Drying Rate for Whole Muscles
Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 16:37
I've had my first 3 pieces dry curing for a few weeks now, so I am able to calculate the rate at which they have been losing moisture. I have my chamber set at 75% humidity, but I think that with fluctuations as the humidifier cycles, it is actually a bit below that.
I dried a 3/4 pound pork tenderloin to 65% original weight and it came out very well, I think, with no case hardening. While the perimeter is a bit darker and dryer than the center, it is still "flexible". It lost about 2.4% of weight each day, and took about 2 weeks to dry. Seems too fast.
The other two pieces are pork loin, at 1.5 pounds and at 2 pounds. They are each losing right about 1% a day. At that rate, they will take 5 weeks to hit a loss of 35%, my target for this run.
In your experiences, are these drying rates ok, or should I raise the humidity in the chamber some? Is there a rule of thumb for the best rate of weight loss?
I dried a 3/4 pound pork tenderloin to 65% original weight and it came out very well, I think, with no case hardening. While the perimeter is a bit darker and dryer than the center, it is still "flexible". It lost about 2.4% of weight each day, and took about 2 weeks to dry. Seems too fast.
The other two pieces are pork loin, at 1.5 pounds and at 2 pounds. They are each losing right about 1% a day. At that rate, they will take 5 weeks to hit a loss of 35%, my target for this run.
In your experiences, are these drying rates ok, or should I raise the humidity in the chamber some? Is there a rule of thumb for the best rate of weight loss?