New to the forum and built a curing fridge and chamber

[P38IRL]

Hi Lads,

Been on line now for a few weeks mostly been looking at how things are done, took the plunge and invested in some equipment as i rear my own free range pigs and do a lot of shooting/hunting foraging. The hams in this fridge have been in the fridge for since last december (10 months) i have had them tested in a lab and all are (were fine a few month ago)

took control of the humidity and the temperature today with humidifier & dehumidifier.

My question is. what temp should i be at and also what humidity should they be at?

here is a look at my setup..........





Here i have a fermentation chamber. took out refrigeration compressor etc and have the fan to run on a switch along with a digital reading but will be fitting a nice hot light that will be on a switch when required.

so what you think. will it be the right job for getting stuff fermenting??



Thanks for reading guys.

[JerBear]

That's an awesome fridge for drying/curing meats. Lots of space vertically and horizontally, I'd love something that size.

I'm not speaking from personal experience but according to Ruhlman/Polcyn's Salumi the recommended temp is 12-18 degrees C and 70% RH....so you're spot on for temp and a little high with humidity.

I'm also a little concerned with the darker spots of mold and you might want to wipe it off with a little wine or vinegar.

[wheels]

Like JerBear, I'd be worried about the black mould - black mould's bad news.

When I ran a dehumidifier inside my fridge it gave me real case hardening problems. I now use a small tube heater - sounds daft, but I got the idea from another forum member - when the humidity's high, the heater comes on which makes the fridge motor 'kick in' which generally has the effect of reducing the humidity.

As to the mould? Well it's your call, but in the words of Saucisson: "It's not a sin to bin!"

Phil