Soppressata-“ Supersud” 2012

Soppressata is an Italian cured dry salami. It can be made of fresh hams, as well as other cuts. Pork is the traditional meat used, though it is sometimes made using beef. The meat is either coarsely pressed or ground as with other salamis. Pressing gives it an uneven, rustic appearance when sliced. Soppressata is a specialty of southern Italy, and often includes hot pepper (though, as with all salami, seasonings vary).

Project Participants- Me, My Dad, My Grandfather, Brandon,Blair, Tony, Dom, Kurt, Eric and Ashley

We been making supersud for a long time. The recipe has been slightly changed overtime. We use 3% kosher salt per 100lbs.  We also use Cure #2, which is specifically formulated to be used for making dry cured meats. It is made up of Sodium nitrate, which breaks down to sodium nitrite and then to nitric oxide to cure the meat over an extended period of time.  The other ingredients are Black pepper, fennel powder and seeds, paprika, and the secret ingredient is a imported pepper paste.

This project takes 3 days, The first day we cut, grind and weight the pork butt and fatback. We use a 80/20 blend. The picture below is showing the cutting and weighing stage.

**This year I opted to make a 25lbs batch the new school way using a starter culture and a fermentation process.  I hate the taste of new school sopressata because it is to tangy, which is caused by a fast Ph drop and a short fermentation period at high temperatures.  I choose to use Bactoferm TSPX, a freeze-dried culture well suited for all fermented sausages where a relatively mild acidification is desired. T-SPX is particularly recommended for the production of Southern European type of sausages, low in acidity with an aromatic flavor.

This process calls for the mixture to be grounded, mixed and stuffed on the same day and then fermented for 72 hrs. at 73 degrees and high humidity.  This works out great because bactoferm 600, works well at those temps. Bactoferm 600 is composed of a bacterial culture that’s sole purpose is to ensure the beneficial surface mold wins the battle over the pathogenic bacteria. The mold strain is laboratory-created 100% Penecillium nalgiovense, the most desirable of beneficial molds for sausages. This product creates a nicely marbled white/grayish surface mold that will prevent contamination by other outside bacteria, prevent case hardening, create a characteristic flavor, and reduce drying time, rancidity and discoloration. As you see below this is the new school batch fermenting with nice mold development.

The next step is to coarsely grind the meat and thoroughly mix the seasoning. You can see below the mixing process. After the mixing process takes place we get a little taste test to make sure it’s were we want it.

Next the mixture will cure for 24hr at 36-40 degree.  After the curing phase we will began the long process of stuff and tying.  You can see blow that each supersud is stuff to length and tied off at each end.

The supersud will then be placed in a basket and kept at 36-40 degrees for a few days to lose their surface moisture. They are then hung to dry at 45-55 degrees with 70% humidity until they loss 30-35% of their water weight.  After about three weeks of drying we will press the supersuds for a week or so to give it, its traditional rustic look. It’s also believed to extract moisture.  

In three months or so we should have an update. We made about 200lbs this year.