Post by: 02ebz06 on May 10, 2022, 05:31:58 PM
Inside the Wine Cooler is a seed heating pad, humidifier, dehumidifier, and a fan to circulate the air.
Tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning it will move to the drying chamber (the top cabinet).
Here are some pics of the equipment and beginning of what I hope will be a tasty end-product.
Post by: 02ebz06 on May 10, 2022, 07:11:58 PM
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on May 10, 2022, 07:58:34 PM
Post by: urnmor on May 10, 2022, 09:21:09 PM
Post by: Bentley on May 10, 2022, 10:52:21 PM
Post by: yorkdude on May 11, 2022, 04:56:25 AM
Post by: pmillen on May 11, 2022, 09:11:35 AM
Post by: Canadian John on May 11, 2022, 09:54:44 AM
That entails a lot of work & know-how. I am peering over shoulders as well. Expecting a awesome outcome.
Post by: elenis on May 11, 2022, 10:04:48 AM
Post by: 02ebz06 on May 11, 2022, 11:30:13 AM
That entails a lot of work & know-how. I am peering over shoulders as well. Expecting a awesome outcome.
I'm picking up the know-how as I go.
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I am definitely following this one as well. I have a number of books on charcuterie, but am so paranoid about making someone sick I have yet to try it.
That was my big hesitation. The first book I read started out with first chapter diving right in to botulism.
A member of the Pizza Making forum has been doing it for some time.
Went to his house 5-6 weeks ago and after tasting the pepperoni he made convinced me to give it a try.
Post by: BigDave83 on May 11, 2022, 02:25:39 PM
Post by: Bentley on May 11, 2022, 04:13:21 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on May 11, 2022, 05:22:46 PM
I do not think you will have a problem, with the correct equipment, the safety factor is in pretty good hands. I have just never wanted to spend the money for it, nor is there really room. And, you simply cannot do some of the cuts without proper RH, temperature and cultures! I think you are going to be very pleased!
You need a culture for pepperoni. Comes dried in an envelope. Add appropriate amount to a small amount of water to rehydrate.
For the RH, that is where the Inkbird controller come in. It turns a humidifier and dehumidifier on/off as needed to maintain the proper humidity.
Same for temp, Inkbird adjust as needed.
I had 85 degrees for temp and 85 RH in the curing chamber.
Now they are in the ageing chamber which I have at 55 degrees and 75 RH.
You could do it all in old working refrigerator if you wanted to.
Post by: 02ebz06 on May 22, 2022, 11:57:20 AM
First batch did not come out as I would have liked.
Should not have followed the YouTube video exactly.
In the video, he didn't test for weight loss until day 4 in the aging chamber.
That was a mistake. It had lost 30% by then. Supposed to pull at 20% loss.
Result was outer part was a lot harder than the center.
Was more hard like a pepperoni stick you get in the store, but was very bland. Not sure why no flavor.
So, I increased spices a bit for 2nd attempt.
Just put it in the aging chamber this morning.
Will check weights every day this time.
Post by: BigDave83 on May 22, 2022, 02:00:29 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on May 23, 2022, 07:12:19 PM
Taste pretty good, upped the spices from original recipe which was sort of bland.
Doesn't taste like the stuff I buy, but I think that matching is an impossible task.
Like trying to match Pizza Hut pizza, you can get close, but not exact.
Post by: BigDave83 on May 23, 2022, 09:23:39 PM
Post by: Bentley on May 24, 2022, 11:01:26 AM
Post by: 02ebz06 on May 24, 2022, 12:09:32 PM
After I sliced it, you could see the pieces of fat.
Have to see how it tastes on next pizza.
I do plan on switching to a different recipe next time. One from a book by an expert rather than from a YouTube video.
Not the greatest but I'm still learning. At least I got the process right this time.
Here it is sliced and packaged for pizza.
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on May 24, 2022, 12:16:21 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on May 24, 2022, 01:17:30 PM
It contains pork and beef. If it was all beef I think it would be more red.
All beef will be in a future experiment.
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 02, 2023, 02:03:12 PM
So I built a platform for it and got it all connected up.
Didn't want to drill any holes in the cabinet side, so I glued/screwed a couple pieces of wood together and took advantage of the wine cooler having a reversible door,
and was able to use the screw holes to attach one end of the wood with screws and double stick tape under the rest of the wood.
Now I need to get some meat and figure out what I want to make. Haha
Post by: Bentley on February 02, 2023, 05:49:36 PM
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on February 02, 2023, 06:05:25 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 05, 2023, 06:29:51 PM
The Salami is in the curing chamber today. Will go to the drying chamber in 72 hours.
Pepperoni is all ground and mixed and in freezer.
The salami cures at a lower temo than the pepperoni. But drying temp is the dame.
Will take it out of the freezer to thaw in a few days, stuff into casings and then into the curing chamber.
When Ph is right, it will join the Salami in the Drying chamber.
Here is the Salami.
Post by: Bentley on February 05, 2023, 06:59:47 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 05, 2023, 07:44:07 PM
Post by: Bentley on February 06, 2023, 10:39:32 AM
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 06, 2023, 11:43:25 AM
For the Genoa Salami, it says to cure it for 72 hours, but don't let Ph drop below 5.1. Nothing about a Ph range. It's at 5.8 now
For Pepperoni, there is a range, the lower is tangier.
I guess everyone does it different.
For the tester, I use the Apera PH60s.
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 08, 2023, 10:23:55 AM
72 hours are up so weighed and moved them into drying chamber.
Tomorrow the pepperoni will go into the curing chamber.
Post by: Bentley on February 08, 2023, 04:58:39 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 08, 2023, 05:35:21 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 09, 2023, 11:35:35 AM
In the curing chamber now. Ph is 5.75, looking for it to get down to 4-8 4.6.
Then move it to the drying chamber and will be looking for a 20% weight loss.
This one did not turn out as well as first two attempts.
I think it because I had my wife doing the cranking and was going faster than I could keep up.
Had a lot of air bubbles.
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 10, 2023, 09:55:04 AM
Ph dropped rather quickly. Was 5.3 when I went to bed and 4.56 this morning.
Color sure changed is 24 hours.
Now the waiting game...
Pepperoni needs to lose 20% of it's weight and the salami 30-35%.
Post by: Bentley on February 10, 2023, 12:00:55 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 10, 2023, 12:05:06 PM
I just turn it on cuz it looks cool. Haha
Post by: Bentley on February 10, 2023, 12:07:18 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 13, 2023, 11:00:40 AM
Set Smoker to lowest it goes (150F), so it was actually about 35 degrees higher inside in cooking area.
That's the downside of a single-walled smoker in winter with RTD only an inch or so from side wall.
In summer actual cooking temp is very close to set temp.
Put it in the smoker and smoked until IT was 145F. Immediately put it in an ice bath to stop any further cooking.
Tastes terrific, nice and tangy. Still looks a little like Bologna though.
I think next time I will add 30% fat instead if 20%.
Post by: Bentley on February 13, 2023, 12:06:24 PM
Yeah, I am finding I just have to find the correct content on fat for each recipe. Way to much on my 1st 2 salami, not enough on the bologna. I am hoping this 2nd round on the Sopprasota is right? You are not a heavy paprika user for the pepperoni color?
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 13, 2023, 12:37:22 PM
Curing was 85 degrees, drying chamber is 60 degrees.
Post by: 02ebz06 on February 28, 2023, 10:46:43 AM
Both had just crossed the 30% loss mark.
When they hit the 35% mark, I will take the small one out and see what it looks/tastes like when I cut into it.
Post by: 02ebz06 on March 05, 2023, 12:08:30 PM
Not sure if it was the fan blowing air around in the first week or the fact that I let it go to 35% weight loss, but the outer 1/8" or so is very hard.
Even though it tastes great, I would not serve this to guests.
Eating this is like eating an orange slice. Eat all but the rind, Haha
Tuesday going shopping so will be starting a new batch of this Genoa Salami towards the end of the week.
Probably make more pepperoni since I have that coming out great and will try something new as well. Not sure what yet.
Will not use the fan in the drying stage, and also will remove one at 30% weight loss to see if the outside is softer.
Eventually I'll get there...
Post by: BigDave83 on March 05, 2023, 12:55:34 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on March 05, 2023, 12:58:06 PM
Vacuum seal it and leave it age a few weeks to equalize the moisture and the outside should soften up. I usually have to do that with the whole muscle stuff I make because I use the Umai bags.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Post by: Bentley on March 05, 2023, 02:11:03 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on March 05, 2023, 03:13:03 PM
The center is perfect for me. It is what I would call hard salami.
Post by: 02ebz06 on April 01, 2023, 07:39:16 PM
From left to right, Pepperoni, Summer Sausage (4 chubs), and Genoa Salami (3 chubs).
Summer Sausage is easiest. Just 24 hours in the curing chamber. Tomorrow afternoon it will go into the smoker and cook until IT reaches 140f.
Pepperoni about a week or so, and the salami anywhere from 4 weeks to 8 weeks.
Post by: Bentley on April 01, 2023, 08:56:30 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on April 03, 2023, 11:16:14 AM
Pepperoni and Salami are in the Drying chamber.
Post by: 02ebz06 on April 11, 2023, 03:13:54 PM
This stuff is so good, I won't ever buy pepperoni again, unless my body doesn't let me.
Made pepperoni rolls for poker last Saturday - Crescent Rolls with a bit of marinara sauce, gouda cheese, and pepperoni (from last batch) inside.
Rolled up and baked.
Didn't tell anyone pepperoni was homemade and they all raved about it.
So, I'm a happy camper. I love it and so do my friends.
Post by: 02ebz06 on April 12, 2023, 01:56:08 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on April 23, 2023, 02:06:43 PM
Will weigh again in a few days.
Looks like it is developing it's own mold.
I had bought the Mold-600 but forgot to spray them. :o
Never thought I hear myself say "I bought mold". Haha
Post by: Bentley on April 23, 2023, 04:15:05 PM
Post by: 02ebz06 on April 26, 2023, 09:58:36 AM
For me this was the perfect drying time. Still has a bit of chew to it but not near as hard as the first batch that I took to 35% loss.
I still have one hurdle to get over, and that is preventing the outer rim of the salami being a lot harder than the interior.
It's much better than the first time sine I turned the main fan off., but still needs improvement.
There is a small fan (3" dia. or less) that is supposed to blow on the water pan, but I've never seen it turn on any I time I have used the unit.
Humidity has been about 60% but I think if I can that fan to turn on it will increase the humidity to prevent the exterior from drying too much.
This unit was for dry-aging steaks, so I suspect they designed it so it wouldn't get too humid.
Going to take some experimenting...
Post by: Bentley on April 26, 2023, 11:25:33 AM
Post by: 02ebz06 on April 26, 2023, 11:31:47 AM
I will have to do something to increase humidity in the drying chamber.
Hoping I can use the power jack for the main fan, and a little rewiring, to add my own humidifier.
Post by: MikeMcQ on April 28, 2023, 07:27:39 PM