Made my first big salami yesterday with one kilo of meat.  Used a 60mm diameter fibrous casing.

Ingredients List
750 g lean pork
250 g pork fat
25.5 g sea salt
2.5 g Cure #2
2.25 g dextrose
0.12 g T-SPX culture dissolved in 60 ml distilled water
10 ml red wine
0.75 g garlic powder
4 g fennel seed
2 g black pepper coarsely ground

I ground the meat and fat on my smallest plate which is 4mm.

The recipe called for the T-SPX to be dissolved in distilled water however my research shows it must be water that does not have chlorine as the chlorine kills the cultures.  I used tank water off my shed.

Currently sitting out for the initial fermentation stage and will do for three days.  It is winter and cool so hopefully that should be enough.

After that into the chamber for up to three months to lose 35% of its weight.

Photo of me holding it to show off size.

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In this pic it has had Mold 600 applied and wrapped in glad wrap to maintain a high humidity for the initial fermentation.

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Do you leave it out for the three days then remove the wrap before putting in the fridge. Cheers

Yep it comes off before hanging.

I got that idea from Two Guys and a Cooler.  Previously have hung them in the second shower and misted a couple times a day.

This way you don’t have to hang them.

I think I may get some netting if I am going to keep making them this size as that is a lot of unsupported weight.

[smiley=chef.gif]
Bear wrote on Jun 6^th, 2026 at 10:15am:

Do you leave it out for the three days then remove the wrap before putting in the fridge. Cheers

Robert, just further clarification.  From what I have gleaned, during the initial fermentation stage the ph level of the salami should end up below 5.3.  At normal room temperature this usually takes around 72 hours.

It is handy I guess to have a probe ph meter for this and what a lot seem to do is keep a small portion of the mix wrapped in glad wrap and test that.

It looks like you can pick up a ph probe meter on eBay for around $50 so may end up getting one as from what I can see not getting that fermentation ph right can lead to all sorts of nasties getting in the salami.

Most recipes talk about room temperature being around 23 degrees and it is far colder than that here even during the day.

https://ebay.io/m/hciCVj

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72 hours is up this afternoon however due to the coolness I am going to leave it an extra 24 hours before going in the chamber.

Has not been over 20c here for a couple of weeks. Cheers

Well she went in the chamber this afternoon.

Currently weighs in at 990 grams and my target weight will be 643 grams.  That will be a loss of 35% if my calcs are right.

Interesting it is already showing good white mold growth on the ends.

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It is nearly fully covered in good white mold.  Derek is happy.   [smiley=chef.gif]

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Certainly looking good cheers.

It is the one on the right.  Going good.

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Sorting things out before heading off in the morning and while cleaning the humidifier and de-humidifier decided to weigh this one to see how it was going.

Really surprised that it is at 663 grams so only 20 gram away from the target weight so should be ready when we get back.

Looks, smells and feels good.

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I think something has gone wrong.

Was drying for 4 weeks and lost 42% weight however in the middle it is soft and wet just the same as when I packed it.  Smells ok though.  I have vacuum sealed and in the fridge.  Not game to taste it yet.

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Maybe should have rehung but with no humidifier ,no control.

Had a few people mention to me that the 80% was way to high and to drop to 65%. Also read a couple of other post which suggested the same thing. Have mine at 70% at the moment and will keep an eye on it over the next few days.

Ordered another of those hydrometers so will have one bottom, one top and the inkbird in the middle. This sho7ld tell me if I need more circulation. Cheers

Derek how is the Italian Salami going, or do you have to leave it in the bag for a longer period.

I am planning to leave for around 2 months before I pull it out.  Hoping the firmness comes to it.  It is looking good.