Fridge salami Experiment

[Oddley]

The experiment was carried out to find if salami could be successfully matured in a controlled environment, in a beer chiller.

Tools

I used a beer chiller

And a wireless weather monitor from Maplins

Method

I made two 1.5 kg batches of salami the first from a salami recipe by Spuddy, the next, chorizo spice mix from Franco.

These were stuffed into hogs casings and left to hang in the kitchen at 80F and a RH of 50-60% for 24 hours. The salami was then hung in the beer chiller at 55F and a RH of 50% slowly reducing too RH 40%.

The salami was finished after 15 days.

Conclusion

The salami when tasted had case hardened. The outside was hard, whilst the inside had dried perfectly. This being due, I believe to the low humidity. But on the positive side, I believe with the right humidity, good salami can be made.

That will be the next experiment

[Hobbitfeet]

They look absolutely fantastic! How did you control the humidity, or was that a result of using the chiller?

[Oddley]

I didn't control the humidity that was the problem. The humidity was controlled by the water loss from the salami.

The next time I experiment, I will use the fogger from maplin. Image below. I will have to build an electronic timer to turn it on and off at a certain interval's.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Mod ... 6&doy=8m8D

[Franco]

Oddley,

The salami looks excellent, but what does it taste like???

Franco

[Oddley]

Franco the salami tastes like salami. I was not really concerned with taste this time, I just wanted too see if it could be done, and get the texture right. I will also have to see if I can encourage some growth of white mould too see how this effects the flavour/texture.

The Chorizo mix I used although a nice mix for fresh sausage, was a bit mild for salami. Spuddy's recipe was OK. I'll have too work on it a bit, because I left the fennel out as I'm not a great lover of the anise taste.

It definitely had the tang of the LS starter. When I get the texture right, I will be able too work on salami recipes year round.

The chiller would be capable of about 8-10 kg of salami I think. This is more than enough for me.

[Franco]

Oddley,

I would have thought that 10kg of salami would give off too much moisture, could you incorporate a fan in the fridge somewhere to help airflow and turn it on and off to regulate the humidity?

Franco

[Oddley]

ATM there is not enough moisture in the air. The moisture in the air tends to condense on the cooler element, quite quickly. therefore the chiller has to be defrosted often. A hairdryer is the quickest way to do this.

I will have to see if larger amounts of salami cause a problem. I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

[aris]

I wonder if you were to isolate the cooler element, then the humidity would not condense and freeze so quickly. This may also have the added effect of bringing the temperature up to the 10/11 degrees celcius which is needed for maturation, rather than the 3-5C that most fridges operate at.

I suspect a chat with a good refridgeration technician could give us the answers we need with regards to modifying a standard fridge for salami making. Does anyone know one?

[Oddley]

aris The temp of 10/11C is not a problem. As you so rightly point out condensation on the cooler element is. If you look carefully at the image of the open door cooler you will see a big lump of ice on it..

I have thought about a barrier between the element and the rest of the cooler but cannot seem to think of anything which will allow the cold air to move freely while restricting the formation of ice.

You are right again we need a good fridge engineer.

[aris]

How did you achieve the low temperatures of 10/11C (assuming you did).?

Aris

[Hobbitfeet]

One of my old fishing mates runs his own refrigeration company. I'll contact him and see what he comes up with.

[Oddley]

aris I adjusted the thermostat on the beer chiller to give that temperature. Then monitored the temp with the wireless weather monitor. I put the receiver on top of the TV to remind me to have a look at it now and again.

Hobbitfeet that would be great.

[aris]

Hmm, i wonder then if you can't isolate the element, perhaps you can isolate the sausage. If the fridge was big enough, you could hang it in a plastic (or wood) box with sufficient holes in it to keep humidity at the right levels, but still allow airflow.

It would take alot of experimentation to get the positioning, size, and number of holes just right - bit it may work.

[Paul Kribs]

I watch this post with interest as i would like to get it right first time if possible. Keep up the experimentation so we can glean the relevant information. Keep posting.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[markh]

I am surprised that you get so much ice on the cooling element up at 10 degrees C - I would have thought that would imply quite a temperature gradient between the element area and the measuring /controlling one.

Perhaps if the air was circulated the both the ice problem and low humidity would be reduced - the low temperature of the element relative to the average temperature of the cooler is acting like a dehumidifier, if it can be thermally coupled more efficiently e.g. forced air circulation the difference would be lower.

I have been intending to do an experiment using two Peltier devices similar to those used in the small can chillers - keeping one wet and one dry like a hygrometer in reverse - this topic might just get me motivated!