Homemade Sausage Making

Thanks buddy! I called the weather right, day time temp not above 70 deg. The smoker (while fermenting) is holding at 68 degrees and humidity steady at 92%. Yeeehhaa little doggy, cant wait for pepperoni

Hey all
Just checking in on my progress with project P. All looks good and nearing the 72 hour fermentation cycle, probably will add them to the curing fridge this evening. Humidity & temperature spot on this weekend.

It looks like you used 1/2 inch foil face insulation board. I bound the edges of mine with release paper backed foil heating and cooling duct tape. It makes the edge stronger.

ssorllih
Yes, I did use the foil board to insulate the smoker. I also used an aluminum flashing to cover the board along with the foil tape to cover everything. In the heat chamber that is below (which you can`t see in the photo) I used a stainless wrap from a commercial grade hot water heater. The heat chamber is completely covered with stainless and powered by an electric 5000 watt twin coil element, the same thing they used back in the day for a cloth`s dryer. I have the element setup to power with 120 or 240 watts. Work pretty well, if I want to use the smoker during winter months.

Chuckwagon,

I bought a small humidifier to put in my freezer. I ran it for about an hour and the temp went up to a 100 degrees. Now that i got the humidity up in my fermentation box, how do I keep the temp down?

Rand

I am using ice in 3 litre jugs, more jugs faster cooling. lots of condensate so spread towels to absorb and recycle the water. That high temperature must be avoided at all costs. The meat will spoil in an uncontrolled manner when the temperature is so high and the Bactoferm T-SPX can't grow at those high temperatures.

Ross,

According to the recipe I need to ferment for 72 hours. How long do the jugs of ice last?

I remove a thawed jug every twelve hours and replace it with a solid frozen on. My chamber is 12 cubic feet. I keep twq jugs in the chamber. They each stay for 24 hours but on a 12 hour shift change. One jug is completely melted and one is half melted. The melted one goes back to my freezer and a frozen one goes into the chamber. They both sit in a tray of salt and water and I have to suction some of the excess water away about 3 times each week. Basically I have an ice box that I keep at about 60 degrees now. During the first 3 days I laid the jug on its side and covered it with a soaking wet towel. That held the temperature at about 68 degrees and the RH at about 85 to 90 %. When I needed to get cooler I took the towel away and stood the jug up to expose more surface area. This melted ice faster thus the two jug rotation.

Ross

Are you using a humidifier along with the jugs of ice?

No humidifier. Just wet towels. If need be hang them like laundry along the sides and in the free spaces If you dip them in salt water them won't get moldy.

Rand wrote:

I guess I am confused now. Why do I need a humidifier?

Rand, when we make a fermented-type sausage, we must consider the destruction of harmful bacteria. Throughout history, man has depended upon only two methods of eliminating pathogenic and spoilage bacteria whenever making sausage. He has simply used "dehydration" and "acidification".

In dehydrating a "dry-cured" sausage, moisture is drawn from the center to the surface. In other words, it is dried from the inside out. This process is called "diffusion". On the other hand, moisture traveling from the casing to the atmosphere, is called "evaporation". If evaporation takes place at a faster rate than diffusion, the casing becomes dried and hardened before the water inside has a chance to come to the surface to evaporate. Have you even seen a gray ring around a sausage when you sliced it open? This is "case hardening" and it traps water inside the sausage where it nourishes spoilage bacteria (as well as pathogenic bacteria). Bacteria love water. The whole point of dry-curing is to remove enough of the "available" water to pathogenic and spoilage bacteria, to effectively kill them. There`s only one problem... it is a mighty slow process, sometimes involving months of drying.

On the "Water Activity" scale, the point of dehydration, where bacteria no longer pose threat to our safety, is Aw 0.85. So, in short, without a humidifier to keep the casing moist (thus keeping the casing from hardening), the dried out and hardened casing will not allow diffusion to take place, water will become trapped in the sausage where it nourishes bacteria and spoils the sausage.

To help control the growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria, while the dehydration is taking so very long to drop, certain lactic acid-producing bacteria are added to the sausage - specifically, strains of lactobacilli and pediococci - beneficial bacteria that consume sugar and produce acidity. Bacteria just love meat (which is slightly more acidic than the neutral point of pure water). However, as the acidity increases, (shown by a drop on the scale), it renders meat bacteriologically stable at various degrees between 3.8 and 5.0 for a number of pathogenic bacteria.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

I have been following Chuckwagons directions for pepperoni and have just taken my pepperoni out of the fermentation stage ( 72 hours at 65 degrees and 91 percent humidity) this morning and have started the drying stage. I checked the pepperoni and I have a nice white mold forming but I have a question. My temp is 55 degrees f and humidity is around 83 percent. Any thing I can do to get the humidity down around 75 percent or is 83 ok?

Rand

83 % rh is Ok. Drying will be a little slower vent the cabinet a couple of times each day, that will help.
If you have very much water in the salt marsh you could drain some of that.

We are making hay here in Maryland with 80 % RH it just takes longer to dry.

Ferment at 68°; F. (20°; C.) for 72 hours, in 85% to 90% humidity.Hang the salamis in the drying chamber and mix the Mold 600 according to the directions on the package. Spray the sausages with a misting sprayer or dip them into a solution.
Dry the salamis at 57°; F. (14°; C.) in 80-85% humidity for 2 to 3 months (until 30-35% weight loss is achieved). Store the salimis at 55°; F.(+or- 4°; in 75% humidity.


Process:....................Temp:......Humidity:.......Length Of Time:

Fermentation........... 68°; F........85-90%..........72 Hrs.

Drying...................... 57°; F........80-85%..........2 - 3 months

Storage.................... 55°; F........75%...............until consumed

Our buddy Ross wrote:

83 % rh is Ok. Drying will be a little slower vent the cabinet a couple of times each day, that will help. If you have very much water in the salt marsh you could drain some of that. We are making hay here in Maryland with 80 % RH it just takes longer to dry.

Amen, Brother! Spot on, Ross! Don't change a thing and go sail your boat just a bit! Fix your wife a little special dinner, then come back and check the humidity. What a great job you and your fellows are doing! Wow, I'm just like a "proud pappa"!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

just have to feed the pigs twice a day just like on the farm. In this case they smell nicer. A terrible thing happened in March, one of my home repair customers called me and offered me work until September. It was an offer that I couldn't refuse but it won't doesn't allow much time for play.