How to use Charcuterie Banquet Bags

Instructions for use in home made Salami, complete with diagrams, info, tips and troubleshooting. Making your own Artisan quality Small Goods including Salami & Charcuterie at home has never been easier!

MISTY GULLY SALUMI BANQUET BAGS feature award winning Danish technology that allows for the safest and easiest way for you to create your own charcuterie, salumi and other small goods at home. The material of the bag creates a bond with the natural proteins in meat, allowing for moisture release and oxygen exchange, without unpleasant odors. This unique technology also allows for smoke to permeate the bags while still ensuring the ageing process is free from risk of contamination. No need to wait for winter! Now you can make your own small goods safely, 365 days a year in your own refrigerator!

Wholesale banquet bag quantities available for foodservice customers. We offer quality Wholesale Banquet Bags

Misty Gully Charcuterie Banquet Bags feature award-winning Danish technology that allows for the safest and easiest way for you to create your own charcuterie, salumi and other small goods at home. The material of the bag creates a bond with the natural proteins in meat, allowing for moisture release and oxygen exchange, without unpleasant odours. This unique technology also allows for smoke to permeate the bags while still ensuring the ageing process is free from the risk of contamination. No need to wait for winter! Now you can make your own small goods safely, 365 days a year in your own refrigerator!

Step 1 – Cure Your Meat

The preparation and curing process for your Salumi will vary greatly depending on what cut you use and the product you are intending to make. Always follow recipes precisely. For example, for recipes, check out our sister website www.smokedandcured.com.au/recipes. Misty Gully Banquet Bags are designed to speed up the dry ageing stage of making cured meat at home and provide an added layer of protection from external elements. Once cured, seasoned and ready for ageing – prepare to place your meat in your Banquet Bag.

Step 2 – Position Your Meat

Turn the opening of the bag back on itself so you can put the meat inside without touching the opening of the bag. Place the meat in the Banquet Bag and position the meat so that it is not touching the bottom or the sides of the bag. Doing this will allow the air to flow out of the bag without creating pockets of air. There should be at least 12cm of space between the opening of the bag and the meat.

Step 3 – Channel Helper

Cut a portion of Channel Helper about 10cm x 10cm. Fold vertically on itself to end up with a band-aid like strip. Insert the Channel Helper into the opening of the Banquet Bag. It should run in line with the top and stick out of the bag opening. Position the bag into your vacuum sealer. Make sure the channel helper is placed over the vacuum.

Step 4 – Vacuum Seal

Set your vacuum sealer to gentle / normal / moist (if available) and press start. If the area around the opening of the bag starts to flatten too early, massage the area around it to let the air flow again to ensure that the air at the bag of the bag around the meat is pulled. When the bag is tightly on the meat, you can activate the heat seal. Ideally you want firm contact with the meat. The bags will be successful with ~70-80% coverage meat to Banquet Bag (i.e. some small air pockets are ok).

Due to their design, Banquet Bags may require you to seal two to three times in the same spot to seal properly – they are different from a regular Cryovac bag.

Once the machine has finished sealing, allow it to cool for at least 10 seconds before slowly lifting the lid. Add a secondary seal outside the first seal as a failsafe.

Step 5 – Smoke Your Meat (Optional)

The permeable material of Misty Gully Salumi Banquet Bags allows moisture to escape and smoke to enter the bag, giving you the ability to create authentic smoked small goods at home. Place your sealed Banquet Bags containing your meat into your smoker or smoking chamber and smoke at your desired temperature. Generally speaking, you’ll probably look to smoke your meat at a low temp for at least 4 hours with your wood species of choice.

Step 6 – Refrigerate

Place your Banquet Bag on a wire rack in the fridge, making sure it is not over-crowded allowing for good ventilation. Most small goods will take 5-7 weeks in the fridge to age properly. The meat will be ready once it has lost 35-40% of its starting weight through the ageing process. Check your bag after a couple of days. If you notice that the bag has come significantly loose in the first few days, the bond has been lost and you will need to repeat step 2, 3 and 4 with a new banquet bag.

Step 7 – Final Preparation

Once you’ve aged your meat for the designed time period and achieved the necessary weight loss, remove the bag from your meat and you’ll be left with a perfectly aged piece of Salumi. Cut as desired and enjoy!

Troubleshooting

The bag is too big for my vacuum sealer.

Cut the corners off the top of the bag and seal them to make the opening narrow enough to fit in your vacuum sealer. Refer to the diagram in Step 4 which shows an example of this method.

How much air should I vacuum for the bag prior to sealing?

You are trying to achieve a very close bond between the bag and the meat. You do not need to draw the air out to a point that the meat changes shape. As long as you have a close, tight coverage across at least 80% of the meat, you should be able to easily form a bond with you Banquet Bags and meat.

What vacuum sealers do you recommend?

A channel vacuum sealer that gives you the option to extend sealing time for moist seals and has a slow vacuum option is best. Nozzle type vacuum sealers are cheap some versions do not have a strong vacuum. Sunbeam Food Saver models work particularly well with Misty Gully Banquet Bags.

How do I stop blood getting into the sealing area when vacuuming?

Make sure you refer to step 2 and fold the bag back onto itself before placing the meat inside the bag. Chilling your meat prior to using the vacuum sealer will help to slow the flow of blood as well. Position your meat as far from the opening as possible and to one side. We recommend you try to leave at least 12cm between the meat and opening on the bag. If blood does enter the opening, select a longer sealing time and make a secondary seal as a failsafe. You may need to do multiple seals in the same place.