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Salami Recipes

Close up of salami hanging
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

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About | Recommended Reading | Recipes


About

I was initially hesitant to post salami recipes. These are the hard ones in the charcuterie craft. Salami is fermented sausage, and you must carefully control your humidity, salt levels, acidity and temperature for everything to come out OK. If you mess things up, you can get sick.

Salami, at its finest, is made of pork, salt, and time. Yes, there are all sorts of variations, many of them below. Pepperoni, for example, is a highly spiced salami — all pepperoni is salami, not all salami is pepperoni, capisce?

Salami is raw, salted and fermented pork. It is safe to eat because of the salt content and because the fermentation of the meat and fat drops the pH of the mixture low enough to kill any bad bacteria. That acidity is the tang you taste when you eat it.

You can make salami without pork, but it is rarely as good. This is because of the melting point of pork fat; only bear fat is similar, and that’s a rare thing. Beef fat and lamb fat can get chalky and overly dense in salami, while duck and goose fat is too unsaturated to make good salami.

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Recommended Reading

Before you start doing real dry cured salami at home, I highly recommend you buy and read one of the books listed below.

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Recipes

When you are ready, start with these simple salami recipes, which can also be done with regular domestic pork.

A link of venison salami sliced on a plate.

Venison Salami

This recipe is geared toward venison but will work with most meats. It’s also a great way to turn a sausage recipe into a salami recipe.

Read More about Venison Salami

Links of kabanos hanging

Kabanosy

Consider this the world’s greatest Slim Jim. A narrow, smoked and slightly cured Polish meat stick that is awesome eaten on the go.

Read More about Kabanos, the World’s Greatest Slim Jim

basic salami recipe

Basic Pork or Wild Boar Salami

This is my master recipe for a very classic salami flavored only with salt, pepper and garlic. If you are ready to do a real salami, start with this recipe.

Read More about Basic Pork or Wild Boar Salami

Finocchiona, Italian fennel salami recipe

Finocchiona, Fennel Salami

A classic Italian finocchiona, a salami flavored with fennel.

Read More about Finocchiona, Fennel Salami

paprika salami recipe

Hungarian Paprika Salami

A Hungarian salami made with lots of paprika and garlic. This is normally done with pork and beef, but I’ve used duck and venison and they both work fine.

Read More about Hungarian Paprika Salami

Slices of cacciatore salami

Italian Cacciatore Salami

This is an Italian hunter’s style salami done in hog casings, which are narrower than the typical beef casings you see on most salami. That makes it easier to cure, and allows you to carry it with you when you are in the field.

Read More about Italian Cacciatore Salami

venison landjaeger recipe

Venison Landjaeger

A German version of the same hunter’s sausage, this one is smoked and dried. I make it with venison, but pork and beef will work, too. I make these to take hunting or fishing a lot.

Read More about Venison Landjaeger

Close up of salami hanging

Wild Boar Salami

This is a more traditional salami made in a beef casing. It is made with all California ingredients, down to the wild boar I shot to make it. But don’t let that deter you: Some version of all the ingredients is readily available wherever you live.

Read More about Wild Boar Salami

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Comments

  1. Avatar for BrandonBrandon says

    December 4, 2019 at 4:06 pm

    Hello, I have a batch of Hunter style salami drying as we speak, with 10 to 12 degree Celsius and humidity of about 70 percent. It has been drying for a few weeks, but there is absolutely no mold of any kind on any of it. It smells delicious though. Any idea what would be preventing any mold from growing, mainly the good white kind ? I have had this with a batch of bresaola as well but it turned out great. My salumi recipe was a basic pork, pork fat, kosher salt, spices, and red wine that’s it.

    Reply
  2. Avatar for chris jefferychris jeffery says

    November 14, 2019 at 12:31 pm

    Do you have a snack stick recipe?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      November 16, 2019 at 9:24 am

      Chris: Yes. Try this one: https://honest-food.net/kabanosy-recipe/

      Reply
  3. Avatar for DinoDino says

    September 22, 2019 at 11:21 am

    Do you sell the salami

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      September 22, 2019 at 12:11 pm

      Dino: Nope. Sorry.

      Reply
  4. Avatar for ArleneArlene says

    April 28, 2019 at 1:02 am

    A friend of mine recommended your website for recipes and your charcuterie section caught my attention. I currently work in a deli and I wanted to know what would make a salami cut poorly. The casing has jagged edge on one side. Is it the blade of the slicer (my store uses a Bizerba), the sausage itself depending on the manufacturer (we sell Margherita brand and DiLusso) or does temperature affect the quality of the slicing?

    What does it mean when salami “sweats”? My store has a 21 days shelf life policy with Italian “dry sausages” (salami – Genoa, Salami – Hard, Soppressata, capicola.

    The meat locker I have noticed where we keep meats and cheeses until they are used often ajar and wonder if just having the cold storage locker slightly open can greatly affect the quality of meats and cheeses (Land of Lakes has been quite crappy in slicing ability and would crumble/Dietz and Watson’s Muenster seems to bend/lean if you were to stand it one end on the slicer). I would love some professional information on this. My store sadly doesn’t really care about the aesthetics of food when it comes to on the floor training because it is a supermarket deli and not a high end boutique store like a Whole Foods, or a Cambridge, MA based Savenor’s, or a New York City Zabar’s, or Fairway supermarket.

    Reply
  5. Avatar for AndrewAndrew says

    March 12, 2018 at 7:37 pm

    I looked in your equipment post and you specifically excluded what you use for dry curing. Is this somewhere else. Want to figure out a good option for a small dedicated curing/aging fridge. Do i need to have very specific temp and hunidity controls or is a small college style fridge enough?

    Reply
  6. Avatar for HayleyHayley says

    December 4, 2017 at 6:23 am

    Well I am giving it a go! I’ve put up my 77 lbs of breakfast and Italian venison sausage we love so much and my husband wants to do “something fun” so lonzino and salami we will try!

    Reply
  7. Avatar for Hottie OberholzerHottie Oberholzer says

    May 12, 2016 at 9:59 am

    Dear Hank, even though you did not post my previous 2 letters, I want t thank you again. The 24kg salami is a wonderful success. Pity there is no way to show you photos on this site. The cow casings worked out the best. All has the same twang as very expensive Italian salami, and tastes wonderful. It has been 4 weeks, and in another 2 weeks my friends and family will share in the joy! Regards Hottie

    Reply
  8. Avatar for Eric ZeiglerEric Zeigler says

    April 11, 2016 at 8:42 am

    Hi Hank. Thank you for the recipes and info you post. My question is, can I use Morton Tender Quick for the cure as I do for Sausage, and if so, in the same amounts as prague #2? Thank you for your time!

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      April 11, 2016 at 5:23 pm

      Eric: No. Sorry. They are totally different products.

      Reply
  9. Avatar for BusserBusser says

    April 1, 2016 at 10:51 am

    Apologies for the second post – William, if the salami had an off taste/smell I can only surmise that’s from something very different than the ammonia smell produced by the mold. In that process there is no impact to flavor. There are numerous articles out online that explain why it happens and also reaffirm no off taste/smell.

    Reply
  10. Avatar for BusserBusser says

    March 28, 2016 at 10:16 am

    William – the ammonia smell/taste will not impact the flavor of the meat. I’ve cured for numerous years and have a dedicated curing room in my basement. Ambient humidity dependent I keep the door cracked at time and others it remains closed for several days. During the latter, with less airflow and lots of meat I get the ammonia smell but it has never impacted the meat flavor at all.

    Reply
  11. Avatar for FrancoisFrancois says

    March 15, 2016 at 10:16 pm

    Good day hank. How do I become part of this forum? I’d like to get more of your recipes. I want to start making salami and and as well. But still working on my smoker and smoke box. Can’t get my smoker as is at the moment down under 33 degree Celsius (don’t know the Ferrante for that) now I’m building myself a smoke box to keep my coals and smoking part separately from my smoke drums.

    Reply
  12. Avatar for William BrookerWilliam Brooker says

    February 18, 2016 at 4:27 pm

    It’s my understanding that mold, even the good white stuff, will produce an odor of ammonia. I have a batch of Hungarian Salami with mostly white mold that smells pretty bad of ammonia. Worse, after a month of drying I cut one open (after peeling off the casing) and the meat seems quite tainted with ammonia or some similar off-flavor. Even if it were safe, it’s not palatable.

    My question then is if ammonia is part of a normal molding process, how do you prevent ammonia from permeating the meat, especially when using a thinner hog casing versus beef middle? Perhaps better ventilation? Or, does the ammonia break down and disappear eventually?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      February 22, 2016 at 8:43 am

      William: I have never, ever had an ammonia smell on a properly cured salami, even one covered in white mold.

      Reply
  13. Avatar for William BrookerWilliam Brooker says

    February 4, 2016 at 11:16 am

    Sure enough, with the help of a space heater to warm up the room and a few hours, fermentation began and the salami has turned from brown to a beautiful pink. Lesson in patience learned!

    Reply
  14. Avatar for William BrookerWilliam Brooker says

    February 3, 2016 at 2:59 pm

    First, love your website and have made a number of fantastic sausages thanks to your recipes. Fairly new to making fermented salami but have made a couple batches in the past, and have the Marianski book. Followed Marianski recipe for Genoa Salami. I measured out everything carefully to the hundredth of a gram. Used correct % of Cure #2 and T-SPX, equal pork/beef chuck amounts.

    Before I even finished stuffing (no more than an hour) the very cold meat turned to a brown/grey color. I can’t seem to find any info if this is normal. Will it stay this color or turn back to red? What happened?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      February 3, 2016 at 3:17 pm

      William: Weird. It should become a pretty rosy color as it ferments. Give it a few hours or overnight.

      Reply
  15. Avatar for Bea SchoemanBea Schoeman says

    August 20, 2015 at 8:36 am

    Hi Eugene Oberholzer, do you do cooked salamis or real one? i want to try it out, especially with warthog, can you help me with some tips please.

    Reply
  16. Avatar for Eugene OberholzerEugene Oberholzer says

    June 9, 2015 at 5:26 am

    Hi Hank,

    I am making salami in South Africa from our local game like Impala, Kudu, Wildebeest and very delicious.

    Can I export the salami to other countries and sell my product there?

    Thanks….

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      June 12, 2015 at 12:46 pm

      Eugene: I have no idea. I only make salami at home. Sorry.

      Reply
  17. Avatar for Gita DeboraGita Debora says

    May 27, 2015 at 6:02 pm

    please give me advice for my salami chorizo diablo, i was hanging for 12 day with 16 degree but my salami still mushy..
    did i wrong with the composition?
    what can i do for my salami?
    Thank you 🙂

    Reply
  18. Avatar for Steve EdmundsSteve Edmunds says

    May 27, 2015 at 12:46 am

    Hi
    I’ve just made my first lot of salami. I’ve had it in the fridge for around four weeks and a white coating has appeared. Is this OK? I was told 6 weeks is long enough to leave it. Is this correct? I used only pork, 4% salt, garlic and paprika. I’ve rest above about fermenting agents. Are these necessary?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      May 27, 2015 at 9:17 am

      Steve: My advice is to follow one of my recipes, which are explicit. But to answer your questions, yes, white mold is fine. And yes, you need fermenting agents. Also, 4% salt is a lot. Did you use sodium nitrite?

      Reply
  19. Avatar for Steve HodgdonSteve Hodgdon says

    March 8, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    Hi Hank, thanks for all the great information. I’m about to get started with my first salami, and I’m curious if you see any problem with hanging salami next to a prociutto, coppa, or other whole cured meat? As far as I can make out there shouldn’t be any issue with this, but I was curious to get the advice of a professional. Thanks so much.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      March 9, 2015 at 4:44 pm

      Steve: No problem I can see.

      Reply
  20. Avatar for Odette HélieOdette Hélie says

    December 27, 2014 at 12:39 pm

    Hello,
    We just bought Duck, duck, goose and I cannot tell you how nice it is to have techniques explained in details like in your book ! We have tried 3 recipes with great success and a goose breast is hanging in my basement (last year I used the fridge and it came out ok).

    I have 3 questions :
    1) Any suggestion for a condiment to accompany the prosciutto ?
    2) I will try to make a “saucisson” later and reading about it, I discovered that the sour taste I sometimes encounter in that type of charcuterie- and that I do not like- is associated with American style fermented sausage (nitrite + bacteria). I much prefer the “French” saucisson which does not taste sour BUT for amateur like me, it seem safer to use nitrite + bacteria. So, is there a way to use nitrite + bacteria without ending up with the sour taste ? Is it a question of which bacteria one uses ?
    3) It seems to be the nitrosamide (produced when nitrites are heated up like when you cook bacon) that are bothering (stomach cancer) so one should not worry if one eats nitrites in charcuterie like dry sausage ? Why not add a vit C derivative to counter the formation of nitrosamide ?

    Thank you for your very useful book !!!

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      December 27, 2014 at 1:38 pm

      Odette: Here goes:
      1. Pickles and cheese
      2. You will always use nitrate when you make salami, and yes, the degree of tang depends on the bacteria culture you use. For a European style salami, use T-SPX and ferment in a cool room (about 68 degrees Fahrenheit) for 2 days.
      3. Salami isn’t cooked, so you will never get nitrosamines.

      Reply
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Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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