Organization of storage

We will not consider meat storage problems, since all recipes assume the use of chilled meat directly on the day of purchase.
Seasonings are stored in a dark, cool place, as a whole, grinding is done immediately before being added to minced meat or whole muscle products.
Alcoholic extracts of seasonings have practically no expiration date. Over time, the strong tones of individual spices can be leveled in the aroma and a holistic harmonic composition appears. Store extracts in a tightly closed glass container in a cool, dark place.
Collagen casings are stored in tightly closed plastic bags. Wet-salted natural casings (bowel, beef bungs, bladders) in the refrigerator at a temperature of 0-5 degrees Celsius. Typically, the manufacturer specifies a shelf life of 9 months, but they can be stored much longer without loss of quality. For long-term storage, it is necessary to additionally pour salt into a bag with natural casings. At the same time, the packages must be intact so that the salt does not absorb moisture from the air and does not turn into liquid. If you have soaked natural casings left after stuffing, they can also be stored in a refrigerator in a container with strong brine for a long time – more than a month for sure. Use them for the next batch.

Dried salami and whole muscle products are some of the champions in shelf life. Properly cooked can be stored for more than one year. They can be stored for a long time even without a refrigerator. Sometimes, often during summer transport, tightly packed food may become damp due to grease and residual moisture released in the heat. Moldy salami surface becomes sticky and a specific smell appears. This is not a sign of spoilage. You don’t need to wash off anything, it’s enough wrap the product in paper and put it in the refrigerator (not the freezer) for a couple of days. The stickiness disappears, the outsider there will be no smell and taste after removing the shell. Store in a regular refrigerator wrapped in paper, do not put in a bag need to. If you store a lot of dry-cured products, then it makes sense to purchase a separate refrigerator, which works in the same way as a climate chamber. In the first chamber, the products can hang for the first 1-2 months, while there is an intense loss of moisture. Then they can be transferred to a long-term storage chamber. In fact, storage and the aging of dry-cured products is no different.
For the convenience of identification, we mark the hanger with products of the same kind from the same batch with labels indicating names and dates of the beginning of drying. Large loaves of sausages and whole muscle products are best labeled with individual labels that additionally indicate the weight of the product at the beginning of the drying process to control weight loss.
Finished products can also be vacuum-sealed in bags. When evacuating, an additional effect is achieved Equilibration – equalization in moisture, and accordingly density, of the inner and outer layers of the product. For it is enough to keep the product in an evacuated bag for 2-3 weeks. First of all, this applies to whole muscle products, but sausages can also be vacuumized for this purpose. This technique can eliminate a small tempering, although a more correct and effective method is to control the moisture level during production.