-, the saltpeter or potassium nitrate was discontinued for salumi, for it uncertain and unpredictable results.
Once and again, people talks about how Italians ate salumis without anything else than meat, though none has lived in those years, nor they know anyone who did so.
So, how can affirmations like that get solid rock and encrusted in their brains, so they can defend them, beats me.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Well said, Alvaro.
Philip says
Hi victor. I am trying fermented and dried sausage now that I have fresh and smoke sausages down pretty good. I have a batch of Spanish chorizo fermenting right now using t spx and am going to try this recipe this weekend. I have a couple questions. Do you use a ph tester. The recipe I am following says to get the ph to 5.2 or lower and I have test strips that I am finding hard to read. I noticed on this recipe you just ferment for 72 hours. Am I ok just drying the sausage a72 hours or should I get a more accurate ph tester. I have a cold room in the basement that I can get humidity and temperature pretty consistent so I think the drying stage will be ok. Again I love your website
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Hi Philip, my sincere apologies for the delay in responding to your question. When I was just starting out, I'd just ferment for 72 hours and that's it. Most people do it like that as far as I know. Test strips are very hard to use effectively so after trying a few times I stopped. I now own 3 Hanna pH testers which I find many applications for - beer making, soil testing in my garden, cheesemaking, sausage making, pool water testing... If you want to have good control over the process and not constantly guess, get a reliable pH meter. This will help improve your results too. One time I had salami drop pH to 5.1 in less than 24 hours, imagine if I fermented it for 72 hours. Hanna has pH meters for around or below $100. I like mine a lot.
Terry says
I have bresaola and coppa in my chamber at present,is it ok to raise the temp and hum in order to ferment my salami or will this adversely affect them,
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Very different environments, I would strongly advise against it.
Rory Arrowsmith says
I have mould growing on the casing after two weeks. Is that normal?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
It's perfectly normal. Is it desirable? That depends on the mold. White molds are good and desirable. Green molds can be perfectly good or bad. I posted an article on good and bad green molds, take a look, you may find it helpful. Anything yellow or black - very bad, as in toxic. I inoculate my salami with white mold just so I get it asap. It helps to prevent other, bad molds, from taking over.
Roses says
My husband loves Milano salami. But I never did for him. Because I don't know how to do it. Luckily, I have read your recipe. I will try to make it. thanks you!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Enjoy! It's a good one, one of my favorite recipes.
Michael says
It looks very delicious. I want to ask can I use this recipe to cook in smoke house instead of fermenting? Thanks!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Absolutely, but you will have to make some adjustments. You will need to replace Cure #2 with Cure #1, get rid of the dextrose and the starter culture, and drop the overall salt to about 13g per 1,000g. You'd also want to stuff into thinner casings. I have a few smoked sausage recipes on my blog, check them out, all are very good, my favorites - https://tasteofartisan.com/charcuterie-recipes/smoked-sausage-meat/. Use those recipes as a guide on how to prep the meat, cure and smoke.
Robert Julian says
I enjoyed reading your commentary, there must be numerous instruments to control humidity and temperature.iwill try to add a couple of pictures of my dry cure chamber (DCC)
I have a controller which control the hoy plate )for heat) and turns the refrigerator on and off. I use two of the humidity controllers, one to turn on and off the humidifier and on and off the dehumidifier. I use seasoning (premixed) from sausagemaker.com.
Arica says
Awesome! Thank you for sharing. Looks great.
Alexandru Bondrea says
I think that's what happened
I did another batch Monday let's see what happens now
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Good luck. I've been getting better results when I lower the RH the first few days when the sausage loses a lot of water, down to 70 even to 65, then gradualy bring it back to 80-85. Sounds counterintuitive but it works well for me. I go by the feel. If the sausage feels wet, I drop Rh, too dry - I increase rH. Too much released water during the first few days in combination with high humidity creates sticky film on the sausage and inhibits drying. I also don't inoculate with mold until day 4-5 now. I get a very nice, thin, powdery mold, dry, never wet or sticky. And it smells very good actually.
Thor says
Ca I use this recipe to cook in a smokehouse instead of fermented ?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Yes, but remove the culture, the sugar and the dextrose, and replace Cure #2 with Cure #1.
Alexandru Bondrea says
Hi
I did this receipe 3 times I have chamber
First time end perfect
Second and third time complete disaster .I have third in chamber now for months it is not drying has bad taste and color and still soft
Any idea what happened?
Thanks in advance
Randy Gale says
I am interested in making the salami Genoa or the Milano like you have demonstrated it looks very very good I will try and learn as much as I can about your drying process I do have Berkeley or Berkeley oven smoker which can be used as for moisture at the same time so I'd be quite interested in any advice you would have for me
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
What specifically do you want to know? I've never heard of Berkely oven smokers and what they can do, perhaps you can send a link to the product information sheet. That said, to dry cure salami you will need a fridge with temperature/humidity control. Check out my Meat Curing Chamber post to get you familiarized with what's required. Let me know if you have any questions.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Hi Alexandru, it looks like I may have missed your comment somehow. My apologies. How are things progressing now? Your first batch was perfect so that's a very good thing. Something must have changed, you need to trace back all the changes that you may have made. Salami not drying with bad taste and color makes me think that there is too much humidity. There is a possibility of infection too (need to clean the chmaber with bleach). Did the pH drop to below 5.3 the second and third time? I assume that the % of salt didn't change. I've also had a similar problem twice. What happened was that I inoculated the sausages with white mold BEFORE fermentation. As a result, the mold grew very quickly and since the sausages release a lot of moisture initially, that led to formation of a sticky paste (wet mold in essense), which prevented any water from getting out. No drying could happen and the smell was bad. Perhaps that's what happened in your case too.
Jerrold Cavasin says
Greetings,
I really enjoy this site! My family comes from the Cavasagra Grappa Mountains, Italy, (that's what they were called then), back in 1541 and were making salami, I am sure since then. I had the privilege of making Veneto style salami with my Grandpa Veto Caesar Cavasin only on a couple of occasions. He was a stone mason and he used to chop the hand ground mix in a clean mortar box with a hoe set up for the occasion. Are you in tears yet? My Dad did not pass down the recipe's nor did he make salami at home. The same for wine. I started making salami about 8 yrs ago and other cured meats about 7 yrs ago. Our best year yielded about 400 lbs raw and about 50% less cured. We dry to -40 to -50% on most of our products. We make Salami, Lonzo, prosciutto, spalla, copacollo, culatello, fiocco, cotechino, and a number of salami's from wild game both cooked and cured. Meat sticks, jerky and bacon in abundance.
Here's what I like about your site: Passion drives you as it did I. You started out humbly where you could making it work. You are experiencing the "fruit of your labors" building as you go. Looking at your "set up" it matches mine only I am using an upright freezer (26 cu ft) with the same dehumidifier and a 1.5 gal cold humidifier operated off of some digital controls. I still get exited every time we start fermenting a batch of meats in the basement and the whole house smells of pork and seasonings. Again your pics, recipe's, passion, and drive encourage me. Sorry that I posted this here but I had to "connect" with a brother of "like" mind.
Thanks
The Sultan of Salami.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Wow, quite a history you have there. You ARE a sultan of salami. I am a first generation cured meat and sausage maker but I love it and I see myself doing it until the end. Smoked sausages, on the other hand, are in my blood. My grandpa made superb smoked kielbasa. I just finished my very first smokehouse that finally works just like I want and I've had amazing results from it. Check out my latest posts, I am sure you will enjoy the pictures. Thanks for stopping by, brother, I loved reading your story. Come back again. Will be happy to have you here.
RayK says
My grandfather, too, made a great kielbasa. Unfortunately I never asked him how he made and he's now long gone. I have the taste memories but they're 60 years old.
Any chance you could share the recipe and process?? I've got a recipe I found online, and it's close, but not quite there.
Thanks
RayK
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
I have many kielbasa recipes on my blog. Are you looking for something else?
Alexandru Bondrea says
Victor
The ph meter is the only tool I don't have it so I don't know if the ph was in range
I believe my problem was something related whit fermentation because in some spots the meat look ok and test good radish exactly should be but more the 70% turn brown whit some kind soure test ad after test
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Well, meat turning brown point to oxidation and/or spoilage. I would venture a guess that it's not fermentation but rather mixing. Some meat did not get enough salt/cure. If your ingredients are correct, then you didn't mix them well. I suggest that you cut meat in pieces, mix with salt and cure #2, then grind. Keep it cold at all times, putting in a freezer for 30 minutes before grinding. After grinding, add the rest of the ingredients, enough cold water to make sure all spices and salt get mixed in well. Then mix in a stand mixer or a sausage mixer. This will ensure proper mixing and even curing throughout. Hope this helps.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
One more thing I can think of is uneven fermentation. This can happen when the core of the sausage doesn't reach the target fermentation temperature and stay there long enough. So the outer parts will ferment well but the center won't. This is more common with thicker sausages like this one.
kyle says
Do you poke any holes in the casing to release any air?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Yes, always. No matter how hard you try there are always pockets of air.
Larry says
Do you have any idea if this would be good if it was stuffed in hog casings? The size you would use for Italian sausages.
Victor says
Taste-wise should be no perceptible difference. Faster drying is an added bonus.
Robert Di Ciocco says
if that salami tastes anywhere as good as it looks then it must FANTASTIC. man I read this article at 10 pm and it made my mouth water. looks great the color, texture. just might inspire me to try making it
Victor says
😉 It tasted pretty good to me.
Mark says
Good explanation. It makes me want to read the book. Rob makes an excellent point as well and you both have me interested. I would like Rob to offer his alternative as well. You all are wonder for the world of hands-on cooking.
[email protected]
Rob Pecchenino says
Victor,
I am confused, first I LOVE Milano & Genoa Salami, in this Recipe you include Cure 2 & T-SPX starter culture. In Ancient Italy when they made cured meats they did NOT have these Cancer causing Chemical meat cures. Just good old Sea Salt.Can you tell me why it is different Now ? I make Home made sopressata, and let it alone for a year before I eat it. , and it turned out like a salami! And all we use is a good amount of Sea Salt. So I Just don't understand why all the other chemicals, Pink Salt etc........can you please explain it to me ! Thank you.
Regards
Rob Pecchenino
victor says
Rob,
Simply put, it's about predictability of results and health safety. Marianski provided a very good explanation in his meat curing book as to why we need to use those. He also argued that it's never been proven that nitrites that occur naturally in foods like celerey are linked to cancer. T-SPX is not a chemical, it's a live culture, like yeast, used to ensure that no harmful bacteria would take over and make one sick.
Axton says
I would add that long ago, backslapping was a common practice to introduce bacteria cultures. Marianski talks to why this is no longer done in detail, primarily because both good and bad bacteria are introduced with this method.
I got setup and my first batch of salami Milano is 2 weeks underway. I stumbled across your site and it has given me a wealth of information that otherwise just isn’t available. Thank you,
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Glad I could help, Axton. Coincidentally, I have a batch of my absolute favorite salami about 2 weeks underway too. Also, trying a new thing called Soppressata Bresciana. Can't wait.
Joe says
Hello,
I'm just starting out with the fermented salamis and was wondering when you mix the spices with the ground meat, do you add any water for better mixture? I noticed that it wasnt listed on the ingredient list. Would that cause spoilage and/or longer curing time?
thx,
Joe
victor says
The answers, in order, are No, Not necessarily, and Yes. I don't add water to dry cured sausages, only to smoked or fresh sausages. Adding water will increase the meat's water activity which creates a more favorable environment for pathogenic bacteria to grow. This is also counter productive as the goal is remove the water quickly to prevent pathogen growth.
Anthony Mastriano says
Dear Mr. victor I need more help as follows on your list of ingredients for homemade Genoa/ Milano salami you have the pork and beef and fat trimmings listed in grams I am confused. Because 500 grams equals only about one pound
Do you mean with regard. To the. Amount of meat the numerical amount means pounds for example the 500 may mean. 5 pounds and. The. 300 May mean. Three pounds and the 200 May mean 2 pounds????
Once again thank you very much for your help
Respectfully
Anthony Mastriano
victor says
Hi Anthony,
The recipe is for 1,000 grams or 1 kg of meat, this is not a mistake. However, you can easily scale to your needs, it's really easy. What you do is prepare your meat/fat first. Then weigh it. You will never end up with exactly 1,000 grams of meat/fat. It will be more like 2,354 grams or something like that, an uneven number. What you would do then is simply take every other ingredient (like curing salt, salt, spices, etc.) and multiply it by 2.354. For example, instead of 3.0 grams of sugar you will use 7.06 grams. This is it. The way you have a lot of flexibility with regard to the quantity of sausage you are making.
Diane says
My grandson loves salami and I promised him I would find a really good recipe that we could make using venison. I think this will fit the bill nicely.
victor says
Absolutely. This recipe will work with venison very well.