Curing Chamber ?

Double R
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Curing Chamber ?

Post by Double R » Sun Jan 09, 2011 06:28

hi everyone. I am looking into making cured and dryed sauage. I have a nice ss commercial fridge that I was going to use for a cure chamber. It doesent work. It would be in my unheated garage and I would use a heater and humidifier with controls. Would this work ? I have a thermastat that goes down to 50 degrees. I could cure sauage all winter untill the temps got above 55 or 60. If I bought a used fridge my wifey would make me put it in the basement. Has any of you folks done this? Tomorrow I'm going to bring in my little fridge out of the garage and see what temp its at on the lowest setting. Hopefully I can get started on some Kabanosy. Tomorrow 4 to 6 inches of snow the next two days and then we have a high of two degrees on tuesday.Sauage making weather!
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Chuckwagon
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Post by Chuckwagon » Sun Jan 09, 2011 12:10

Hi Double R,
You wrote:
If I bought a used fridge my wifey would make me put it in the basement.


Now, it's just my opinion, but I think you should move the fridge upstairs and put your wife in the basement! :shock: Kidding aside, we need to hear from Trosky on this one. He is an expert when it comes to this type of thing. I believe he could wire a Boeing 747 in the dark, blindfolded, with one hand tied behind him.

Best wishes, Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Are Fermentation And Curing Chambers” Really Nece

Post by Chuckwagon » Mon Jan 10, 2011 04:34

Hi Double R,
Allow me to refer you to the following link:http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=4880

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,
Chuckwagon
Last edited by Chuckwagon on Mon Aug 15, 2011 06:08, edited 1 time in total.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
Double R
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Post by Double R » Mon Jan 10, 2011 06:19

Thanks for the infomation Chuckwagon. I going to look for a used fridge. I got Stan's books for Chistmas. very informative. I brought my little Igloo fridge in from out in the garage and I put it on top of the freezer. I got a dirty look from you know who. The good news is turned down to the lowest setting it holds at 59 degrees. the humidity was 40%`.I put a pan of water in and it gradualy went up to 70%. Should work to dry some Kabanosy.
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Post by Chuckwagon » Mon Jan 10, 2011 06:42

Hey Double R,

Don't toss your ss freezer that doesn't work! Use it for a first class smoker. Run a cord inside with a hot plate for smoldering dampened hickory. Rig up lots of hangers and screens too (for jerky). The nice thing about a large freezer is that you can use it for larger pork bellies when making bacon. And great for smoking whole turkeys too! Heck, if it is in your garage, you may also vent it to the outside using a small computer fan and some 3-1/2" stove pipe. (see: Sausagemaker.com)
Why is wifey hesitant to have you start the smoke? Has she tasted great ham yet? Make a couple of quick, easy, brined, Canadian Bacons (pork loins) and smoke 'em in hickory. She'll come around when she gets a taste of the "real" stuff. :smile: I've got a terrific recipe if you'd like to have it.

Best wishes, Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by Troski » Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:37

Great info there CW. How big is that "damppchaser" your using and can the common man get his hands on one. I just gotta know, Can you play the piano as fast as you can type?
Take care Trosky
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Post by Double R » Mon Jan 10, 2011 21:38

Ya CW I'm kidding about the wifey. Her and my kids love bbq. I have 6 smokers right now and working on the 7th right now. We do a few bbq comps each year. A freind and team member made me a web site. I have some pics of some of my smokers there. I build them all myself. doublerbbq.com Click on pics My future sauasge smoker is in the garage. I't is 6 feet tall 3 feet wide and 2 1/2 wide. SS inside and out and 3 inch thick walls. It will have an elec. oven element in the bottom and will run on 220. In the last week I made 25# beef sticks. I used a P S seasoning mix. Half of it I added some of my dehydrated chocolate hobanero powder. It doesnt take much of that to heat things up. Friday I pulled out my pastami,(eye of round) and canadian bacon. I also made some wild duck jerky and pork loin jerky (my daughters favorite). My to do list is Kabanosy, landjagier, pepperoni.
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Post by Chuckwagon » Tue Jan 11, 2011 03:06

Yikes Double R,
It sounds like you are an ol' pro at this stuff. Just keep that BBQ hickory smoke goin' and always keep a batch of pastrami in the cure. :wink: For more constant 70% humidity, try adding a cup of salt to the water in a shallow pan. And please Double R, make sure you heat your pork loin jerky to at least 138 deg. F. during prep, just in case there are a few of those spiralis trich bugs hangin' around.

Hey Trosky... I just took ten pounds of kabanosy out of the smoker. Oh, and yes... ahem... I have to keep a bucket of water along side my piano. Twice this week already, the upper treble section has suddenly burst into flames as my fingers RACE across the keys! :shock: Shucks pard, even at my advanced age in life, I still intimidate those ivories! Now, if I could only organize a few of those notes into an actual song. :lol:

Keep smokin' sausage boys and please accept my...
Best wishes, Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by Chuckwagon » Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:50

Hi Double R.

Wow, I've just gone through all the photos on your site at doublerbbq.com What a layout! Your BBQ smokers are exquisite. I wrote some things in the comments section but for some reason it kept rejecting them. That little smoker with the white table top is a cutie. I especially enjoyed the photos of you folks at the Pioneer Days celebration.

Keep postin' pal.
Best wishes, Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Let's help a fellow member with a good question

Post by Chuckwagon » Mon Jan 31, 2011 23:56

A member in Wisconsin has written to me and he asked a great question:

Hi Chuckwagon,
I just purchased "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages" and "The Art of Making Fermented Sausages" by Stanley Marianski. Thank you very much for the suggestion! These books are some of the best I have read yet. I have really gotten interested in dry curing. Thank you for posting that dry curing recipe on the forum. Do you have any suggestions on how to make a good dry curing chamber and what kind of controls to use? Thanks.


Can anyone offer some suggestions to our fellow member? Anyone care to share some secrets they've learned along the way? Any shortcuts?

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by porterdriver » Thu Aug 04, 2011 19:41

I have a curing chamber that I am building out of a frost-free Kenmore freezer. I thought that way I would have a whole cabinet to work with instead of the traditional split that is found in most refrigerators.

The temperature is controlled by a Johnson Control line-voltage thermostat. It is capable of controlling temperatures via line voltage from 10-120 degrees (F). It is currently set at 45 degrees (F). It can run the freezer compressor on the cooling side and a small heater set in the box (some folks recommend a reptile heat stone or light) on the other.

The humidity is controlled by a Green Air Products THC-1 line voltage humidistat running a small Crane humidifier.

For monitoring I have two thermometer/hygrometers (for redundancy or confusion, I'm not sure which). One is the Extech Instruments 445715 which has had the hygrometer already calibrated. It has a probe that is inside the freezer with the temp/RH display on the outside. The other monitor is an Acu-Rite 00592W3 that has a remote sensor which cannot be calibrated but is supposed to be +/- 5% on the RH. The remote sensor is sitting on a shelf inside the freezer at the same level as the sensor for the Extech.
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Post by uwanna61 » Sat Aug 06, 2011 02:58

Porterdriver
Welcome aboard! You are on the right track with the upright freezer. While setting up, keep in mind the space you will need for the hanging product. There may be a time you will hang long 24" - 27" salamis or maybe a large ham. A small nursery style humidifier or similar in one corner of the cabinet works, and this will give plenty of room for the product to hang.
Take your time, plan ahead. Once the curing chamber is complete, test run the chamber a few days, you will learn what settings you will need to maintain specific humidity and temperature settings.
Most importantly a good thermometer and hydrometer is a must.
Good luck!
Uwanna
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Post by porterdriver » Wed Aug 17, 2011 15:46

Thanx uwanna61. I'm always open to advice and counsel.

I have temperature dialed in pretty well; the humidity issue is confusing the heck outta me. I have another post in this section called, "Stalking the elusive humidity" where I am chasing this.

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Post by Chuckwagon » Thu Aug 18, 2011 01:43

Hi PorterD,
You can't go wrong with Uwanna's advice. He's made some of the nicest lookin' dry-cured products you can aim your camera at. I've corresponded quite a bit with him and found out that he really knows his stuff.
You wrote:
the humidity issue is confusing the heck outta me.
How about letting us know what issues are specifically bothering you? Lots of folks on this site are interested in helping.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by porterdriver » Thu Aug 18, 2011 02:13

CW,

Already dialed in on Uwanna's wisdom. 'Preciate the heads up though.

As far as specific issues go, I have been talking "humidity" with folks in a post called, "Stalking the elusive humidity". We have been chasing the esoterica of water vapor over there. So please have a look at that post when you got a bit and see if anything comes to your mind.

Thanks
porterdriver
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