Meat Curing?

I just use my cantina (cold cellar) in the basement during the winter to make salami. As long as you can control both the temperature and the humidity you should be fine.

When you say doesn't seem to be working, are you getting proper desired temp and humidity and then meat is just not coming out right?

I am asking whether you feel it is the chamber itself or possibly your curing process/ingredients/techniques.

American Style Brown Sugar Glazed Holiday Ham

The Brine:

1 gallon water
1-1/2 cups Kosher Salt
2 Packed cups dark brown sugar
1-1/2 ounces of pink salt (Sodium Nitrite)
One 12-15lb with skin and Aitch Bone removed

The Glaze:

1-1/2 cups of dark brown sugar
3/4 cups dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of mince Garlic

Recipe:

Combine all the brine ingredients in a container large enough to hold the ham. Stir to dissolve all the salt and sugar.
Submerge ham in the brine. Weight it down if necessary to keep it fully submerged for 6-8 days (half a day per lb)
Remove ham and rinse thoroughly under cool water. pat dry and place on rack and refrigerate for 12-24 hours to dry.
Smoke the ham at 200 for 2 hours (I used apple and it was awesome)
Meanwhile, mix the brown sugar, Dijon, and garlic in a bowl until smooth. Brush the ham and reserve the remainder.
Continue to smoke the ham at 200 until it reaches internal temp of 155 (4-5 more hours for me)
remove the ham and brush with remaining glaze.
Refrigerate or eat warm right off the pit.

I've been thinking about a meat curing area too. I wonder if a wine fridge would work. You can regulate the temp for between 40-50º and the humidity.

I do some curing. You want to control temp and humidity. My budget solution was to buy a wine fridge. The wine fridge does not dehumidify. It holds 50-55 degrees pretty well. I put a large bowl of salted water in the bottom to help keep the humidity up. It has a small fan that helps circulate the air.

I spent a few bucks on a decent hygrometer, but other than that my overall investment was fairly low.

David

rbanks123 said:

We dont have a stand alone hygrometer because its built into the humidifier.

Click to expand...

Hydrometers are inexpensive so that would be my first stop... Have you looked at any of Marianski books? Great info

A refrigerator will work fine for the purpose. I wanted to use a freezer so by using a line voltage thermostat(I use # G http://www.mcmaster.com/#hvac-temperature-controls/=mgqw6l) I could use the box for a freezer or a fridge. You plug the fridge into the thermostat, plug the thermostat into a 110 outlet, put the thermocouple in the fridge and set it for the desired temp. As far as humidity, I use a plug n play humidistat from Allied Kenco(http://www.alliedkenco.com/humidistat.aspx). Plug your humidifer into this. Works really good. I think in retro I would have gone with this one tho, http://www.horticulturesource.com/product_info.php?products_id=4853
Here is a link for a how to I used http://mattikaarts.com/blog/charcuterie/meat-curing-at-home-the-setup/


Just looked at your blog, http://artisanbros.blogspot.com, seems you already have a handle on it.

Jason Molinari has a pretty good blog on this.

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/