Hello everyone, I just finished my second batch of dry sausages, Ruhlman's pepperoni recipe. My problem is that the sausages have dried out too fast and too much. I am on day 10, using standard hog casing (about 1" wide?) and the one I just weighed has already lost over 50% of its weight. It went in weighing 400g and is now 190g!
AFAIK, I want 30% water loss after 14-16 days, not 50% after 10 days.
Basically I have made beef jerky, not pepperoni as anyone would recognize it. I tasted a piece and it tastes just okay (not amazing). No case hardening or spoilage. What should I do? Raise the ambient humidity or is there another reason for this happening?