Charcuterie – Curing Chamber – DIY

[evan.sherlock]

Here is the update on the hard cure salami’s.

So this project somewhat fell off the table for me as I didn’t check in on it as often as I thought I would. I did probably let these meats dry out a week or two more than I typically should have. My losses of weight were in the 42%-48%; where as ideally they should have been around 35-38%. So the meat weighed less than ideal; so it is a little more hard than it should have been.

This was also a test of faith in some ways as I didn’t have a god way to check the PH of the meat. This is the largest indicator if your starter culture is working with you or against you. The alternative to give time the benefit of the doubt and let the nitrogen do its work and convert in the nitrogen cycle. Basically meaning that the nitrates have to turn into nitrites for it to be safe to eat. The reason we have to use nitrogen is so that it will kill the potential for botulism. The term botulism roughly translates from latin to meaning Sausage-pathogen.

In letting these salami’s go a little longer than expected which means they have to be safe to eat at this point. Consuming pink salt #2 can have adverse effects if consumed in its original state. So I knew I was safe to eat the meat. Although, there is a always a lingering feeling of “Am I going to die” when consuming homemade charcuterie.

Removing the collagen wrapper from most of the salami was simple; in the folds where it really dried out proved to be difficult as the wrapper would get pinched in the folds.

You could also see the transfer of the protective culture to the outer layer of the meat where I poked the holes to dry out. I thought this was sort of interesting.

Then the slicing started, think to win was the goal.

I then packed them in mix packs, labeled and sealed them up. Honestly this was the most fun meat project to date. All of the meats ended up tasting great. The salami was the most true to form in texture and taste but the spanish chorizo was the gold medal winner here, dynamic taste and explosive flavor.

All recipes and information can be found here.

[Spauld]

Interesting information on the botulism, curing salts and nitrogen/nitrates thing. Regarding pH. I have a bench-top pH meter, and for mash or wort readings, I submerge the tip into a small amount of product (mash or wort) that has been cooled to about 75F. So it’s a direct contact thing with the probe ‘bulb’. I know meat is a solid and of course greasy, so doing that to an expensive meter probe would probably be stupid, but it seems there’s got to be a way to check the pH. ….but I’m one of those canaries in the coal mine. If anyone would die from even a slightly tainted product, it would be me! Still, those slices look tasty enough to make the risk worth it! LOL

The whole process is fascinating.

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