meat curing/fermenting

[erjaq]

Do any of you have a curing chamber? I used to but could never quite get the humidity right. I used a room humidifier with an external hygrometer that would turn it on and off, plus an external temperature controller that worked the same way. Interestingly, the goal is more or less the same as for cigars -- you want a temp between 65F and 70F, and a RH of 65% to 70%. The temp was always rock solid, but the humidity had nowhere to go, so it usually stayed up near 90% until I opened the door to bring it back down. Instead of taking 3 weeks, it would take 6 or more before anything was ready, and usually the case hardened before the inside was dry. The flavors were good, but the texture was all wrong. I made chorizo, salami, landjager, soppressata and a few others, but as I said the results were uneven at best. I think I'm going to pick this hobby back up again and use my newfound humidor/coolidor knowledge, and specifically try kitty litter.

Anyway, due to the environmental similarities between a humidifier and a curing chamber, I'm wondering if any of you have done this? Ever tried to put both things in the same place? Any advice?

I think I've just made myself hungry.

 

[USHOG]

I do not have a meat curing chamber but we do smoke alot of pork and deer

Here a pic of my smoker

 

[erjaq]

Wow, looks great (and big). I have a Weber but it's not much to look at. I'm gonna try to build a cold-smoking chamber at some point, mostly for fish and hot dogs and pastrami, that sort of thing.

 

[USHOG]

that smoker is for either cold or hot smoking. I also cure a little tobacco in there. I make jerky all the time but I asume that is different than what you are talking about. Now I do run a tobacco fermentation chamber to help cure and ferment my tobacco. So tell me more about curing meat in a chamber

 

[erjaq]

Well, I'm no authority, but it's mostly to make stuff like prosciutto or pancetta or jamon Iberico (spanish ham). You need curing salt, which can be bought online or maybe at a good butcher shop, and you need to control the environment well. It was traditionally made in caves in Italy, which happened to stay damp and cool and thus were perfect. There's another category of cured meats which are actually fermented too, the most famous being salami. That's why it has that tangy taste. For that you need bacteria which can also be bought online.

Michael Ruhlman has an excellent book on the subject called Charcuterie. I followed his recipes when I did it.

 

[USHOG]

Very cool I learn something new every day.

 

[smokinghole]

Im all over it and want to do it on my own too. I do duck confit from time to time, and cured duck breast. I don't have a ton if experience but can answer most any salt/bacteria and fermentation questions. I actually did a whole project on prosciutto.

 

[erjaq]

Yeah, that cured duck breast is delicious, and easy -- I've done that a few times.

When you say that you did a project, does that mean you're a scientist? What kind? I'm just a few months away from a Ph.D. in Physics -- mostly optics and photonics stuff.

 

[topmstr]

Very interested on this topic as well. Haven't aged any meats yet but am interested. Will be keeping an eye on this thread

 

[erjaq]

I followed this guy's set-up the first time around: http://mattikaarts.com/blog/charcuterie/meat-curing-at-home-the-setup/. However, as I said above I couldn't get the humidity right. I still have everything, but I'm going to switch to KL and see how that goes.

He also has some delicious-looking recipes: http://mattikaarts.com/blog/charcuterie-recipes/

 

[smokinghole]

Biotech concentrating in food safety/QA. Im a brewer right now so im a bit of a fermentation (all kinds) geek.

 

[erjaq]

Biotech concentrating in food safety/QA. Im a brewer right now so im a bit of a fermentation (all kinds) geek.

Gotcha, thanks. I will certainly come to you with any questions!

 

[dharbolt]

Looks like a coolidor would make a good curing chamber. This is very interesting to me. I like Ruhlman, I might have to look his book up. Thanks Mr. Jaq for yet another all consuming hobby

 

[erjaq]

Haha, just what you needed, right? Although it's actually not so time-consuming, depending on how much you make, I suppose. Kinda like brewing -- you whip up a batch, and then somewhere down the road you enjoy it (although in this case there's no re-racking or secondary or bottling or whatever).

A typical medium-size sausage will be ready in about 3 weeks, but I've seen guys making whole pig legs that cured for a year or more.

 

[Whtwtrman79]

This is an awsome thread thanks guys

 

[dharbolt]

Haha, just what you needed, right? Although it's actually not so time-consuming, depending on how much you make, I suppose. Kinda like brewing -- you whip up a batch, and then somewhere down the road you enjoy it (although in this case there's no re-racking or secondary or bottling or whatever).

A typical medium-size sausage will be ready in about 3 weeks, but I've seen guys making whole pig legs that cured for a year or more.

Definitely going to try it out as I have all the temp controllers and whatnot to convert a fridge already.

 

[erjaq]

Definitely going to try it out as I have all the temp controllers and whatnot to convert a fridge already.

Nice, let us know how it goes. You might want to get some stuff from here: http://www.butcher-packer.com/. They have just about everything you would need -- curing salts, casings, bactoferm, etc. The hog casings are a good size to start with -- not too skinny that it's tough to stuff, and not too fat that it takes forever to cure. You can also buy sausage stuffers and grinders and all that, if you want.

 

[dharbolt]

Definitely going to try it out as I have all the temp controllers and whatnot to convert a fridge already.

Nice, let us know how it goes. You might want to get some stuff from here: http://www.butcher-packer.com/. They have just about everything you would need -- curing salts, casings, bactoferm, etc. The hog casings are a good size to start with -- not too skinny that it's tough to stuff, and not too fat that it takes forever to cure. You can also buy sausage stuffers and grinders and all that, if you want.

I Gots a grinder. I'm not a wuss I can pack meat by hand (hehe). Thanks for the links.

 

[smokinghole]

Sausage debauchery is a good blog too. I have a book at home forget the name but its awesome. I think its "charcuterie" and there is "salumi" by Ruhlman and Polcyn same guys as the first.

 

[ENV]

Why have I never seen this thread??!!

This is awesome