Alright, so I finally got around to making my own Dominican salami, or ‘salchichón’ as some folks call it. It’s been on my to-do list for, like, ever. You see, the stuff you sometimes find in stores, it’s just not the same. It’s missing that… something. That real, homemade, Dominican kitchen vibe, you know?
My Salami Journey Begins
So, I decided, enough is enough. I’m going to make this stuff myself. I started by digging around, looking at what people were saying online, chatting with a buddy whose abuela used to make it. It’s funny, everyone has their little secret, their little tweak. It’s not like baking a cake where you follow the recipe to the gram and boom, perfect cake. Nah, this is more… organic.
I remember this one time, years ago, I was trying to make some Italian sausage. Total disaster. I mean, it tasted okay, but the texture was all wrong, and half of it burst out of the casings. My kitchen looked like a battlefield. My wife, bless her heart, just looked at me, then at the mess, and said, “Maybe stick to grilling?” That stuck with me. Not the “stick to grilling” part, but the memory of that sausage explosion. It made me realize that with this kind of thing, you gotta respect the process, you know? You can’t just rush it.
That sausage failure, it actually taught me a lot. It taught me about temperature, about not overstuffing, about being patient. So, when I approached this Dominican salami project, I had that experience in the back of my mind. No more exploding sausages for this guy, no sir.
Getting Down to Business
First things first, I got my hands on some good quality pork shoulder. You need that fat, it’s crucial. I also grabbed some beef, because the recipes I liked the look of used a mix. I chilled the meat really well, almost to freezing. That’s a big tip, helps with the grinding.
Then, the grinding. My old meat grinder, she’s seen better days, but she still gets the job done. I ran the pork and beef through it. I like a medium grind for this, not too fine, not too chunky. Once that was done, it was time for the magic: the spices.
This is where it gets personal. I used a blend of garlic, oregano, a bit of bitter orange (or a substitute, because good luck finding that easily everywhere!), some paprika for color, salt, and pepper. Oh, and a little bit of curing salt, because, you know, safety first. I mixed everything by hand. Really got in there. They say you should mix until your hands freeze, and they’re not wrong. It felt like an eternity, but you gotta get that good bind.
Next up, stuffing the casings. I used synthetic casings this time. Easier to handle for me. I hooked up my sausage stuffer – another old piece of kit, but reliable. Slowly, carefully, I filled those casings, trying my best not to get air pockets. Pricked any I saw with a needle. This is where the memory of the Great Italian Sausage Explosion of ’08 kept me humble.
The Waiting Game and the Reward
Once they were all stuffed and tied off, I hung them up. Now, different folks do different things here. Some people smoke them, some cook them in water. I decided to go with a gentle poaching method after letting them cure and dry a bit in the fridge for a couple of days. This step always makes me a bit nervous. You’ve put in all this work, and now you’re just hoping it all comes together.
I simmered them gently in water, making sure it didn’t boil, until they reached the right internal temperature. This took a while. Patience, remember? After that, I plunged them into an ice bath to stop the cooking and help the casings shrink up nice.
And then… the moment of truth. I let them cool completely, then sliced one open. The smell! Oh man, it was good. The texture was spot on. Firm, but not rubbery. The taste? So much better than that bland store-bought stuff. It had character. It had that zing. It felt… authentic, even though it was made in my very non-Dominican kitchen.
Was it exactly like the one my friend’s abuela made? Probably not. But it was my Dominican salami. And you know what? It was pretty darn good. I fried some up with eggs the next morning. Heaven. Pure, homemade heaven.
- Gathered my meats and spices.
- Ground the meat when it was super cold.
- Mixed in the seasonings thoroughly by hand.
- Stuffed the casings carefully.
- Cured and then cooked them gently.
- Finally, tasted the delicious result!
So yeah, that was my adventure into Dominican salami making. A bit of work, a bit of waiting, but totally worth it. And no explosions this time!
