Making Venison HARD SALAMI ~ OFF GRID!
We raise sheep on the homestead and every fall when the temperatures drop, we process lamb and harvested deer into batches of hard salami. We use a number of ingredients some of which are harvested right here on the homestead. Then we smoke the salami for about 24-48 hours in our homestead cold smoker. The cold smoke helps in the preservation of the meat and adds an amazing flavor.
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In this video, we all work on getting the hard salami packed into the beef middles and ready for curing in the cold smoker. The humid smoky environment in the smoker begins the curing process. After the hang time in the smoker is complete, the salami is taken into our home pantry and hung from the ceiling for about 3-4 months at room temp. The home has no AC or heating except for a wood stove. (We are off grid) The pantry area is in a part of the home that has lower temps. Keep in mind that we do this during the fall and winter when temps are colder and you don't have to worry about insects(flys) messing with your hanging meat.
This is not a tough process. The biggest thing to remember for your first time curing meat is to make sure you stay on recipe and keep things clean. Remember, true hard salami will never need refrigeration.
UPDATE: After multiple attempts, we found that 2.5% or 3% salt works much better. It still turned ok and we ate it all the same. YUMMY! But the lower salt content was much preferred and still safe to cure.
Ingredients: 4 Pound Batch
4 pounds of ground venison
2.5 ounces of salt (4%) (TRY 2.5%- 3% instead)
1 tablespoon of celery powder
1 tablespoon of mustard seed (optional- adds great flavor)
1 tablespoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup of red wine (prefer CabSav, Melot, Pino)
Anything else to flavor. Mix well, maybe grind again to ensure a good mix and begin stuffing.
Where we purchased some of our materials: https://www.butcher-packer.com/
Video Inspiration from Steve Lamb:
Taste Testing
This was several months later and we took our hard salami to a farm who has been making his "secret recipe" for 9 years. How did we do on our first try? FIND OUT!
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