Curing vessel 2.0 is operational

[sudsandswine]

I had to decommission my original curing chamber that I made using a large upright deep freezer so that I could use it for it’s true purpose as a freezer. I tried to snag a glass door beverage cooler for curing chamber 2.0, but they’re pricey when in good shape and I just couldn’t justify the extra $$$ for a glass door. I wasted too much time waiting for the right deal to come along.

Last week I picked up a lightly used Whirlpool freezer from bookface marketplace and put it in my basement. I hooked up my Inkbird temp and humidity controllers I use to cycle the freezer power on and off to regulate the temp, and to trigger a humidifier and a dehumidifier on and off the balance RH %.

It’s been online about 12 hours now, and it appears that my original temp and humidity parameters on the other freezer work well with this one too. Maintaining about 56*F and 76% RH for 12 hours now.

I have three coppa muscles I vacuumed sealed and froze that are now thawed in the fridge. I am going to cure them today, and in a week or so, they’ll be ready for long term drying/aging in the curing cabinet.

curing chamber 1.0 thread





Finished coppa from the last batch I did:

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Definitely want to follow this
op2:

 

[cowgirl]

Looking great!

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

Like a mad scientist, you are.

 

[sudsandswine]

3x coppas in the cure for a week, not a game for the impatient I suppose. After the cure, they hang in the chamber to ~30% weight loss

 

[snadamo]

Hell yes, Suds!

I have a mini version of your rig (3.3cu Ft fridge) sitting behind me as we speak! WAS going to set it up this weekend, but we all go sick and just took it easy. Was thinking Lonzino, pepperoni or some type of Genoa or similar to start...

 

[sudsandswine]

Lonzino is pretty easy, I did one along with my last coppa and it finished quicker, assuming due to being leaner. I bought another Boston butt I'm going to grind up and do a salami or chorizo to see these coppas along.

 

[sudsandswine]

Well I would say I have this thing pretty well dialed in now, my target set points are 56*F and 76% RH. The coppas are done with their cure - I was going to stuff them into beef middles earlier today but realized I….no longer have any, so I had to pay the Amazon tax just to get some by the weekend. So for now, they’re sitting in a ziploc bag waiting to get stuffed.

 

[SmokinAussie]

This is fantastic. Makes me want to go buy all the stuff I just sold!

 

[snadamo]

Looks great suds! I’ve been dry running mine for about 5 days. I think it’s good, just noticed a lot of moisture on the back of the fridge. I need some dowels and double checking my sensor positions. I’ll probably post for feedback.

I’m most likely doing lonzino as tenderloin’s pretty cheap.

Congratulations and looking forward to your progress!!!

 

[sudsandswine]

Well…life happened, shipping delays, etc and it took a little bit of time to get this hanging in the curing vessel, but I did this week and here they are. See you in May-ish! I am going to try to get some salami hanging in here too.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

op2:

 

[sudsandswine]

A little over a week in, things are progressing well. Each muscle is sitting at ~88% of the original weight, the first week or two see more weight loss and then it slows down quite a bit. The curing chamber is holding things steady at about 56* and 76% RH setpoints.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Looking GOOD

 

[toys4dlr]

Suds. Did you have to add any additional fan to move air or is the kicking on and off of the compressor enough

 

[sudsandswine]

Suds. Did you have to add any additional fan to move air or is the kicking on and off of the compressor enough

Compressor only - air comes out of the vertical pillar running up the center, and it cycles on often enough that it seems fine without a fan. I didn't have a fan on my last deep freezer curing chamber either and had no mold issues.

 

[Pulmah Finger]

following and definitely doing something like this soon

 

[SmokinAussie]

Suds,

Can you give us a link or something to the specific gear you are using for this?

Cheers!

 

[sudsandswine]

Suds,

Can you give us a link or something to the specific gear you are using for this?

Cheers!

These to control temp and humidity:

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-ITC-308-Temperature-Controller-Humidity/dp/B01N56KEU6

This dehumidifier:

https://www.sausagemaker.com/product/eva-dry-edv-1100-petite-dehumidifier/

This humidifier:

https://www.sausagemaker.com/product/crane-ultrasonic-cool-mist-humidifier/

It's important to note that the humidifier and dehumidifier must have analog on/off buttons, as the humidity controller works by removing and then restoring power to each device, based on your inputs. Most of these on the market have a touch sensitive button to power on or off, and the units default to the off position once power is removed and restored.

 

[SmokeOCD]

I *hate* this thread....
Makes me want to go shopping for parts....