Is the sausage raw?

Who doesn’t like sausages? The sausage, especially, is one of our favorites.

It has given us delicious cheesy pizzas, appetizing gourmet sandwiches, magnificent charcuterie boards and a wide variety of tasty pastas. But despite being such a popular ingredient, very few people know much about it.

Is the sausage raw?

Well yes, but also no. Salami is prepared in two ways: hot-smoked (cooked with heat) and dry-cured. While dry-cured salami is not cooked with heat, it is cured with salt and acids, making it completely safe to eat without cooking.

Today we’ll take a look at what exactly salami is, the different ways it’s produced, and what makes it safe to eat “raw.” We’ll also answer other frequently asked questions about this deliciously savory treat.

What is salami?

The definition of salami is very broad, as there are lots of different types. The best general definition is that it is a type of cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat.

Pork is usually the most widely used, as are many other types of cured and processed meat. The main ingredients used in virtually any type of salami are meat, minced fat, garlic, salt and spices, herbs, and vinegar or wine.

Even though pork is the most popular choice of meat used to make salami, beef is also very common, especially for making halal or kosher salami.

Goose salami is popular in various parts of northern Italy, while donkey salami is common in the Provence region of France. Other meats you will see are turkey, venison, veal, and even horse salami.

The raw meat mixture is first fermented, then stuffed into a casing and hung to cure or dry. In the next section we will talk about the exact manufacturing processes in order to better determine if the salami is raw or not.

Different ways to make salami

Naturally, as with many types of food, you can find a wide variety of types of salami.

The two main types of salami are classified according to their manufacturing process. They can be made with a dry curing method or with a hot smoking (or cooking) method. Dry-cured salami is the more common of the two.

1. Hot smoking

Hot smoking is a cooking method that uses heat to cook meat while flavoring it with smoke.

The smoker itself first reaches temperatures of about 150°F (65°C) when the smoking process begins.

The casing is first dried without any smoke, after which the temperature rises to about 71°C (160°F). The sausage is then smoked for 3 to 6 hours.

The temperature is raised again to 160°C (320°F) and the sausage continues to cook for another 2-3 hours.

The sausage is completely safe to eat when the internal temperature in the thickest part reaches 160°F (71°C). This is the best way to check if any type of cooked food is safe to eat: checking the internal temperature.

Once the pepperoni has finished cooking, it is dropped into cold water and chilled until the internal temperature reaches 100°F (38°C). The sausage is then stored in the refrigerator overnight before being used.

2. Dry curing

There are three main steps in this process. To make different types of dry-cured salami, some of these steps are slightly different, but the basic concept remains the same.

Preparation of raw ingredients

Before starting any process, the meat and ingredients are first prepared and mixed according to a recipe.

The meats are coarsely ground along with the fat, and then combined with additional flavoring ingredients such as spices and herbs. There are no “fixed” proportions and you can experiment with the flavors as much as you like.

Some types of salami include yeast or a type of lactic acid bacteria starter culture. These ingredients will help start the fermentation process or speed it up.

This meat mixture is introduced into a casing. This casing can be an edible natural or artificial casing, or an inedible cellulose casing.

Fermentation

The sausage is hung in a warm, humid area for 1 to 3 days to encourage the growth of the fermenting bacteria.

The bacteria that grows during the fermentation process produces lactic acid, which lowers the pH and ultimately the water retention of the meat. This means that the salami is rendered inhospitable to pathogenic bacteria (dangerous bacteria), making it safe to eat.

Traditionally, wine was used as a starter culture, using its own bacteria to help cure the salami. Nowadays it is not so common, but it can still be found.

The starter culture used, the time and temperatures at which the salami is fermented, and the other ingredients in the mix contribute to the unique flavor of the different varieties of salami.

drying

The fermented salami is moved to a cool, humid environment to dry slowly.

Traditionally, the fermentation step is skipped and the meat is hung in a cool place to dry. But then again, fermentation adds a unique flavor to salami and creates a totally different variety.

The casing dries out completely and must be protected from pathogenic bacteria. This is done by coating it with flour or a white coating of non-toxic mold, similar to the crust that forms on aged cheese.

During the drying process, the meat also matures and develops even more flavor. To stop the evaporation of moisture at a certain stage, the salami is removed and sealed in an airtight container.

Can you eat raw salami?

In short, yes, you can eat “raw” salami. However, salami isn’t really raw in the first place.

Looking at the method of making dry-cured salami, there are a couple of factors that contribute to making it safe to eat as is.

First of all, the ingredients used to make salami always include salt and almost always include vinegar. Both ingredients are natural inhibitors of bacteria, which means they create highly undesirable and even inhospitable environments for pathogenic bacteria to grow.

Second, the fermentation process creates lactic acid. As we have mentioned before, lactic acid prevents the growth of bacteria and also helps reduce the water-holding capacity of meat.

Lastly, since meat cannot retain as much moisture, the percentage of moisture in the sausage decreases and when it is dried it is even higher. The less moisture there is, the less favorable the environment for bacterial growth.

Ultimately, by dry-curing your salami, you “cook” it naturally without high heat and create an environment in which pathogenic bacteria cannot grow.

However, in the case of hot-smoked salami, which is cooked, the heat of the long smoking process destroys any pathogenic bacteria. It is also important to allow the salami to reach the correct internal temperature before consuming it.

Since hot-smoked salami is not fermented, you have to make sure the meat has been fully cooked, as there aren’t many other deterrents to help prevent bacterial growth. For this reason, hot-smoked salami goes bad faster.

uses of salami

Now that we’ve determined that salami can be eaten as is or “without cooking,” let’s look at the many different things you can do with salami.

Arguably the most popular way to use salami is on sandwiches or on a cheese board. You can make something as simple as a grilled cheese salami sandwich, or a delicious gourmet Italian salami sandwich.

When it comes to trays, the salami fits on virtually any type of tray, from cheese trays, bread boards, or food pairing plates, the possibilities are endless. Salami is one of the few types of cured meat that accommodates thousands of different flavor profiles and pairs well with almost any other ingredient.

Other delicious uses for salami are pasta with smoked tomato or even a delicious salami Alfredo. Another very popular dish that makes heavy use of salami is, you guessed it, pepperoni pizza!

You can also use it in a wide variety of Asian-style recipes, believe it or not. You can make delicious stir-fries, stuffed meatballs, or even salami fried rice.

Related questions

What is the white of salami?

Before you freak out, the white stuff on the outside of the salami is good. Helps protect the interior from pathogenic bacteria.

The white coating is usually a covering of benign white mold (a non-toxic mold). Many manufacturers also coat fresh salami with flour to help protect and insulate it.

Is it necessary to cook uncured salami?

If you take a look at the two salami production methods, you will see that one is dry curing and the other is hot smoking. As we have already said, hot-smoked salami is not cured by fermentation, but rather by cooking.

The heat that is applied during the smoking process is enough to finish cooking the meat completely. The internal temperature reaches 160°F (71°C), which is when harmful bacteria are killed.

So no, uncured salami does not have to be cooked before eating it because it has already been cooked.

Is salami healthy?

In our opinion, healthy is a relative term. Nothing consumed in large amounts is a good or “healthy” ingredient.

In general, salami is high in calories, salt, fat, and often nitrates (which help maintain a rich color in the meat). None of these qualities is especially good.

However, it does have nutrients and protein that have their own benefits. But again, if consumed in moderation it is completely safe.

Is the casing of the salami edible?

As we have already said, sausages can have an edible or inedible casing. Most of the time the casing is edible, especially when you buy packaged products.

The best way to tell is to chew the gut. If it’s extremely chewy and doesn’t seem to “melt” in your mouth, it’s probably the inedible casing. The inedible casing is not toxic at all; it just doesn’t break down in your digestive system.