Category Archives: Calculators

Air Dried Sausage, Calculators, Tutorials

Calculating Maximum Fermenting Times

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The US and Canadian governments have rules limiting the amount of time that a salami can be held above 15.6°C (60°f) for fermentation of cultures. They are very similar other than one uses Fahrenheit and the other centigrade. It’s the Canadian rules (centigrade) that I’ll use for this explanation.

The rules use a calculation based on what is termed degree hours. The salami must reach a pH of 5.3 within a set number of degree hours. This is the number of hours that the salami is above 15.6°C multiplied by the amount that the temperature exceeds 15.6°C:

Degree hours = hours x temperature in excess of 15.6° C (60° F)

This number of degree hours is limited depending on the temperature being used:

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Calculators, Cooked Cured Meat, Cured Meat, Curing Calculator, Smoking

Hot Smoked Cured Pork Loin

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When I wrote about the Kasseler style smoked loin, I said that I’d make some more but use a dry cure rather than a brine.

I started two last month; I’ll smoke one and leave one unsmoked as my wife, Pauline, is not too keen on smoked food.

We’ll use it sliced in place of ham and it may even find its way into the odd bacon butty as it’s a loin version of US bacon! I’ll not be stopping making real British bacon any time soon though – have no fears about that!

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Calculators, Fresh Sausage, Sausage, Sausage Calculator

Chicken & Spring Onion Sausage

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I’ve been looking for a good recipe for chicken sausage and back in October, I made one that was devised by a friend and was flavoured with thyme, lemon and garlic having been inspired by Chef Thomas Keller’s famous recipe for chicken brine. I was so confident that it would be great that I even posted a ‘coming soon’ photo. After all, what’s not to like? They’re a classic combination. Well, somewhat embarrassingly, the family didn’t like it. I’m sure others will though and the recipe’s here for people who want to try it… …and I encourage you to do so.

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Calculators, Curing Calculator

Universal Cure calculator

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This cure calculator can be used for measured dry cures or equilibrium brine (wet) cures. Measured dry cures are also sometimes referred to as EQ Cures.

It is designed for the experienced curer – those who will know to adjust the meat weight for any bone. Those who realise that meat takes a very long time to reach equilibrium in an eq brine.

They will also be aware of curing safely and using a sufficiently strong brine to protect the meat whilst it is curing when using a brine cure.

The input to the form is in grams rather than lb and oz. This is for purely practical purposes; for example, 2.5% of 1000gm is far easier to calculate than 2.5% of 2lbs2oz. It also uses weight for all measurements; this is because the volumes of solids are variable.

To convert US measures to grams you can use our:

US measures to grams converter

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Calculators, Cooked Sausage, Sausage, Sausage Calculator

Mortadella with Pistachios

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It’s great to get back to doing some real sausage making. We’re fast running out of ham, bacon and sausage from my last mammoth session, so it’s time to clear all the frozen meat out of the freezer to make way for the next lot.

Given that the meat’s been frozen, it shouldn’t then be refrozen unless it’s been cooked – making fresh sausage is, therefore, a no, no. I was going to make hot dogs but the weather looked a bit iffy and I’m very much a fair-weather smoker, so that left a choice of the many and various other cooked sausages/luncheon meats.

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Air Dried Sausage, Calculators, Sausage, Sausage Calculator

Chorizo

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When I started making my latest batch of ASDA clone chorizo it was my intention to photograph everything and create a sort of mini-tutorial. Needless to say when I got involved with making them I forgot to take most of the photos!

I started off with a big chunk of pork collar, also known as shoulder spare rib, and cut it into strips. If you have a small mincer you will have to cut it smaller. I prefer strips to chunks as the screw in the mincer pulls them through with very little need to use the pusher.

The meat with plenty of fat attached was cooled right down and then minced through an 8mm mincer plate.

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Calculators, Fresh Sausage, Sausage, Sausage Calculator

Far-Famed Cambridge Sausage

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When I came across a sausage called the “Far-Famed Cambridge Sausage” in a 1938 ‘Handy Guide for Pork Butchers’, I couldn’t resist making it? But what type of sausage was it?

I’m guessing that it was far better known in those days: I’d only ever heard of it in passing. A quick online search told me that the best know brand was Palethorpe’s ‘Royal Cambridge sausages’, though they were made in Shropshire, and that there were 2,500lbs of them were aboard the Titanic when she sailed on her maiden voyage!

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