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[02ebz06]

For mine the outside is closer to 1/4" thick of really hard stuff.  It is like chewing jerky. Not what you would want in salami.
The center is perfect for me.  It is what I would call hard salami.

[02ebz06]

OK, back at it.  Today was a long tiring day.  Started about 10am this morning and it is 5:30pm now.  Just finishing cleanup.

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.

[Bentley]

I gotta get a pH meter and get back at it!

[02ebz06]

Summer Sausage is done.  Now the hard part, waiting a week to try it.
Pepperoni and Salami are in the Drying chamber.

[02ebz06]

Pepperoni in the last phase.   Smoking to an IT of 145.
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.

[02ebz06]

This morning we sliced the pepperoni for pizza and made some small pieces for snacks.

[02ebz06]

Week #3 in the drying chamber  -  Almost to the 30% loss for the Genoa Salami.
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.   
Never thought I hear myself say "I bought mold". Haha

[Bentley]

They look good.  My Hanna pH meter came, so I am gonna try and make some this week!

[02ebz06]

Only needed an additional 3 days to reach target weight, so total drying time was 3 weeks 3 days.
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...

[Bentley]

I had to throw out the Salchichón because of case hardening.  I do not think I will ever use my variable fan in a fridge again.

[02ebz06]

Yeah, I turned the fans off in Curing/Drying chamber and it helped.
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.

[MikeMcQ]

My hat's off to you both! Pretty sure I'll never go down this rabbit hole.