The defects of quality and taste caused by the partial substitution of NaCl by KCl limit the widespread use of KCl as salt substitute in fermented sausages. The objective of this study was to investigate the compensative role of four autochthonous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains, including Latilactobacillus curvatus, Latilactobacillus sakei, Weissella hellenica, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, in the physicochemical properties and taste profiles of the dry sausages with 40% substitution of NaCl by KCl. The results demonstrated that LAB inoculated reduced the pH, moisture content, and water activity and increased the organic acid contents and certain free amino acid (FAA) contents (P < 0.05). Higher contents of total acids was detected in the L. curvatus-inoculated and L. sakeiinoculated sausages (P < 0.05). Sweet FAAs contents in L. sakei-inoculated sausages increased by 36.90% and bitter FAAs contents decreased by 18.18%. According to the results of the electronic tongue, the sausage inoculated with L. sakei reduced the response value of bitterness by 5.7% (P < 0.05) and exhibited the most similar overall taste profile to traditional sausages. Overall, L. sakei could be used as a potential starter culture to enhance the physicochemical and compensate for the flavour deficiencies of NaCl-substituted dry sausages.
