Problems with case hardening.

[chilehed]

I just cut open my third attempt at lonzo, and could use some insight.
3.3% salt, 0.25% #2, typical spice profile, dry cured in vac bag 55 days.
Cased in a beef bung, dipped with Bactoferm 600 and hung at 50-55F.
RH records are given below.
Average daily weight loss ranged from 0.1 to 1.1%/day, except for when I let the humidifier run dry and it got to 1.5%/day.
Mold looks good.

At day 66, weight loss is 42%, it's case hardened, and still raw at the core. Thoughts? Was it likely the time at 51% RH between days 26 and 28? Flavor's fine, I'm gonna use it for soup.

Exact RH records are:
Day.......RH
1...........87
2...........79
3...........89
5...........85
9...........88
12 ........... 83
17 ........... 89
20 ........... 82
24 ........... 94
26 ........... 90
28 ........... 51
31 ........... 84
37 ........... 80
40 ........... 89
46 ........... 85
48 ........... 87
52 ........... 88
57 ........... 81
66 ........... 81

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[ericrice]

RH readings, if anything seem on the high side to me. Others here have much more experience but 2 questions come to mind:
Are you confident in the RH readings?
What is the airflow like where you are curing?

[wheels]

What is the airflow like where you are curing?

That's also what sprang to my mind when I read it.

Phil

[ericrice]

I actually feel like I've taken another big step forward!! I have said it before and will say again - this site is awesome and the knowledge here invaluable!! I've been able to go from reading recipes to knowing what I am doing!!

Someone tell me what I can do to help this site (Franco) an any way. Unfortunately I can't financially support (i'm in the States) but I really need to feel I contributed in some way.

[chilehed]

RH readings, if anything seem on the high side to me. Others here have much more experience but 2 questions come to mind:
Are you confident in the RH readings?
What is the airflow like where you are curing?

I've got a standard refrigerator, with an ultrasonic humidifier controlled by the 4190 from control3.com.
I've also got a Hygrostat II mounted to the inside of the door, which calibrated OK about 6 months ago.
Usually the Hygrostat reads lower than the 4190, and those were the numbers I recorded.
So yes, the RH was quite a bit higher than I normally see recommended, which I did because my earlier attempts case hardened a lot worse than this one did. I figured that higher RH would slow down the drying rate, which it did but obviously not enough.

Airflow is whatever results from the 'fridge cycling. Any suggestions on how to slow it down?

[wheels]

I'm afraid that the description of the equipment means nothing to me as I'm in the UK. I have no concept of what a 'standard fridge' is where you live. I doubt that if you tell me about the fridge that I'll be any the wiser, but if you can say (approximately) where you live, maybe other members who live there can help.

Logically, at the temperature and the high RH you've used , there's 'no way' you shouldn't have had case hardening. Something's not right, but I can't 'put my finger' on what it is. A long shot, does your fridge have some sort of fan?

I'd be grateful for other members to chip in, a fresh mind may help.

Phil

[ericrice]

When I attempt to cure in warmer temps here the refrigerator does cycle often and I have had problems with case hardening. When the temps are cooler (my setup is in the garage) my refrigerator rarely if ever cycles on and I have no issues.

I have to think your refrigerator is running regularly resulting in the issue. Where is it located and what is the temp like? Even if it's inside the house that is likely resulting in it cycling enough.

Once again given the RH readings it is hard to figure out any other reason other than airflow.

[NCPaul]

chilihed, did you profile your weight loss over the drying period? Could you have lost a lot of weight early? Weight loss is not linear (my experience), but maybe we can see what's going on with some weight loss data.

[chilehed]

chilihed, did you profile your weight loss over the drying period? Could you have lost a lot of weight early? Weight loss is not linear (my experience), but maybe we can see what's going on with some weight loss data.

Paul, yes, I kept track of that as well. Each average is given over the most recent interval (e.g. the average daily loss over days 6 to 9 was 0.4%)

Day.......AvgDaily%Lost
1...........2.4
2...........0.6
3...........0.8
5...........1.1
9...........0.4
12 ..... ...0.8
17 ........ 0.7
20 ..........0.7
24 ..........0.4
26 ..........0.1
28 ..........1.5
31 ..........0.4
37 ..........0.5
40 ..........0.6
46 ..........1.0
48 ..........0.4
52 ..........0.3
57 ..........0.3
66 ..........0.5

It was dripping wet when I hung it, so I didn't give the first day's loss much thought; it was still very moist at the end of day 2.

Rioght now I have everything hanging in the lower box of the refrigerator. It's occured to me that if I were to knock some holes in the floor of the freezer, so that it communicated with the rest of the box, then it would probably reduce the cycling rate of the unit. Plus, then I could block off the fan vent in the lower chamber, which would reduce air speed on the hanging meat - convection would distribute the cold air down and the warm air up, without having the fan blow directly in the pieces. It should also result in lower humidity swings. Make sense?

[wheels]

Try a search for that chilehed: I think that someone on the forum's done something similar before.

Phil