- Timing Weight % Loss
Week-0 2865g 0.00%
Week-1 2478g 13.5%
Week-2 2300g 19.7%
Week-3 2200g 23.2%
To keep the humidity this low in the early days I kept the door cracked by using a yogurt lid. Basement temp was only about 5-10F warmer so it didn't result in cycling the compressor excessively. I "think" I'm happy with things so far but as this is my first dry run (pun intended) I'm not sure if I should try to eke out another week or three. I did get white mold that started to green in the center and that can be seen here:
I have learned enough on this site not to be too concerned with this but having read some of the Fermenting Sausages by Marianksi I have to label this as wild mold. So I wiped it with vinegar as best I could but couldn't get into all the nooks and crannies.
My question is, should I try to get some more drying out of this? I'm not looking for shelf stable just something I can use as a cooked ingredient. If you look at the first pic, the fat on the left hand side is still a little soft whereas the right hand (thin side) of the pancetta is pretty resilient to being pushed on. Any other thoughts would be welcome as this is the precursor to my soo-to-be dried, fermented sausage launch
Thanks, Scott
PS - just realized I didn't include recipe. I'll put that together and add it to this post in a bit