I am not sure if this is in the right category, just figured "beginners" is the catchall place to be.
I am looking at making snack sticks according to NCPaul's recipe/method.
Just to avoid cluttering his thread, I figured it was better to start my own.
I have just grabbed a piece of sheep casing and put it into water to see how long I should actually soak it to make it do what I want it to do. I remember working with sheep casing being a bit of a pain.
The temperatures at my place are between 20 oC (night time) and 30 oC day time at the moment, with a humidity (I estimate) of 85%+ at night and 75% at daytime.
I have the use of a fridge (drinks fridge) and a controller. So can set the fridge at most temperatures. It's a fridge with quite a high RH and a glass door.
I also have a box I use to make biltong. Made out of wood, with fine mesh in the front, and a light at the bottom to ensure airflow.
With my temperatures, I might be able to ferment the sticks in this box? Without the light on?
I got both T-SPX and F-LC.
They are both in sealed packages in the freezer and are a couple year old.
Which would be the best to use and in what dose?
I was thinking of 2-3 times the dose NCPaul used, just to make sure that they still work. The dose Jeff Weiss suggests seems very high.
I do have destrose.
I don't have sherry, but I got shiaoxing rice wine (it's a strange world if you can get rice wine, but no dry sherry).
I got a normal soil pH meter for testing.
For meat: I got pork chops, and belly pork fat. Looking at the recipe the fuel seems to contain about 40% fat?
Based on that I will be looking at about 30-40% fat content.
Cure looks like it's 150 ppm. I think anything between 120-150 ppm should be fine?
Salt seems high at 2.8%, I do realise that salt is necessary for safety and making sure the weight loss takes place quick enough. I will keep it as per recipe. But if I do find the sticks too salty, could I safely reduce?