Salami

Soak the casings for at least 2 hours in cold water.

Mince the pork shoulder or hand using the coarse (8–10mm) plate of your mincer and place in a bowl. Cut the back fat into 2mm dice and add to the meat. Now add the garlic, cracked pepper, wine and salt. Mix the ingredients together thoroughly by hand.

Pack the mixture into the barrel of your sausage stuffer and fit a medium nozzle on the end. Load the casing on to the sausage stuffer, tie the end with string and fill the casing, to form sausages about 30cm long, packing tightly and ensuring there are no air pockets. Secure the other end of the casing with a second piece of string.

The natural casings are inclined to bow into a horseshoe shape. I tie the string at the ends of the salami into loops, then slip both loops on to one hook and hang them like this. However, if you prefer straight salami, suspend them from one end only and they will straighten up. To begin with, you will need to hang the salami in a warmplace, ideally 25–27°C, to enable incubation of the bacteria and facilitate fermentation.

After 12 hours in this environment, move the salami to your dry-curing spot, which should be between 12 and 18°C with a humidity level of approximately 70% and a constant circulation of air. Make sure the salami are not touching a wall, or each other, and they are not in direct sunlight. Over the coming weeks, test the pH to ensure it is below 4.5. A white mould should form on the casings, indicating that this level has been reached.

The salami may take anything from 6–10 weeks to mature, depending on the conditions and, indeed, on how you like them. They can be sampled as soon as they are fairly firm to the touch and dry-looking, but they will continue to dry out and harden until they are practically rock hard.

When the salami reach the stage you like, wipe off any mould from the outside with a cloth soaked in vinegar, then rub the surface with a little olive oil. Transfer the salami to the fridge.

Serve your salami in slices 2–3mm thick. If you prefer, peel off the ring of casing from each slice before eating, although it is perfectly safe to eat.

Fennel seeds and grated orange zest make a wonderful addition to this mix and go really well with the pork. Alternatively, try them in a venison salami: in this case, you still have to include some pork fat in the mix as venison is a very lean meat. A ratio of 3 parts venison to 1 part pork fat works well.