How to Make Hungarian Salami

Hungarian salami, made of lean pork and back fat, is a popular dry sausage that first was made in Poland during the Communist Era. Although the classical version calls for slow fermenting the meat, quicker versions can be made with starter culture.

Things You'll Need

• 8.8 pounds lean pork, including uncured ham or pork
• 2.2 pounds unsalted back fat
• Wooden sausage-making box with perforated bottom
• Meat grinder with ¾-inch and 3/16-inch plates
• 2 teaspoons Cure 2, a mixture of salt, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite.
• 7 tablespoons salt
• 4 teaspoons pepper
• 2 ½ teaspoons paprika
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• Refrigeration
• Bowl
• Fibrous sausage casings, such as beef middles
• Butcher's twine
• Place to hang sausages while they cure
• Warm or cold smoker
• Dry cloth

Instructions

Making Hungarian Salami

1. Store unsalted back fat in freezer for three days at -28 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Cut lean pork meat into 4-inch pieces. Place in wooden box, leaving them in area of 33 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 hours at slight slope to remove natural moisture from meat and allow water to drain. This can be done in a refrigerator as most are set at 33 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Grind pork with ¾-inch plate and place back in box for two to three days, rearranging several times. Remove back and grind with 3/16-inch grinder plate.

4. Combine meat, fat, salt, cure and spices and mix. Grind through 3/16-inch plate. Knead mixture until well mixed. No matter how it feels, do not add water. Refrigerate mixture at 35 to 39 degrees for 36 to 48 hours.

5. Remove mixture and stuff into 2 to 2 ½-inch casings to form 17 to 21-inch links. Do not add water as this is a dry sausage. Tie ends with butcher twine, forming 4-inch loop to facilitate hanging.

6. Cure and ferment sausages by hanging them for two to four days in a place with 35 to 39 degrees Fahrenheit refrigeration and 85 to 90 percent relative humidity.

7. If warm smoking, smoke links five to seven days at 60 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit with thin smoke. Cold smoking, however, is continuous, so smoke several hours, take a break, then restart, continuing process until paprika draws out dark reddish color, which comes from the paprika.

8. Dry and let mold develop on links by placing in dark, non-drafty room at about 50 to 54 degrees. Dry white mold over the entire surface of the links is good; however, if you notice green mold, wipe entire sausage surface with dry cloth and hang for four to five hours in a place.

9. Once white mold covers salami, continue drying process in dark, drafty area for no less than two months and up to three at 53 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and with 75 to 85 percent relative humidity. Once dried, Hungarian salami should have lost about 40 percent of its original weight.

References

• Hungarian Salami
• Dried Cured Sausages