Meats and Sausages
Salami Piemonte
Salame Piemonte’ is Italian sausage characterized by its soft texture and sweet, delicate flavor, mainly as a result of the short maturing period. This is a Piedmont salami-making tradition perfected over time, which has won over the tastes and habits of the local consumers. The main characteristic of ‘Salame Piemonte’ is the presence of Piedmont PDO red wine made exclusively from the Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto varieties (more than 0.25% in weight). These typical local wines affect the salami’s flavor and aroma and has always differentiated it from similar products on the market.
| Meats | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Lean pork - shoulder, rear leg (ham) | 700 g | 1.54 lb |
| Jowls, pork belly | 300 g | 0.66 lb |
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat
| Salt | 28 g | 5 tsp |
| Cure #2 | 3.0 g | 1/2 tsp |
| Pepper, ground | 1.0 g | 1/2 tsp |
| Pepper, crushed | 1.0 g | 1 tsp |
| Dextrose | 3.0 g | 1/2 tsp |
| Sugar | 2.0 g | 1/3 tsp |
| Garlic, minced | 7.0 g | 2 cloves |
| Nutmeg | 1.0 g | 1/2 tsp |
| Red wine | 10 ml | 2 tsp |
| Starter culture, T-SPX | 0.12 g | use scale |
Instructions
- Grind lean pork through 3/8” (10 mm) cubes.
- Cut fat into 1/4” (6 mm) cubes.
- Soak nutmeg and minced garlic in red wine.
- 30 minutes before mixing dissolve starter culture in 1 tablespoon de-chlorinated water.
- Mix meat and fat with all ingredients.
- Stuff into large 40 mm hog casings.
- Ferment at 20º C (68º F) for 72 hours, 90 → 85% humidity.
- Dry at 15-12º C (59-54º F), 85→75% decreasing humidity for 30 days. The sausage is dried until around 30-35% in weight is lost.
- Store sausages at 10-15º C (50-59º F), <75% humidity.
Notes
Salami Piemonte is stuffed in natural casings from 40 to 90 mm in diamter. The drying time will vary accordingly from 30 to 80 days.
History
The fact that specific factors such as the reputation and special nature of the production method link ‘Salame Piemonte’ with the geographical area is proven by numerous historic references demonstrating the way this salami is made has developed and become rooted over time in the region, making it unique compared to other products from other parts of Italy. In 1854, in his book on middle-class cuisine, Giovanni Vialardi, chef and pastry-cook to the then Italian royal family (the House of Savoy), describes in detail the production of ‘pigmeat salami’, which can be seen as the true precursor of ‘Salame Piemonte’, as the recipe is similar to that used today; even then it included ‘a glass of good Barbera wine’. After the Second World War industrial production of ‘Salame Piemonte’ developed, and since 1948 to the present day the Turin Chamber of Commerce’s fortnightly lists have featured ‘Salame Piemonte’ in the section on ‘fresh pigmeat’.
The addition of red wine from the three most famous varieties in Piedmont, Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto, bears witness to the deep-rooted links between ‘Salame Piemonte’ and the area. It is the characteristic element of this product, and is mentioned in numerous books, guides and collections devoted to cured meats, as well as in many food and wine shows broadcast on Italian TV between 2008 and 2010. Examples of this are the books entitled ‘Delizie del divin Porcello’ by Riccardo Di Corato, which lists and describes all Italian cured meat products (Idealibri srl, December 1984, p. 160) and ‘Processo al maiale’ (A. Beretta, Pavia, Monboso, 2002, p. 160), as well as TV shows such as ‘Occhio alla spesa’ and ‘Terre e sapori’ broadcast on the Rai 1 channel and ‘Mela Verde’ shown on Rete Quattro, where many references are made to the use of Piedmont wine as a typical ingredient of ‘Salame Piemonte’.
The geographical area of production
The production area of ‘Salame Piemonte’ consists of the entire Piedmont region, which has a highly specific climate. The name ‘Piedmont’ stems from the fact that the region lies at the ‘foot of the mountains’; this means that much of the region has a temperate, sub-continental, relatively homogeneous climate. The winters are cold, with little rainfall, and relative humidity levels decrease from November onwards, which is more humid, to February, which is drier. In addition, there are moderate winds from the plain towards the mountains, with frequent föhn winds (dry, warm, down-slope wind) that redistribute the air masses, meaning that relative humidity levels remain rather low. The Piedmont has always been a major wine producing area — and local varieties are mainly cultivated such as Barbera, Dolcetto and Nebbiolo; for this reason, these are the varieties used in the production of ‘Salame Piemonte’.
Production
The regulations specify the genetic types pigs that can be used, however, there is no geographical limit to the origin of the pigs. The minimum age at slaughter is 9 months, with a live weight per animal of 160 kg +/- 10 %. Boars and brood sows may not be used. The feeding of the pigs takes place in two stages and is mainly based on cereal products. The average feed ration mainly consists of maize mash followed by barley, bran, soya and mineral supplements. Cheese-making by-products (whey and buttermilk) are also allowed as feed. Whey and buttermilk must not total more than 15 liters head/day. The ration may be supplemented by minerals and vitamins within the limits set out in the applicable legislation. ‘Salame Piemonte’ is produced from pork meat, which has not been frozen.
Meat: lean meat: loin, shoulder; fat: back fat, jowls, belly.
Ingredients: Salt (maximum 3 %); pepper, whole, in pieces or ground (maximum 0.4 %); spices and aromatic plants: garlic, cloves, whole, crushed or infused with wine; nutmeg. In order to guarantee the typical flavor of the ‘Salame Piemonte’ and to respect the traditional production method, it is necessary to use Piedmont PDO red wine made from the Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto varieties (more than 0.25 % in weight). The use of sugar and/or dextrose is allowed, as are starter cultures, fungal cultures to cover the casing (mold), sodium and/or potassium nitrate and nitrite, ascorbic acid and its sodium salt. Other processing aids (for example phosphates) aimed at maintaining water in the meat tissues are not allowed.
Processing: meat and fat is ground through 8 – 10 mm (3/8”) grinder plate. The mixture is mixed with all ingredients and stuffed into natural casings or casings made from natural (non- synthetic) materials. The diameter of stuffed sausage should not be larger than 90 mm. The sausages are submitted for a few days to drying/fermenting at 15 – 25° C (59 – 77° F), 50 – 70% humidity. Then, the sausages enter drying/maturing phase at 11 – 1°5 C (52 – 59° F) which can vary, the diameter of the sausage being an important factor.
The following maturing periods are defined for the production of ‘Salame Piemonte’, depending on the diameter of the fresh salami:
between 40 and 70 mm: from a minimum of 10 days to a maximum of 50 days.
between 71 and 90 mm: from a minimum of 21 days to a maximum of 84 days.
When released for consumption, a whole ‘Salame Piemonte’ weighs not less than 300 g and must have the following characteristics:
External appearance: cylindrical or curved for smaller sizes;
Consistency: compact and soft.
Appearance when cut: the slice is compact and homogeneous, with typical binding of fragments of muscle and fat; the latter are rather ‘elongated’. The pepper can be seen as pieces and/or powder.
Color: ruby red.
Aroma: delicate, of mature cured meat, wine and garlic.
Flavor: sweet and delicate, slightly spicy (pepper and nutmeg), never acidic.
pH ≥ 5,2
