Thanks for the nice mention, Ross. And hello HB. I can chime in and tell you anything you'd like. The job certainly is a difficult one. And, not to dissuade, but there is definitely a difference between the required knowledge to be a talented hobbyist vs. a talented professional. The plus side is ev...

I just got an advanced copy of the duo's upcoming Salumi book. It looks promising with a nice balance of butchery, history, and recipes. I highly reccomend preordering this book.

This is by far the most wild/creative/clinically insane idea I have, or ever will hear, related to this craft. You deserve points for that.

Hi Jan. This one below works well for us. We have a BBQ smoker outdoors and the alarm for minimum and maximum temperatures for both internal temp and smokehouse temp really comes in handy. The only problem we have is that we work in a basement sealed up like a bomb shelter so the wireless function d...

I just got done talking with Mr. Benton (featured in Mr. Marianski's HPQMS book) and he had some nice advice worth sharing. He said that following a two day per pound ratio for salting is just fine. However, that is the minimum. One thing to remember, he mentioned, was that larger hams need to be eq...

It might be that you are freezing the sausages slowly, causing larger ice crystals to form from the water retained in your sausage. Those large ice crystals puncture the cell walls during the freezing process. Then, during the thawing process, those ice crystals melt and the water that was trapped w...

I would measure your relative humidity at night first. If it is below 65% I wouldn't go for it unless your evening temperature drops down to 53 F or below. The lower temps can slow the excessive drying rate to buffer the lower relative humidity rates, but not much.

I would keep it between 55 F or 59 F, a little air flow, and do what you can with the humidity. A hygrometer would put you back about twenty dollars, but at least you can monitor whether you are in that 72%-75% range.

Well, unfortunately you have two variables that will be making the drying process work against you. The excessive temperature and low humidity are likely to cause the pancetta to dry too quickly. You might harden the surface or rush the process along too quickly to get any true flavor development. T...

Those guys use a few different breeds so you are sure to find some good sources by calling them up and asking who they are using.

Unless your friends are Salt & Time, I would definitely watch out for them.

https://www.facebook.com/saltandtime

Thanks a lot! Carolina and I definitely appreciate the support and encouragement from you and the rest of the forum.

Well, we are 24 salted hams in and a bit sore in the back. And now - we wait. I just got off the phone with Benton's and they had some cool information to share with me. I won't waste time writing what Mr. Marianski has already posted and published. But, I thought I would share the tidbits here. The...

A small fan and small dehumidifier/humidifier with adjustable settings is all you would need. Our aging room is 10ft x 10ft and a $190 humidifier keeps it in balance for us.

We have success with salting the fat with its proportion of the recipe for two days prior to grinding. It firms up the cell walls and draws out excessive moisture. We get a very clean grind employing this technique in addition to the basic steps.