First attempt at dry-curing meats, prep in OBS

[Stickbowcrafter]

Dry curing meats and sausages is something I've been wanting to learn for a long time. I've had few recipes from my German and Italian roots for years but the complex task of constructing and maintaining a drying room/container seemed to be out of the question. Until recently.

After doing some research, it seems that wine storage and aging requires a similar environment. There are many small, affordable wine refrigerators/coolers on the market, most with adjustable controls for temperature (45-65 degrees, 60-70 degrees being ideal for curing meat).

The only other issue is humidity control. You wouldn't think that you would want any humidity for dry curing meat but it is necessary to maintain 60-70% humidity. From what I have found throughout my research, a shallow pan of salt with just enough water to cover the salt will provide a constant level of humidity in the range we are after.

I picked up a Haier wine cooler/fridge with a digital thermostat. This unit is capable of reaching higher temps than a normal fridge, in the 40-65 degree range, which is necessary for dry curing.

I set the thermostat to 65 and added a pan of table salt with just enough water to cover it. It's been holding steady at 65 degrees and around 63% humidity for the last week.

I've been reading and re-reading these books:

Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman

Great Sausage Recipes And Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas

Here's the first attempt. I wanted to use a salami recipe and make traditional salami but everything I've read and been told is to start with smaller casings until you get a feel for how your drying set up is going to work. This is straight feral pork with domestic back fat added.

This is still salami, but in natural hog casings for quicker drying times. Here the salami is in the OBS at 85 degrees with no smoke for 12 hours. This allows the freeze dried fermenting culture we added to incubate and begin producing lactic acid.The acid provides that salami "tartness" and keeps the harmful bacteria at bay.



The next photo shows the salami in my dry cure fridge (modified wine cooler) holding pretty much perfect temp and humidity. They'll dry-cure for 12-18 days and will be ready to eat once they lost 30% of their moisture.



-Brian

[Mr Walleye]

Hey Stick

That's very impressive and creative!  ;)

Make sure you let us know how it turns out.

Mike

[iceman]

Nice set up Stick. Alaska Butcher Supply also sells some sort of silica gel that maintains the correct moisture. Not sure what it costs or how it works. The salt thing seems to work for you though. Please keep us posted on it. Good job your doing there. :)

[Habanero Smoker]

Nice set up. My first dry curing of meat was a failure, because the beverage cooler I had would not get any warmer then 50°F when on, and if you turned it off there was not airflow. I also controlled the humidity by placing a pan of salted water in the bottom. When the cooler was on the humidity would not get any higher then 50% due to the temperature and it being self-defrosting, when it was off the humidity would go up to 80% with no air circulation. I've also been looking at wine coolers, but I also found plans to build a drying box. It included a humidifier controlled by a humidistat, and light bulb for heat if necessary; that was control by a temperature regulator.

[Oldman]

Interesting posting....

[standles]

I also found plans to build a drying box. It included a humidifier controlled by a humidistat, and light bulb for heat if necessary; that was control by a temperature regulator.

Where did you run across those plans.   Were they something online perhaps ?

Steven

[CLAREGO]

ive posted this before here is a good website for humidity control and how much you need for each type of sausage/meat

http://home.pacbell.net/lpoli/index.htm

never herd back from this guy tried to invite him to the forum no luck

[Habanero Smoker]

I also found plans to build a drying box. It included a humidifier controlled by a humidistat, and light bulb for heat if necessary; that was control by a temperature regulator.

Where did you run across those plans.   Were they something online perhaps ?

Steven

I found it online. I bookmarked it but I can't find the link. I'll keep looking for it.

[Stickbowcrafter]

Here's a picture of the not-so-perfect, but edible, finished product:



The drying set-up needs a few more adjustments. I think the lack of air movement was a big problem. I need to experiment with adding a fan or damper.

Very impressed with the color and flavor but the texture was off. I'll keep experimenting and I'll keep you posted.

-Brian

[Habanero Smoker]

I think it is excellent for your first try. My first try was a disaster. I agree air circulation is crucial. Too little and you may have to worry about mold, or too long of a drying period, too much circulation could dry the surface too soon trapping moisture inside.

Steve;
I forgot to check to see if I still have those plans booked mark. I'll get back to you.

[Habanero Smoker]

Where did you run across those plans.   Were they something online perhaps ?

Steven

Hi Steve;

Sorry for the long delay. I can't find the plans that had the humidistat, but this box was very similar to the one I wanted to build. It would not be that difficult to add a humidistatto this set up. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
http://www.shebeen.com/biltong/