Fermented Sausage
Old World Soppressata
Italian Style Soppressata
Old World Soppressata is a fermented, dry-cured sausage built on a 50% lean meat / 50% pork blend, using lean wild game or lean beef. Dry to 35-40% weight loss, stuff into 4 inch+ large beef casings (bung caps), grind at 3/8". Exact amounts scale to any batch weight in the DeepWoodz Smokehouse app for iPhone and Android.
Coarse ground, pressed, and dried in a casing wide enough that it takes real patience — the slowest thing in the library. Red wine and fennel with a heavy hand of cracked pepper and flakes. Cut it thin when it is ready; it is rich enough that thick slices waste it.
- Internal temp
- 35-40% weight loss
- Casing size
- 4 inches+
- Casing
- Large Beef Casings (Bung Caps)
What goes in it
- Kosher Salt
- Cure #2
- Dextrose
- Coarse Black Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Garlic Powder
- Fennel Seed
- Starter Culture (T-SPX)
- Red Wine
Amounts are calculated for your batch weight in the app — including the cure, which is held at a fixed, food-safe rate.
The meat
Lean Wild Game · Lean Beef · Pork Butt · Pork Shoulder
Bear or wild hog: take it to 160°F and hold 3 minutes. Freezing, smoking and curing do not kill trichinella — only heat does.
How it's made
- Grind meat through a 3/8" coarse plate — soppressata must have a chunky, rustic texture with visible meat and fat pieces in every slice.
- Dissolve starter culture in distilled water per package directions.
- Mix all dry seasonings together. Add wine and dissolved culture.
- Mix into ground meat by hand until just combined. Do not over-work.
- Stuff into beef bung caps or large 4"+ casings. Tie tightly.
- FERMENT: Hang at 85-90°F, 85-90% humidity for 18-24 hours.
- Press flat with boards and weight for 24 hours in a cool area.
- DRY: Move to 55°F, 75-80% humidity. Dry for 4-8 weeks until 35% weight loss.
- White mold on the casing is normal and desirable. Wipe off any green or black mold.
- SAFETY: Cure #2, starter culture, and minimum salt are required. No shortcuts.
Wood
Oak · Beech
Safety
- Cure #2 and starter culture are required — do not substitute
- Maintain proper fermentation temperature and humidity
- Dry until target weight loss is achieved before consuming
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