It certainly has been an exciting journey for me and my son with our first batch of ‘homemade’ Genova salami. Over the past month and half or so we’ve watched over our homemade meat as if it was a new born child.  Each day after school a routine developed to rush home and make a quick trip to the cellar for a peek to make sure all was OK.   

The salami started out in nice neat coils. The fermentation time lasted just over 36 hours to reach the ideal pH measurement I was looking for, 4.7 -4.9 reading.  Having the fermentation stage completed, it was time to hang everything up and let time and nature take its course.  From this point forward, it is important to make sure humidity and temperature stay within range, 55°F – 60°F with humidity at 70%-80%.

At the time I decided to embark on this project, there was nothing special about the time of year or reasoning other than, ‘just because’ and maybe the subliminal fact that this traditional Italian food could almost be considered a food group for my son. Now that our project has reached its end, little did I know all would come together and fall into place just before the Thanksgiving holiday.  Funny how things work out and now it looks like we’ve started a new family tradition to look forward to each year. 

The BIG day had arrived and time to see if all the hard work has paid off.  No special ritual, bells or whistles had been planned other than to surprise my son with the exciting news that it was time to see what our salami tasted like.  It’s a Saturday afternoon during college football season and the day wouldn’t be complete without our snack of salami, crackers and cheese.

I certainly was a little nervous making that first cut, however as soon I had a good look inside, I knew our project had been successful.  The flavor profile is great and the texture is pretty darn close. Needless to say, I’m proud of this father and son team.  I’ll make sure to add notes and comments for future reference, next year’s batch will be coming soon enough.

As I look back on this adventure, certainly there were days when making the trip to the cellar was farthest from my mind and even at times a pain.  I am thankful to my son for his enthusiasm and persistence.  Today I’m looking at our log book, with the daily temperature and humidity readings, random notes of the process plus I see a few scribbles, a smiley face and the stick figure drawings of us checking on the homemade salami.

There is a smile on my face, happy of our accomplishment, at the same time a feeling that a special bond has been created between us creating a memory to last a lifetime.

Grazie Mille,

Chef Michael