www.sausagemaking.org

I had an old fridge lying around so I build myself a drying/curing chamber. It's got heat and cooling controlled by a digital thermostat, humidity controlled the same way and via an ultrasonic type humidifier and a fresh air fan/exhaust.
I'm wondering what others do for temperature and humidity during salami fermentation and subsequent drying.
And, if using beef middles for casings, how long should it take to lose 30% of its original weight?

If you've nothing in the chamber, then you can use it for fermentation. Otherwise, a box and light-bulb (heat-source) connected to a thermostat (or not), and a tray of water in the bottom - or something similar. Even in the oven with just the light on (or if you have low enough temp). In a hot room in a make-shift tent made out of plastic...

I think that for most home-curers the keyword is improvise!

...and try to do it without upsetting the wife, kids, dog, or anything else higher up the family pecking order!

HTH

Phil

My last ones were 54 days for 60 mm casings and 63 days for 72 mm casings, not sure of the size of your beef middles. If you ferment in the oven, be sure to put a sign on the oven door (don't ask me how I learned this ).

Ah, I see my question was a bit ambiguous. What I meant was: specifically what temperatures and what RH%s are folks getting good results with? Also how long should it take for a 40mm salami to lose 30% of its weight under ideal conditions?
-jokat

12°C at 75%RH was my preferred - but I've not done any for a while.

I like to start at 50 F and 80 % RH and drop the RH when it's nearly done. I'm careful to stay within the 1200 degree hours limit for the fermentation. Degree hours are calculated by subtracting 60 from the fermentation temperature (in F) and multiplying that by the time it took to reach a pH of 5.3. So for instance, if I ferment at 75 F and it takes 30 hours to reach pH 5.3, my degree hours would be 15 X 30 = 450 (good). This is a protocol the US uses for judging fermentation conditions. This is also why I personally prefer to be below 60 F for the drying phase.

I hope you have a chance to make some salami soon Phil; I'm going to try a new snack stick recipe over the Easter break that I think you would like.

I'll look forward to seeing your new recipe. When I listed my preferred temp/RH, I should have said that I like to start with a high RH and reduce it gradually to 75%.

Phil