Emily Watkins from The Kingham Plough, Oxfordshire http://www.thekinghamplough.co.uk shares an inspiring homemade salami recipe, including a method for making a red onion and sloe gin marmalade for good measure. If you have ambitions to make your own charcuterie then this recipe is a great place to start.
See more at: http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/
Vension Salami with red onion and sloe gin marmalade

By July 16, 2014
Published:- Yield: 10 Servings
Homemade salami with a tasty red onion and sloe gin chutney
Ingredients
- 450 grams of pork back fat
- 1.8 Kilo grams venison trimmed and minced
- 50 grams salt
- 6 grams Insta Cure No. 2, or Prague Powder No. 2
- 1.4 grams Bessastart salami culture
- 60 ml water
- 70 grams milk powder
- 30 grams dextrose
- 12 grams fennel seeds toasted and cracked
- 12 grams black pepper coarsely ground
- 6 grams garlic minced
- 125 ml dry red wine preferably Tuscan
- hog casings
- 5 large red onions finely chopped Red onion and sloe gin marmalade
- 5 sprigs thyme leaves picked Red onion and sloe gin marmalade
- 50 ml red wine vinegar Red onion and sloe gin marmalade
- 40 gram caster sugar Red onion and sloe gin marmalade
- 100 ml sloe gin Red onion and sloe gin marmalade
- salt Red onion and sloe gin marmalade
- pepper Red onion and sloe gin marmalade
- 250 gram salted butter Red onion and sloe gin marmalade
Instructions
- To start the salami, finely dice the fat (this may be easier if frozen)
- Mix the salt and curing salt through the minced venison and place in a bowl over ice. Once chilled, place the minced venison and back fat in the bowl of a food mixer in the fridge until needed
- Dissolve the Bessastart in the water and mix into the meat, along with the rest of the salami ingredients
- Return the bowl to the mixer and mix with a paddle attachment for 1 minute, until well-combined
- Fill the hog casings by filling a large piping bag or sausage filler with the venison mix and push the mix not the casing avoiding air pockets as much as possible. Twist into sausages and prick with a pin to allow any air to escape and help the drying process
- Place the sausages on a cooling rack on a tray covered with a clean towel for 12 hours at room temperature, preferably 30°C. This will allow the good bacteria to grow
- Hang the salamis at 15°C with 70% humidity for 12-18 days
- Red Onion and Sloe Gin Marmalade.
To make the marmalade, melt a block of butter in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the finely sliced red onions and fry until the onions are completely cooked and have absorbed all of their own juices - this will take 1-2 hours
- When dry and cooked, add the thyme leaves, sugar, red wine vinegar and sloe gin to the pan. Bring to the boil, then turn reduce to a simmer and cook until sticky in consistency
- Season the marmalade and leave to cool