Probiotic Fermented Meat Products

The fermentation of meat is an ancient culinary tradition worldwide used mainly with the intention of extending meat shelf life and diversifying. Plenty of products with their respective recipes have been developed throughout the history of civilization. Spain is a country with historical tradition in the production of fermented meat products, highlighting chorizo and salchichón. Specifically, the latter can be divided into different varieties according to aspects, such as size. Thus, products, such as longaniza, fuet, secallona, or didalets, can be classified and named according to the length and width of the piece. The ingredients used for elaboration are practically the same between these salchichónes. In the present chapter, the production of fuet is described in depth since it represents one of the most traditional and consumed fermented meat products in Spain and it is also being internationalized to other countries. On the other hand, the addition of probiotic cultures to meat dough is increasingly practiced, which has potential health benefits. Therefore, the production of fuet with probiotic microorganisms might help to develop novel and healthy alternatives to the traditional recipe. Ingredients including pork lean and belly, spices and other additives incorporated in the form of commercial mixes, and starter and probiotic cultures are used in the elaboration of the fuet proposed in this chapter, throughout different steps, which can be classified as mincing, mixing, stuffing, fermentation, curing, and conservation.