Hey John … thanks for the reply…

I will have a bunch of 12 hour days in a row this week but plan on “picking the brian” of yourself and another gentleman this week as time permits.

I will send you some pictures etc and give some more explanations of my process then…

thanks again… this f***m has been terrific…

Dave, Thank you for the reply to my post and for sharing your information to help me get a better result this year.

I am going to make a little cheat sheet of notes this weekend from your post & would love to reply to you with some questions. If you would be so kind as to answer when you have time that would be great.

To clarify my earlier post. When I said NOTHING HAS CHANGED I was referring to nothing changing in the making of the product itself… meat from the same butcher, same casings, same recipe, same process, same hanging area etc. etc.

What I meant was the location of the making of the product has changed… I no longer make it at other persons homes & transport the product to my home for hanging… I now own all the hardware (mixer, grinder, stuffer etc etc etc) to make on site in my own home.

I look forward to our future posts…

Thank You…

Ohhh, also the temp in the loft is normally in the high 30’s… we insure the first 2 weeks or so the temp does not get too cold to allow the meat to freeze…

And also the one step should read (Meat goes in mixer & spices are added then mixed thoroughly…NOT MEAT GOES IN MIXED

John, Thank you for replying to my question. Been working & have had no time to reply…

To get right to the point the only question I can answer that you posed in your reply post is we always use collagen casings (non-edible) purchased through Waltons or L*m… Have had quality product turn out from both. And Yes, you called it… most everything turned out wet & mushy on the inside… outside was firm and cured properly but inside pocketed and was wet.

I honestly have made or been involved with the making 10’s of thousands of perfect sticks over the last 30+ years and never used a starter culture, checked a PH, monitored temp/humidity or used a growth mold.

I must assume you utilize a much more scientific approach to your process & I’m sure you can teach me many things if you are willing.

So as you asked I will give you a synapsis of my complete procedure to see if you can offer any expertise.

*Weigh out pork to batch size…

*Trim pork of bad fat & blood clots, cartilage etc

*Cube meat for grinding

*Grind meat

*Meat goes in mixed with all spices

*Once mixed, put in stuffing tube and stuffed into 12 or 18 inch collagen cases (sticks weigh b/t 2 & 3 pounds after curing) as mentioned above & tied

*Stick is thoroughly pricked to release air pockets etc

*Sticks are hung from rafters in cold garage with fan running for 80-90 days (checked on about every 3 weeks & location of sticks moved around as certain areas have better/worse air flow or may be warmer/colder than others)

This method has produced thousands & thousands of pounds of quality product over the decades using dozens of different recipes etc. for people that make it locally.

Normally if we make 200 sticks we will lose 6 or 8 but normally to mice or squirrels clever enough to get into the loft. Never ever like the last few years.

If you can add some insight to my issues (once you stop giggling from our hill-billy method of making my grandfather recipe) please reply…

Thank You in advance

Looking for some thoughts on what is going wrong with making of my soppressata.

Made on & off for years with another family using their equipment. Purchased & inherited all necessary equipment and began making it in my own shop and have had no luck with the product curing properly.

Have lost 90% or more the last 3 years. NOTHING HAS CHANGED EXCEPT LOCATION… Same recipe, made in same batch size, meat pruchased from the same butchers shop. Hang for curing in the same area, casings and spices purchased from the same vendor. I cannot figure it out…

I have reviewed every aspect of machines used, product, meat, spices etc. etc. I cant find anything that would make a difference.

I just don’t feel I could have gotten bad meat 3 years in a row.

The only things I can find that are different are is that I do not have the dementions of the GRINDER PLATE (course vs fine ground) OR
STUFFING TUBES we used with the other family years ago & I also have a horizontal stuffer where we used a vertical stuffer in the past.

Does anyone feel either of these changes could be an issue??? I cannot… But looking for thoughts…

Any advice about this would be greatly appreciated…!!!