Hi Denob

Well, my favorite go to book is charcuterie by Ruhlman and Polcyn, I started at the front of their book and over a year worked my way to the end, it was an amazing learning experance and I woud highly recommend it. Then I got Home Sauage making by perry and reavis, love having that many different recipes and that there are lots of different recipes for the many different kinds of meats that I raise on the farm. I also really like depth of info and many of the recipes in the river cottage meat book. but there is lots of overlap between all three.

Having said that my most basic recipes came from Five acres and indendence, he gives you the rought amount and lets you go on your own, things came out ok but once I worked my way though, the charcuterie book, things went from ok/good, to wow, can you make that again hon.

While I have done whole legs of lamb with just salt and dry cure, keeping one for a full solid year to if it would indeed hold, I can't say that I would be very comfortable making a salami without a nitrates or nitrites in it, there are lots of things I make that I don't use any in, including bacon, it does not bother me on bit to not have everything comes out non-red but given how little is needed and how cheaply it can be bought, and that it will last forever and day when stored properly, it just makes sense to me to keep a five or ten or more year amount in storage and use it for the few things like Salami that really should have it in the recipe.