Prosciutto question

Big slick · Jan 30, 2013

While looking into how to cure and make homemade bacon I stumbled across some prosciutto how-to's. Not gonna lie... This is one hell of a project taking up to 18 months to complete. I am not afraid to try new things, but one problem is keeping the meat in a cool place long enough for the drying to complete. Now I have a mini fridge that is just sitting in the garage doing nothing.

Could I use this mini fridge to cure my prosciutto or is there too much humidity inside a fridge? Have any of you ever made prosciutto?

GARNAAL · Jan 30, 2013

well - I am in the process of following..

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=148776

the Carne Salata is done and came out excellent!!

the whole Ham is still in progress...
one bad thing happened this week -
my little college fridge ( A peltier type cooler) I was using to dry the ham crooked up.. after drying the ~ 15 lbs ham for ~ 3 weeks..
(this is the 2nd peltier type cooler that died on me in about 3 years after ~ 1 1/2 year use..)
luckily I cought it in time - the day it happened - and decided to get a new 2.7 ft black and decker - compressor type small fridge at walmart ...
I'm wondering about the humidity level in the new fridge also - guess I'll find out.. at the lowest thermostat setting this thing runs at ~ 60 F looking at the humidity meter after one day it's somewhere close to 70 % RH...

time will tell - i'm keeping an eye on my ham - every day.. for now..
also waiting for a 120V 120 mm fan to arrive, which I will install in the fridge to create some air movement in there to facilitate the drying process a bit..

GARNAAL · Jan 30, 2013

btw I'm using an adjusted for weight variation of this recipe for my ~15 lbs ham..

http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/prosciutto-American.pdf

Titch · Jan 30, 2013

GARNAAL said:
well - I am in the process of following..

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=148776

the Carne Salata is done and came out excellent!!

the whole Ham is still in progress...
one bad thing happened this week -
my little college fridge ( A peltier type cooler) I was using to dry the ham crooked up.. after drying the ~ 15 lbs ham for ~ 3 weeks..
(this is the 2nd peltier type cooler that died on me in about 3 years after ~ 1 1/2 year use..)
luckily I cought it in time - the day it happened - and decided to get a new 2.7 ft black and decker - compressor type small fridge at walmart ...
I'm wondering about the humidity level in the new fridge also - guess I'll find out.. at the lowest thermostat setting this thing runs at ~ 60 F looking at the humidity meter after one day it's somewhere close to 70 % RH...

time will tell - i'm keeping an eye on my ham - every day.. for now..
also waiting for a 120V 120 mm fan to arrive, which I will install in the fridge to create some air movement in there to facilitate the drying process a bit..

I have a controller that runs a chest freezer as a fridge and I can adjust it in .01 increments,but how do you test your Humidity?
cheers.
Titch

GARNAAL · Jan 30, 2013

titch,

I checked out the fridge temp at the lowest setting and it cools to ~ 60F - which is what I want for drying fermented sausages , cured meats and ham...

(just in case it did not allow me to go to 55-60F I was going to install a line voltage switching thermostat with the proper range inside the fridge and hook up the input power to the fridge to the switched side of the thermostat..
guess that's similar to the setup you use..

the humidity I do not control... just measure it with a hygrometer... (since I got smart and gave up cigar smoking years ago - ripped it out of my cigar humidor box..) :mrgreen:
where I live I do not worry about RH being too low.. Houston is pretty sticky... but since I have been doing this stuff for years here now I do not have any problems ( seeing the RH in my unit between 65 and 70...)
Guess if it would have been too low - add a bowl with water - if too high scrounge around for a small dehumidifier unit..

Prosciutto question

Big slick

is one Smokin' Farker

GARNAAL

is one Smokin' Farker

GARNAAL

is one Smokin' Farker

Titch

somebody shut me the fark up.

GARNAAL

is one Smokin' Farker

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