Wild Boar Toscano Salami
Pink Salt, Sugar, Fennel Seeds, Black Pepper, Garlic, and Chianti
Butcher Teresa Cabansag of Gwen | Los Angeles
Adapted by StarChefs | May 2021
INGREDIENTS:
22 pounds wild boar trim
3 pounds pork backfat, hand-diced to 8-by-8-millimeter cubes
225 grams salt
10 grams pink salt #2
90 grams sugar
165 grams milk solids
10 grams starter culture bacteria F-RM-52, bloomed in water at 95°F
60 grams whole fennel seeds
60 grams black pepper coarsely ground
25 grams garlic, finely minced
750 milliliters Chianti
14 to 16 hog casings
METHOD:
Evenly divide boar trim in 3 equal weight amounts. Grind each amount in varying small, medium, and large grind sizes. In a large container or standing bowl mixer, combine all of the trim and backfat until evenly distributed. Add salts, sugar, and milk solids and mix well. As your mixer is turning, slowly stream in starter culture bacteria and mix well. Mix in fennel seeds, black pepper, and garlic. Stream in Chianti. Add to a sausage stuffing can with a medium-large sausage stuffing horn attachment. Pipe into the hog casing, tying each end into a loop after you’ve filled about 2 feet worth of the hog casing.
When all of the farce is stuffed into the casing, ferment the salami in an environment that is about 95°F to 98°F with a humidity of about 85% to 95% until the pH level reaches 5.4. This takes about 12 hours.
When you have a pH of 5.4, hang the salami for its final drying time in an environment of 48°F to 52°F with a humidity of 70%. This will hang until the water activity reaches 0.85. This takes about 1 month.
