I finally had some time to get my first batch in the new dry cure chamber. I made a 25 lb batch of Len Poli's Hot Salami on March 26. The only deviation I made from the recipe was using 50% beef & 50% pork and for starter culture I used 5 grams of Mondostart SP. I also used the Mondostart surface mold mixed at 1 gram in a litre of distilled water.
Here's picture of them hanging in my big smoker which I used as my fermentation chamber. I was concerned about the humidity level but it held steady at 85% with the vents pretty much closed. Starting PH was about 5.7
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/IMG_2446_800x600_zps2461c888.jpg)
This is after 48 hours in the fermentation chamber and I have just moved them to the dry cure chamber. I had checked the PH after 24 hours which is how long Len Poli suggests but it was still at 5.4 so I let it go another 24 hours. After the 48 hours the PH was approximately 4.9. On the PH strips it was very close to the color of 4.8 but not quite, It was certainly lower than the next on the scale which is 5.1
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/IMG_2449_800x600_zps79784f8f.jpg)
This is just a picture of the controller doing it's thing. I have been tweeking some of the settings on it and it is doing pretty good. With a load in the cabinet in the initial stage it spends more time venting the cabinet to bring the humidity down.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/IMG_2453_800x600_zps40d215d7.jpg)
I just took this today. you can see the surface mold is coming along nicely.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/IMG_2462_800x600_zps6cf38d59.jpg)
Mike
looking good
Mike if you got that much mold growing just after a few days your one lucky dude. Your really off to a good start. One thing you might want to consider a a higher R/H to start and after a week start to bring it back down in the 76ish range. Just a thought, you don't want case hardening :o
Quote from: devo on March 30, 2013, 12:01:28 PM
Mike if you got that much mold growing just after a few days your one lucky dude. Your really off to a good start. One thing you might want to consider a a higher R/H to start and after a week start to bring it back down in the 76ish range. Just a thought, you don't want case hardening :o
Thanks Devo
That's what I thought as well but I was following Len Poli's recipe which says 70%. My thought was more like 80 then lowering down to 75 after a few weeks. Whats you thoughts?
Mike
I've been waiting to see how your dry cure cabinet will handle the temperature and the humidity. You have a great setup. That salami looks good, and it an ambitious sausage to start out with. And the recipe looks like the finished product will be delicious.
Quote from: Mr Walleye on March 30, 2013, 12:04:38 PM
Quote from: devo on March 30, 2013, 12:01:28 PM
Mike if you got that much mold growing just after a few days your one lucky dude. Your really off to a good start. One thing you might want to consider a a higher R/H to start and after a week start to bring it back down in the 76ish range. Just a thought, you don't want case hardening :o
Thanks Devo
That's what I thought as well but I was following Len Poli's recipe which says 70%. My thought was more like 80 then lowering down to 75 after a few weeks. Whats you thoughts?
Mike
80-82 for a week and than I find 76 is a good R/H that seems to work just fine for my setup which is almost your twin ;D
Thats looks good, I'm gonna have to get a schematic and parts list for that controller as I'm not happy with the Johnson controls one for the fridge, something for next winter project cause I'm outta time now, heading north in a day.
Just a quick update...
After the first week my test chub is at 1085 grams. It started at 1331 grams green weight before fermentation.
Here's a picture...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/IMG_2468_800x600_zpsd1955b4c.jpg)
So far so good!
Mike
Looking really good Mike, just wondering if you sprayed or dipped the salamis in the Mondostart SM ? Not a trick question just wondering which works best :)
Niiiiiice,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,very nice!!
Keymaster
I sprayed them before I started the fermentation process and again after fermentation. The Mondostart Surface Mold starter says it will make 5 liters. It's in a 5 gram pouch so I mixed 1 gram into a spray bottle that holds a little less than a litre. I only used about half the mixture with both sprays so next time I may try mixing a smaller batch.
Mike
Quote from: Mr Walleye on April 02, 2013, 07:41:35 PM
Keymaster
I sprayed them before I started the fermentation process and again after fermentation. The Mondostart Surface Mold starter says it will make 5 liters. It's in a 5 gram pouch so I mixed 1 gram into a spray bottle that holds a little less than a litre. I only used about half the mixture with both sprays so next time I may try mixing a smaller batch.
Mike
Thanks Mike, That outer mold grew fast which does help in preventing case hardening :) Good luck and keep us posted.
I weighed my test chub again today. 1001 grams so it is begining to slow down for sure but it's still coming along. I didn't take a picture this time as it pretty much looks the same as last time. So far there is no sign of any nasty mold as well.
To reach 35% loss I'm shooting for 865 grams...
Mike
Amazing work Mike. Congratulations. You've really got that dialed in.
Just another quick update. My test chub is now at 935 grams so it's almost at a 30% reduction, I'm shooting for 35%. It has really slowed down, in the last 2 days it lost 34 grams.
Mike
looking Good Mike, That white mold sure has a smell of its own :)
Keymaster
It sure does. Kind of an ammonia smell really. :-\ ;D
Mike
Quote from: Mr Walleye on April 10, 2013, 05:55:40 PM
Just another quick update. My test chub is now at 935 grams so it's almost at a 30% reduction, I'm shooting for 35%. It has really slowed down, in the last 2 days it lost 34 grams.
Mike
Sure hope thats not to fast for drying out Mike. Seems fast to me. You should be averaging about 6-8 grams per day not in the teens. To me that just seems faster than it should be.
Quote from: devo on April 11, 2013, 07:45:47 AM
Quote from: Mr Walleye on April 10, 2013, 05:55:40 PM
Just another quick update. My test chub is now at 935 grams so it's almost at a 30% reduction, I'm shooting for 35%. It has really slowed down, in the last 2 days it lost 34 grams.
Mike
Sure hope that's not to fast for drying out Mike. Seems fast to me. You should be averaging about 6-8 grams per day not in the teens. To me that just seems faster than it should be.
Hi Devo
It's all new to me so time will tell. The recipe I used said 70% humidity. I've been running 75%. That's based on the controller and my secondary gauge shows slightly higher at 78%. Initially it lost moisture faster and it's slowed down substantially. Basically at last weigh in it lost 17 grams per day.
Mike
I have my fingers crossed... ;D
Quote from: Mr Walleye on April 10, 2013, 06:18:17 PM
Keymaster
It sure does. Kind of an ammonia smell really. :-\ ;D
Mike
The ammonia smell is the biproduct of the mold. Nothing to worry about unless you get odd color changes.
Quote from: Keymaster on April 11, 2013, 08:20:32 AM
Quote from: Mr Walleye on April 10, 2013, 06:18:17 PM
Keymaster
It sure does. Kind of an ammonia smell really. :-\ ;D
Mike
The ammonia smell is the biproduct of the mold. Nothing to worry about unless you get odd color changes.
Keymaster
So far the mold is 100% white, not even any off yellow. The ammonia smell has dissipated over time. It's not as strong as it used to be.
Mike
I'm sure it's all going to be good Mike. It just might be the kind of casings your using. I have only used natural casings such as beef middles and beef bungs. I know Keymaster used artificial ones and I think he said he had some slight case hardening that he thought came from a fan he was using. Just remember in this game slow is good (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-faYGDXepdnA/UOmci3poH4I/AAAAAAAAErQ/vogDjYvCe1M/s55/1942ok.gif)
Looks awesome!! I so wish there was someone close to me on the forum to help/train me on the art of this stuff. I am going to try sausage this weekend for the first time. Just making some breakfast stuff first then going to make some Italian for the summer coming up here to see how it goes!!
Quote from: wkahler on April 11, 2013, 01:24:32 PM
Looks awesome!! I so wish there was someone close to me on the forum to help/train me on the art of this stuff. I am going to try sausage this weekend for the first time. Just making some breakfast stuff first then going to make some Italian for the summer coming up here to see how it goes!!
Read the post by Kevin G "Sausage making A to Z" in the sausage section. That will get you a long ways.
Another update...
I just weighed my test chub again and it's 912 grams. So that's a 23 gram loss over the last 2 days or 11.5 grams a day.
Impatiently waiting...
Mike
Mike
Outstanding.
Did you use protein lined casings?
Be sure to check pH level for the type sausage.
I use natural beef middles, bungs and hog for my dry cure.
White mold is good.
Gray, Black, Greenish blue is bad.
Yup, they are 60mm protein lined fibrous casings. I did check the PH during the fermentation stage and it got down to 4.8 As I understand it there is no real purpose in checking it now once it's in the dry cure chamber unless you simply want to know what it finished at.
Mike
Another update...
My test chub is at 872 grams so it is approaching my target of 865 grams. As I said before I'm new to dry curing but simply judging by feel it feels a little soft in the middle. I have a little case hardening for sure, however the color, smell and taste is fine. There are no signs of any nasty mold. It is still loosing weight so my thought is to let it continue to see if the centre firms up.
Here's a couple of pictures...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/IMG_2471_800x600_zpse66869d2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/IMG_2473_800x600_zpsa0991d96.jpg)
Mike
Yes Mike very fine indeed. Like you said you do have case hardening. Looking around the edge from your photo you can see the darker tell tail sign. Nothing to serious though. I found letting them get to 40-45 percent makes a nice salami. Another little trick is not to weigh it for a couple of days after you make them as you are just weighing moisture on the outside of the casing. After a couple of days it will give you a more accurate weight.
Meat to fat ratio looks spot on. Nice job for your first wack at it.
Thanks guys!
I'm going to let her run for a while yet till it firms up more for sure.
I'll keep you posted...
Patiently waiting... ::) ;D
Mike
Your salami is looking really good. The slight over drying on the edges, doesn't seem to be impeding moisture loss.
Your Right Habs, So far it's still dropping weight each day. The case hardening isn't real bad but in the future I would probably start with a little higher RH, then lower after a few weeks.
Ahh... live and learn, It's all good! ;)
Mike
Mike
I would also look into the air flow. You might want to find or make a slide shield for one of the holes you have for air. If your moving to much air the casings will dry out a lot faster. Natural casings I think have an advantage over the artificial ones, at least so far for me they have. (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-drC89vIMSWA/UTyzab9rf6I/AAAAAAAAFnE/dm39r-HjlHo/s37/noidea.gif)
Thanks Devo
I don't really think the air flow for the dehumidifier cycle is too much. It really is very limited. The fan itself is 21 cfm. You pretty much have to put you face in front of it to feel the air coming off it. As well it only runs periodically.
I definitely could easily enough add a control for the amount of air but I think I will try running the humidity a little higher during the first few weeks on the next batch and see how that works out.
Mike
When I grow up and things slow down Im gonna try and make some dry cured sausage too
Looks great Mike!!
How is the salami coming along Mike?
It's getting real close. I've tasted it a few times now. Most recently on the weekend. It has firmed up real good and I was shooting for a few more days, maybe till next weekend. It has a slight amount of case hardening but not enough to affect the drying. The taste has changed some as well. Originally I didn't think there was enough heat in it and I thought the fennel was a little too strong but as it has aged it's concentrated the heat and the fennel has mellowed.
When I package it I'll be sure to take some pictures.
Mike
I finally pulled everything today. I ended up taking it to a loss of about 40% in the end to get it to the texture I was looking for. Taste and flavor is good but I would probably back off on the fennel for my taste next time. The flavor definitely concentrated these last few weeks. It does have a little bit of case hardening on it but not too bad for my first kick at it. Next time I will run a little higher humidity during the first 2 or 3 weeks. Anyway here's a couple pictures...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/IMG_2510_800x600_zpscbf7c7bf.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/IMG_2519_800x600_zps4489eb8d.jpg)
Mike
Right on, that looks good. I trying to find some bactoferm and I will attempt salami next. Thanks for the great updates.
The salami looks great.
SmokinSignals; Sausage Maker sells a variety of Bactoferm products. Just choose the one best suited for you taste and the product you are making. Bactoferm F-RM-52 is a general purpose, and has a fast culture time.
Looks really good Mike!!
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on May 18, 2013, 01:09:16 PM
The salami looks great.
SmokinSignals; Sausage Maker sells a variety of Bactoferm products. Just choose the one best suited for you taste and the product you are making. Bactoferm F-RM-52 is a general purpose, and has a fast culture time.
I was just looking at their site when I came back to check in here at the forum. Great minds think alike, or was it a mind is a terrible thing? Thanks for the insight Habs ordering as we speak.
Quote from: SmokinSignals on May 18, 2013, 01:55:03 PM
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on May 18, 2013, 01:09:16 PM
The salami looks great.
SmokinSignals; Sausage Maker sells a variety of Bactoferm products. Just choose the one best suited for you taste and the product you are making. Bactoferm F-RM-52 is a general purpose, and has a fast culture time.
I was just looking at their site when I came back to check in here at the forum. Great minds think alike, or was it a mind is a terrible thing? Thanks for the insight Habs ordering as we speak.
So from your excitement to order Bactoferm I am assuming you have built a controlled environment to produce a dry cured product? If not you are putting the chicken before the egg. Also you will need cure #2 to make dry cured products. Just throwing that out there for ya.
And remember Bactoferm does not last for ever even if you freeze the unused portion.
Quote from: devo on May 18, 2013, 03:10:19 PM
Quote from: SmokinSignals on May 18, 2013, 01:55:03 PM
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on May 18, 2013, 01:09:16 PM
The salami looks great.
SmokinSignals; Sausage Maker sells a variety of Bactoferm products. Just choose the one best suited for you taste and the product you are making. Bactoferm F-RM-52 is a general purpose, and has a fast culture time.
I was just looking at their site when I came back to check in here at the forum. Great minds think alike, or was it a mind is a terrible thing? Thanks for the insight Habs ordering as we speak.
So from your excitement to order Bactoferm I am assuming you have built a controlled environment to produce a dry cured product? If not you are putting the chicken before the egg. Also you will need cure #2 to make dry cured products. Just throwing that out there for ya.
And remember Bactoferm does not last for ever even if you freeze the unused portion.
I do have my dry cure cabinet built, it has a bunch of cheese I made inside at this time but we will make room for some salami. Cure #2, I hope is the same as modern cure (pink stuff), if not I will need to order some also. Thanks for info Devo and Happy Birthday!
Thanks for the birthday wishes.
Cure #1 and cure #2 are not interchangeable so make sure you order the right stuff.
http://www.sausagemaker.com/11250instacureand153no28oz.aspx
Quote from: SmokinSignals on May 18, 2013, 01:55:03 PM
I was just looking at their site when I came back to check in here at the forum. Great minds think alike, or was it a mind is a terrible thing? Thanks for the insight Habs ordering as we speak.
Glad to see you well on your way. If you didn't notice while ordering the Bactoferm, there is a link to a PDF file on use and storage or each culture.
The link that Devo provided is correct, but the listed ingredients is wrong. The amount of sodium nitrate should be 4%. The cure that you have as long as it states it is Modern Cure #2, it is the same as Cure #2. If the number is not listed look at the ingredients and it should be 89.75% salt, and 6.25% sodium nitrite, and 4% sodium nitrate, also an anticaking ingredient may be listed at the end.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on May 19, 2013, 01:55:17 AM
Quote from: SmokinSignals on May 18, 2013, 01:55:03 PM
I was just looking at their site when I came back to check in here at the forum. Great minds think alike, or was it a mind is a terrible thing? Thanks for the insight Habs ordering as we speak.
Glad to see you well on your way. If you didn't notice while ordering the Bactoferm, there is a link to a PDF file on use and storage or each culture.
The link that Devo provided is correct, but the listed ingredients is wrong. The amount of sodium nitrate should be 4%. The cure that you have as long as it states it is Modern Cure #2, it is the same as Cure #2. If the number is not listed look at the ingredients and it should be 89.75% salt, and 6.25% sodium nitrite, and 4% sodium nitrate, also an anticaking ingredient may be listed at the end.
That is very helpful info. My cure just says Modern Cure on the front without the #2 in place. I will check the make up when I return home to insure it is correct. Thanks once again.
Looks fantastic Mike !!! Wish I could do dry cure here on the road !! Casper almost grabbed my phone when I showed him !