Sopressata drying

MidWestBud · Post by **MidWestBud** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 03:42

Hi all. I just joined after lurking for awhile...think I first bookmarked this site a couple of years ago. I've been making and smoking sausage for several years and decided to jump into dry curing. After some research I came up with this as my chamber.

This is my first sopressata project.

I have obtained a 28% weight loss in 3 weeks and am starting to question the rate of loss. Temps maintained are in the 50-60 range with RH in the 70-80% range following Rytek's recipe.
Is this out of the normal range?

Thanks for reading.

Post by **Bob K** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 13:24

Welcome to the Forum!

Did you also cold smoke them as called for in his recipe?

MidWestBud · Post by **MidWestBud** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 13:37

Bob K wrote:Welcome to the Forum!

Did you also cold smoke them as called for in his recipe?

No, for 2 reasons...didn't want the smoke flavor and my smoker will not maintain that low of a temp.😁 I should also add that I blended the recipe at
http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage ... oppressata

First endeavor is showing promise.
Thanks,
Buddy

Post by **Bob K** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 13:59

The weight loss is a bit fast. but you should now notice a noticeable slowdown, keep the humidity level 80-82%.

Did you follow the recipe or did you add a culture? Did you check the Ph levels during fermentation? The more details you supply on your process the better.

MidWestBud · Post by **MidWestBud** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 14:11

I did spray with bactoferm mold 600 but did not check Ph levels. I'll up the humidity to the 80-82% you recommend.

Thanks,
Buddy

Post by **Bob K** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 14:20

Ok you sprayed with a mold culture but did you add a starter culture to the mince?

MidWestBud · Post by **MidWestBud** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 20:05

Sorry, I omitted that answer - no starter mold culture was used. More details follow.
Fridge is a 15.6 cu ft Hotpoint - using bottom fridge only.
Humidifier- Crane 45w 1gal Ultrasonic
WillHi WH1436H humidity controller prewired
Bayite BTC211 1650w digital temp controller
Zoo Med Ceramic Infrared Heat Emitter 100w
80mm case cooling fan 23.96 com
Silverstone 120mm Fan filter
Vent filter for dust & such

I stuffed using 76mm (3") protein lined fibrous casings. They were hung at 68f, 80-90% Rh for 2 days. After that 2 day period, the temp was set to 56f with a deviation of 2f. Humidity set to lower bound of 74 and upper bound of 76. Adjusted this to Lb 71 & Ub 75 one day later because, after hanging the sopressata, I added the vent filters to both inlet and exhaust causing the humidity level to quickly elevate. At this point, I plugged my computer fan in and it has run continuously. Air movement is restricted by the vent filters but I suppose it may still be too much.

Thanks,
Buddy

Post by **Butterbean** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 22:36

Nice setup!

MidWestBud · Post by **MidWestBud** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 22:57

Butterbean wrote:Nice setup!

Appreciate the comment, thanks! I only paid $50 for the fridge but spent considerable time cleaning and disinfecting.

I have been spending more time checking out this site and have to say it is inspirational. There is certainly room for improvement in equipment.😉 Problem is, I've spent my limit on a lg beg...so says the better half.

Thanks,
Buddy

Post by **Butterbean** » Mon Mar 20, 2017 00:17

Your better half sounds like mine when it comes to guns. They both have flawed logic in my view. For example, if their logic were correct one could argue that you only need one hand but we were given two and at times a third hand would be helpful. I just hope if you dare share this wisdom with your wife it will be accepted better than in my situation. Of course in your situation once she tastes some of your wares she might catch on which seriously doubt will happen in mine.

Post by **Bob K** » Mon Mar 20, 2017 13:26

Buddy-
Next time around I would suggest: Using a starter culture. For the home producer they add assurance that the right type of bacteria are given a jump start, and greatly decrease the chance of bad bacteria spoiling your sausage. If you choose not to use one decrease the drying temp to 50-53.
You can also use your exhaust/ air exchange fan to dehumidify, just set the WillHi controller to dehumidify mode and plug the fan into it.
If not being used to dehumidify, just get a timer for it and run intermittently for air exchange no need to run continuously, as the sausage will dry too quickly. You are better off running the humidity level high for the first few weeks and the decrease gradually.
Use small dia casings in the 60-65mm range for more even drying, especially when you are first starting out.
Its also real good idea to be able the check the Ph while fermenting. Inexpensive low range ph paper will do the job.

Joe- I thought that once you get a long gun you can get as many as you like as they all look the same to the boss.

Post by **Butterbean** » Mon Mar 20, 2017 21:57

Joe- I thought that once you get a long gun you can get as many as you like as they all look the same to the boss.

There is a lot more truth in these words than I'm willing to admit. Proper box disposal is paramount.

MidWestBud · Post by **MidWestBud** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 02:38

Bob K wrote:Buddy-
Next time around I would suggest: Using a starter culture. For the home producer they add assurance that the right type of bacteria are given a jump start, and greatly decrease the chance of bad bacteria spoiling your sausage. If you choose not to use one decrease the drying temp to 50-53.
You can also use your exhaust/ air exchange fan to dehumidify, just set the WillHi controller to dehumidify mode and plug the fan into it.
If not being used to dehumidify, just get a timer for it and run intermittently for air exchange no need to run continuously, as the sausage will dry too quickly. You are better off running the humidity level high for the first few weeks and the decrease gradually.
Use small dia casings in the 60-65mm range for more even drying, especially when you are first starting out.
Its also real good idea to be able the check the Ph while fermenting. Inexpensive low range ph paper will do the job.

Joe- I thought that once you get a long gun you can get as many as you like as they all look the same to the boss.

The answers I needed- thanks. I had thought about using the WillHi to dehumidify but was not sure if I could maintain the proper humidity level. Thanks again.

On a side note, I was in Sorrento Italy last June and had some wonderful sopressata at a small farm perched on the mountain side. They don't sweat the details like we have too...perfect climate and centuries of experience. One of their main crops was lemons, big lemons. Apparently, they are quite fond of limoncello.😉

Buddy

Post by **Bob K** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 12:53

I might add that is also depends on your climate. In the cold dry winter I can use air exchange to dehumidify, but in the summer months adding warm moist air to the chamber created a rain forest. So I eventually broke down and purchased a small dehumidifier.

You need to make sure that the sensor for the humidifier/dehumidifier does not become saturated with moisture from condensation. They can be ruined. Auber Instruments changed to a more robust sensor for that reason.

Post by **redzed** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 07:43

Hey MidWestBud congrats on your curing chamber conversion and entry into the balck magic art of dry curing!. It will probably take a few rounds of salami production in getting to know your chamber and how to tweak it. As Bob pointed out, there are so many factors to consider and we have to make the best with what we have since an Italian made small curing chamber will cost around $25k.

You did well in not drilling into the sides or top of the unit. I learned my lesson the hard way.

I have recently activated my new chamber and it runs very differently than the previous one that I had for four years. I loaded it with several large pieces of whole muscle meats and about 7kg of salami. The humidity shot up and would drop only briefly when the compressor kicked in. I ran the intake and exhaust fans every hour for several minutes and it still did not help that much, as the RH would continually spike to the upper 80's. I finally solved the issue with slowing the 12V fans and running them continuously on 6v. I have one of those multi voltage universal adapters and it works great. Velocity is really low, but the RH has been hovering around 78-82. my humidifier is disconnected for the time being.