Help Cacciatore Drying Unevenly

[Brizee]

Hi,

My cacciatore have been hanging in my curing fridge for 11 days now and the bottom end seems to be drying out quicker than the top.

My fridge is constantly at 9 degrees and the humidity is always around 60%.

Now I did used collagen casings and the larger salami in the fridge seem fine.

I have a small 120mm PC fan at the bottom of the fridge for air circulation and I had this pointing directly at the salami. I have changed this now.

Any Ideas???

Cheers Brizee

[wheels]

Welcome

I think that, in the main, you've answered your own question. I agree with your supposition that it's the fan. IMO a 120mm fan is far too large for a fridge. I even found that a 25mm fan led to case hardening.

Phil

[johngaltsmotor]

I had the same issue with my fan (even making sure it didn't point at or away from anything in particular). I'm going to experiment with putting the fan on a simple lamp timer so it runs a few hours at a time.

[wheels]

I also meant to say that the fan will only compound the problem which is also being caused by your humidity being too low.

The amount of moisture in the air at 9°C/60%RH is 4.42g/kg. This is the same as if I ran my chamber, which is at 12°C, at 50%RH.

That + the fan on top = problems

I'd aim for 12°C with 70 - 75% RH if possible. Obviously, you know which things you can easily alter. Post back about the ones you can't and we'll try to help.

Phil

[Brizee]

Phil & John thanks for your replies.

I have posted some pics of my setup and the cacciatore in question for you to have a look at.

I am able to control both temp and humidity so I will make the adjustments.

My humidity controller is from a reptile tank and has just stopped working unfortunately so I have to order a new one.

I do have one question does it matter that the fogger that I use has lights that come on? Do salami prefer the dark?

Thanks again. My pics are located here;

http://photobucket.com/Curing_Fridge

[johngaltsmotor]

light increases the speed at which fats go rancid so it's not ideal but likely not a major issue

[wheels]

Maybe stick a bit of black tape over the lights?

Phil

[Brizee]

Is there any thing I can do about my dry one end salami ?

[johngaltsmotor]

It is likely too case hardened to come back to life unfortunately. Unless you plan on leaving it to dry for months so the rest of it achieves that same AW there's no good way to reverse the localized drying process.

[Brizee]

Thnaks John,

I might still leave it in there another 2 weekd to see what happens to the other end.

I put alot of love into those salami's not to mention the $$.

Cheers

[wheels]

Vac-packing will often 'even out' these problems.

HTH

Phil

[Brizee]

Thanks Phil, I will give it a try, cheers

[Salami Student]

Phil,
At which point is it too late to vac pack?
How long do you keep vac packed before rehanging and do
you keep it in the fridge while its vac packed?
I would imagine a case hardened salami also wouldn't bind properly?
Thanks,

[amedeo]

il salame o la salsiccia richiede un lento processo di asciugatura . se ha ricevuto troppa aria o calore prova a metterlo dentro un contenitore di carta

[An approximate translation: "salami or sausage requires a slow drying process. if it has received too much air or heat try putting it in a paper wrapper [to put it inside a container of paper]." - vagreys]

[larry]

I've started leaving string at both ends, just in case one end starts to dry too fast. I just flip them so the other end is down. You could also try moistening the dry end with a spray bottle to keep the casing from drying out too much. I've had batches where one end looked like it was developing case hardening, but the interior evened itself out with the rest of the link, and it was fine.