Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

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warston
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Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by warston » Fri Mar 08, 2019 22:16

An update !
The sausage is dried well but it kept oozing out oil even I reduced the temp. range to be 50~52.
I tried today one of the sausages and it had a very funky flavor. The meat is in tact and there is no spoilage, but the taste is incredibly unpleasant..
I noticed that the bacteria that was supposed to grow on the surface to give it that nice white powdery look didn't do its job and got a thin slimy yellowish layer on the casing..
The next time I will stick to the recipe of LOUSANTELLO.
Thank you all for your help and support.
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StefanS
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Re: Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by StefanS » Fri Mar 08, 2019 23:16

Most likely it is fat smearing...
warston
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Re: Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by warston » Sat Mar 09, 2019 01:28

Hey Stefan
I read this article about smearing : http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?p=2403
some things applied to my sausages but others didn't. for example, I didn't have case hardening, neither had any bad smell or spoilage in the center of the meat.. but maybe it was smearing.. what I know ...
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StefanS
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Re: Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by StefanS » Sat Mar 09, 2019 03:22

Fat smearing - it is very complex problem mostly with biochemical reactions that not easy to describe. In presented by you topic is only one problem with fat smearing - high temperature during processing. But there is another fat smearing - fat containing unusual amount of mono-unsaturated fatty acids. (pig diet containing mainly corn or corn products). In that case it won't be any spoilage, eventually case hardening. There will be everythings ok until day 10-12 when on your nice moldy casing you will see these spots -
Image
Then during next few days you will see more spots -
Image
Then after another week or so there will be mold despairing -
Image
Some of my severe fat smearing looks like that -
Image
casing do not stick to mince after drying, there is no any bad odor, or spoilage. there is also not good meat structure, no slicebility :
Image
There were nothing wrong with process, nothing wrong with ingradiens nor fermentation or curing - it was fat rich in unsaturated fatty acids...
What you described - it was IMHO same problem -
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Bob K
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Re: Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by Bob K » Mon Mar 11, 2019 17:59

Ok Stephan, how can that be avoided. It has happened to me several times, like you stated for no known reason. Its seems impossible if buying commercially produced pork.
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Re: Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by StefanS » Mon Mar 11, 2019 19:03

Bob K wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 17:59
Ok Stephan, how can that be avoided.
for us - hobbyists it is problem. Personally I stopped use back fat and started use jowls and pork belly trimmings instead (that fat has higher melting point that back fat). Another way - closer to commercial - is use bowl cutter (chopping frozen fat instead of mincing/grinding).
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redzed
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Re: Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by redzed » Mon Mar 11, 2019 22:56

Use Western Canadian pork fat. Pigs are raised on grains resulting in a higher level of saturated fat.
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Re: Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by redzed » Mon Mar 11, 2019 23:06

Here is an excerpt from Toldra, Handbook of Fermented Meat and Poultry, Vol. 2 p.59

In addition to the amount of fat, its consistency is essential for
an appropriate rate of moisture loss during the processing of fermented
sausages (Ruiz & Lopez-Bote, 2002). In fact, there are some
indications that dietary fat unsaturation affects water migration in
dry-cured meat products (Girard et al., 1989; Ruiz & Lopez-Bote,
2002). In this sense, the level of PUFA in the fatty tissues of pigs
used for the production of fermented sausages is critical, since an
excessive proportion will lead to impaired dehydration and poorer
texture and microbial stability. Accordingly, Girard et al. (1989)
fed pigs on diets in which the main energy source was provided
by barley and copra oil (saturated fat), or maize and maize oil
(unsaturated fat). These diets produced a range of linoleic acid
(C18:2 n-6) concentrations in pig adipose tissue of 7.58–30.95%
(expressed as the proportion of total fatty acids). Subsequent processing
of dry-fermented sausages from these pigs revealed a major
effect of fat unsaturation on the drying process. Dry pork sausages
manufactured from pigs fed highly unsaturated fatty acids did not
achieve an adequate drying. According to these authors, impaired
moisture loss became evident fromthe 10th day of manufacture and
was most pronounced during the later stages of drying (Figure 8.5).
Low weight losses during processing, higher water-activity values
(0.88 vs. 0.75), and higher moisture contents in the fat-free product
(55 vs. 45%) revealed impaired drying in the group of pigs fed
highly unsaturated fats (maize and maize oil). Similarly,Martín et al.
(2008) observed a lower dehydration rate during the processing of
dry-cured pork loin in samples from the animals fed higher levels
of MUFA.
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Bob K
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Re: Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by Bob K » Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:02

StefanS wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 19:03
Personally I stopped use back fat
I had blamed it on the back fat also, but for another reason, I thought had been frozen too long, over a year. Now I know, Thanks!
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Re: Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by Bob K » Tue Mar 12, 2019 13:53

StefanS wrote:
Sat Mar 09, 2019 03:22
Fat smearing - it is very complex problem mostly with biochemical reactions that not easy to describe. In presented by you topic is only one problem with fat smearing - high temperature during processing. But there is another fat smearing - fat containing unusual amount of mono-unsaturated fatty acids. (pig diet containing mainly corn or corn products). In that case it won't be any spoilage, eventually case hardening. There will be everythings ok until day 10-12 when on your nice moldy casing you will see these spots -
To be honest I have always considered fat smearing to be more of a mechanical problem, usually associated with dull blades/plates and meat not cold enough. High temps during cooking would also be called breaking the fat or just plain melting.
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Re: Humidity Issue with my curing chamber

Post by jrittvo » Sat Mar 16, 2019 14:50

I am just getting home from a salumi workshop in Tuscany. We spent a day at a time with 4 different small producers. The only time any of them used back fat was cubed about 1/4", like you see in a mortadella, or whole for lardo. Everything else was made with jowl or belly fat, through the grinder. It may be a regional preference, or maybe it is the solution that Stefan has found as well to avoid smearing.
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