Blenheim Organic Gardens is an organic farm on Virginia’s historic, rural Northern Neck. Located next to George Washington Birthplace National Monument, the land owned by the Latanes was part of the Washington family’s extensive holdings, and has remained in the family since then. The Latane family run a small, certified organic produce farm off their 18th century farm. It’s a special place for many reasons, and Rachel and I spend a lot of time out there with the family, hunting, fishing, foraging, cooking and eating. But beyond the activities that take place out there, there is also a subtle sense of peace and relaxation. “The farm”, as we call it, is where time slows down a bit, and you get a chance to breathe, listen to the birds, and take in the sights, sounds and smells. 

I love being out there, it brings me a sense of peace I don’t find in many other places. This salami is an attempt to bring all the smells and taste of the farm into something you can experience in one bite- the wild fennel that grows along the long gravel road, the giant elephant garlic that hangs from the barn rafters, the sound of a big bruiser buck cruising through a wet bottom, and the crimson autumn olives that rim the field edges. This is November at the farm, infused together into a single bite.

Salami Blenheim

As always, if you’ve never cured sausage before, please check out our primer before you get started- these instructions assume a baseline knowledge of the process. These ingredients are measured by percent weight, not volume, to make them easy to scale to the amount of meat you are working with. Grind the meat you would like to use, weigh it, and then do the math to figure out how much of each of the other ingredients you will need by percentage. Do not substitute or change the ratio of instacure #2 or salt. You may adjust the spices to your liking.

Prep time: 1 hour

Hang time: 12-21 days

Ingredients:

100% venison trim, cut to size for grinder

42% pork fat, cubed to size for grinder

3.5% salt

0.4% instacure #2

0.4% freshly ground black pepper, coarsely crushed

0.6% dextrose

0.74% fennel seed, toasted, coarsely crushed

3.3% elephant garlic, minced (if using regular garlic, use ~33% less as elephant garlic is much milder)

8.0% autumn olive puree

3.7% distilled water

** Bactoferm F-RM 52

Method:

Combine cubed venison, salt, instacure, black pepper, dextrose, fennel seeds and garlic, cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. 

Grind the meat and spice mixture through fine die, and refrigerate. Grind fat through medium die. Combine ground meat and ground fat.

Bloom bactoferm in distilled water.

Using a stand mixer or wooden spoon, mix the meat mixture and incorporate the autumn olive puree. Add the bactoferm and water mixture. Mix until slightly tacky, about 1-2 minutes.

Stuff into casings, twist into 10” links, and prick with sterile needle or sausage pricker. Weigh and record the weight of each link, then incubate for ~12-18 hours. Hang in cure chamber for 12-21 days, until you have 30-35% weight loss.