My upgraded dual controller curing chamber

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redzed
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Post by redzed » Sun Nov 15, 2015 16:37

IFB, you definitely have nailed it! I am impressed! Excellent colour, particle definition and balanced drying! Do you use sodium erythorbate? That colour is outstanding.

And yes, there is a world of difference between your latest soppressata and the earlier finno. While it might be what you describe as " stalled moisture removal due to high external humidity", the uneven drying or failure to dry could also have been caused by fat smearing, which is the most common cause. When we grind or chop meat for sausage there is allways some fat smearing that occurs, so what we try to do is to minimize it. When there is excessive smearing the fat coats the meat particles, thereby sealing in the moisture.

How about posting the recipe and the process for the soppressata so that we can add it to the MRI (Members' Recipe Index)?

redzed
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Bob K
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Post by Bob K » Sun Nov 15, 2015 16:54

Looks Great Victor!
You can easily even out the moisture at this point by Vac sealing an refridgerating...takes several weeks to a month.

And I agree with Chris, I would look more towards fat smearing or fermenting in humidity lower than 90%. The high humidity while fermenting is critical.
Do you know what the Ph after fermenting was?
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Post by IFB » Sun Nov 15, 2015 23:14

redzed wrote:IFB, you definitely have nailed it! I am impressed! Excellent colour, particle definition and balanced drying! Do you use sodium erythorbate? That colour is outstanding.

And yes, there is a world of difference between your latest soppressata and the earlier finno. While it might be what you describe as " stalled moisture removal due to high external humidity", the uneven drying or failure to dry could also have been caused by fat smearing, which is the most common cause. When we grind or chop meat for sausage there is allways some fat smearing that occurs, so what we try to do is to minimize it. When there is excessive smearing the fat coats the meat particles, thereby sealing in the moisture.

How about posting the recipe and the process for the soppressata so that we can add it to the MRI (Members' Recipe Index)?

redzed
Thank you Chris. I did not use sodium erythorbate. Could be the lighting that made it very vivid. But the color is very good, very deep red like never before. Reminds of the gorgeous color of sucuk I made not long ago - I posted the pictures earlier.

I agree, fat smearing could have been a contributing problem. Though, I am usually paying attention. I am glad this batch turned out great.

The recipe for this batch was word for word from Ruhlman's book, believe it or not. I was more focusing on getting the drying right so I did not experiment with any other variables. His recipe is proven and I used it many times.
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Post by IFB » Sun Nov 15, 2015 23:25

Bob K wrote:Looks Great Victor!
You can easily even out the moisture at this point by Vac sealing an refridgerating...takes several weeks to a month.

And I agree with Chris, I would look more towards fat smearing or fermenting in humidity lower than 90%. The high humidity while fermenting is critical.
Do you know what the Ph after fermenting was?
Thank you Bob. Thanks for the advice. I just vac sealed two sopressatas and put them in the fridge. I am not sure they will last there a month though :-)

The Ph is unknown. I initially tried using litmus strips but my eyes can't tell the difference between 5.3 and 6.3. The good news is that I just purchased a Hanna pH meter based on recommendations here (I think it may even have been your feedback that helped me take the plunge). Going forward I will be checking Ph and taking notes.
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Re: My upgraded dual controller curing chamber

Post by fordtruckbeast » Sun May 01, 2022 06:41

IFB wrote:
Mon Oct 19, 2015 01:09
A few months ago I was forced to make an upgrade to my curing chamber to fight high humidity problem. Basically ended up adding a second controller and a peltier dehumidifier.

I am now able to control humidity within a very tight range. Say, 75% to 78%. When RH drops below 75%, the humidifier kicks in. If the RH goes over 78%, the dehumidifier starts working. Pretty amazing, and my final product quality improved dramatically. Much more consistent now. Case hardening that I had issues with before is history.


More details here.



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Very nice setup. İ was wondering when you mean dual controller does that mean 2 of the same humidity controllers? İ read this somewhere but wasnt too sure about it. So once humidity controller is set to one value and the other a different value so they dont fight eachother once they overshoot...
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