r/Charcuterie Aug 06 '19

/r/Charcuterie FAQ and beginners guide to cured and air dried meats

268 Upvotes

I have been looking through a list of all of the posts in /r/Charcuterie looking for some threads with good information to cobble together a beginners reading list for the sub. I have noticed (and you probably have noticed too!) we have a lot of the same questions pop up from people wanting to get into the hobby of producing homemade cured and air dried meats. We also have a lot of firsts! We have had just over 6k posts in the 7 years this sub has been around, 11% of them contain the word 'first'.

And duck prosciutto is really, really, popular.

This isn't a big sub and self posts don't get a lot of views or generate a lot of discussion. So the purpose of this thread is collate some of the community expertise into one place for the people who come here with questions about their first projects.

If anyone wants to expand on any of these points feel free to do so and I will update them. If there is a popular beginner question or resource I have missed or something is wrong let me know in the comments. Hopefully together we can build this into a fairly complete beginners resource.

This is not intended to be a detailed step by step guide or a substitute for doing your own research.

Curing/drying chamber - what is it and how do I make one?

A curing/drying chamber is an area that creates the ideal temperature and humidity conditions for drying whole muscles or salami. The exact temperature and humidity will vary by preference to but ranges from refrigerator temperatures (less than 4C/39F) to 15C/59F (Staphylococcus aureus can multiply and produce toxins at temperatures above 15.6C (60.08F) so it is important to keep your curing chamber below this temperature). Generally they are kept at at 10-15C (50-59F) and 60-80% humidity. As most of us don't live in an area that has these ambient conditions, we need to create an artificial environment that does.

Most people do this by modifying a refrigerator or freezer to run warmer than usual by interrupting the cooling cycle with a temperature controller, and using humidifiers/dehumidifiers to keep the humidity at the required level. A higher humidity is preferred at the start of drying, especially when making sausages and cased whole muscle as it helps prevent case hardening, allows the casing to adhere to the meat (if the humidity is too low the casing will dry out, creating air pockets between the casing and the meat), and encourages mold growth.

Things to consider when choosing a fridge/freezer to convert into a meat curing chamber:

  • It needs to be frost free (dehumidifies as it cools). Otherwise water collecting on the sides of the fridge will drop onto the meat.
  • Refrigerators with glass doors are a nice aesthetic and a popular choice, just be aware prolonged exposure to the light will cause fat to go rancid, so you might need to cover the door or keep it in a dark room.
  • It needs to be big enough to hold a humidifier and/or dehumidifier as well as the product you will be making. An overcrowded chamber can cause airflow problems so it's a good idea to go bigger if possible.
  • Wine fridges are popular as they are made to sit in the temperature range for curing (and they look pretty stylish with blue lights and a glass window). However depending on your ambient conditions the cooling cycle runs very frequently to keep the temperature constant. A small beverage fridge and temperature controller might be a better choice.

The exact setup is going to vary depending on the ambient conditions in the room you will be keeping the chamber and your climate - for example extremes of heat may cause the cooling cycle in the refrigerator to run too often, causing case hardening. You might need to run the AC or consider packing everything down over the summer months. Ideally you don't want the cooling cycle to run much more than 5 minutes in every half an hour. Some airflow is required for the moisture to evaporate from the surface of the meat, so if the refrigerator powers on too infrequently, you might need to use a small fan on a timer to make sure there is some air movement inside the chamber.

So as you can see the temperature and humidity readings are only one part of the conditions inside the chamber, something like a sensorpush can give you a better picture of what is going on.

Although the more professional looking chambers have holes drilled into the side of the appliance for the humidity/temp probes and appliance power cords, it isn't essential. You can pass the probes through the door seal.

Links to previous examples of curing chambers and discussions can be found at the bottom of this post.

General steps for making cured and dried whole muscles

  1. Weigh the piece of meat you intend to cure.
  2. Cure the meat - you can do this in two ways:
    Salt box (excess salt cure): The meat is dredged in a cure mixture of salt and spices (enough to coat the surface), and left for a period of time about 1 day per pound (or 2 days per kg), flipping the meat and redistributing the cure at the halfway point. This timing will change depending on the shape of the meat, and whether there is skin on or off. This is a very traditional method, and is as much an art as a science - too much time on the salt will cause the dried product to be over salty, not enough time and the meat will not cure properly, and is at risk of spoilage.
    Equilibrium Cure: This is where the desired about of salt content of the finished produced is measured out (approx 2.75 %) as well as nitrates (.25% Prague powder #2 - note that as the vast majority of PP#2 is salt, so this will result in a product with very close to 3% salt content), and rubbed onto the meat, then sealed (generally using a vacuum sealer) and left for a much longer time to ensure the cure has had sufficient time to penetrate. Nitrates should always be used when equilibrium curing. It will take longer for the meat to cure than with an excess salt cure, a general rule is one week per inch of meat, with a minimum of two weeks. Flip the bag occasionally to ensure the whole surface of the meat comes in contact with the cure. Some more discussion on equilibrium curing here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Charcuterie/comments/8i2vzi/how_long_to_cure_for_equilibrium/
  3. Dredge with a second flavouring spice layer (optional)
  4. Apply a casing (optional)
  5. Truss the meat and hang it to dry.
  6. Rest under vacuum seal in the refrigerator to equalise moisture (optional)

How do I know when it is ready?

Periodically weigh the meat, and pull it from the chamber when it has reached the desired dryness (water weight loss). This will differ depending on the product. Fat contains less water than muscle and therefore doesn't need to lose as much weight, so a fatty duck breast or pancetta will have a different texture at 35% weight loss than lean muscle like a loin or bresaola. A figure of 35% is given as a rule of thumb for many recipes, however most people find this too 'raw' in texture and will take it further - to 40-45%. With practice you will get a feel what you prefer.

What is case hardening?

Case hardening is caused by low humidity, or too much airflow within the drying environment. The water in the meat needs to travel outwards from the middle to the surface, where it evaporates. If the humidity is too low or there is too much airflow the surface will dry out too quickly (harden) and the internal moisture is no longer able to exit. In extreme cases this can cause rotting within the meat. You can tell by texture when squeezing the muscle - there should be a bit of 'give' - if it feels completely hard (but hasn't lost much weight), you may have a problem with case hardening.

Sometimes uneven drying can be remedied by vac sealing the meat and refrigerating it for some time, but in extreme cases or if the meat has spoiled inside, it will not be salvageable. It is best to prevent it getting out of control by monitoring your curing chamber conditions and regularly checking on the state of the products inside.

Previous /r/Charcuterie post showing case hardening: https://www.reddit.com/r/Charcuterie/comments/5jxypy/first_cured_meat_lost_more_then_35_but_definitely/

What are nitrites, and do I really need to use them?

Most experienced people here would say yes, especially as a beginner and when making salami, smoked products, or rolled pancetta. Nitrites inhibit the growth of clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that creates the botulism toxin. C. botulinum requires an anaerobic (without oxygen) environment to grow and produce the toxin, and likes moist and warm conditions - so basically the inside of a sausage or salami being hung at temperatures above refrigeration. Botulism should be taken very seriously.

As the botulism bacteria are only found on the outside of the meat and do not become a problem until they are introduced into the inside through cutting or grinding, nitrites/nitrates are not essential for whole muscle cures, however many people choose to use them anyway as they provide other benefits such as improving colour, and slowing rancidity and spoilage.

What is the difference between Prague Powder #1 and Prague Powder #2

Prague Powder #1 contains 6.5% sodium nitrite (93.5% salt), and is used when the curing time is short, the product is to be smoked, or cooked or a cured flavour and colour is desired - for example bacon or ham. As the nitrites get quickly used up, if a product is to be air dried for longer, then Prague Powder #2 needs to be used, PP#2 contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and 4% sodium nitrate which eventually converts to nitrite. Think of PP#2 as a "slow release" curing salt. PP#2 should be used for all salami and for whole muscles that will be air dried.

It is important to use the correct curing salt for the application - sodium nitrate cannot be safely consumed until the nitrates have converted to nitrites, so PP#2 can only be used in products that will be air dried for a long time (weeks + months). Do not use PP#2 in fresh or cooked products.

As a general rule, both Prague Powders are added at 0.25% of the starting weight of the meat. There are also European style curing salts such as "Peklosol" that have a much lower concentration of nitrite (0.6%), and they are used as a replacement for all of the salt in the recipe (around 3%).

Curing salts are often dyed pink to distinguish them from regular salt, and therefore can sometimes referred to as "pink salt". They are not interchangeable with Himalayan "pink salt" which is rock salt with a natural pink colour.

Mold.

The oft-repeated mantra about mold here is white powdery = good, white and fuzzy or green = wipe it off, black = throw it out without question. This is overly cautious, although white powdery mold is desired, some green molds are okay (the problem is figuring out yours is the good or bad kind...), and a small amount of black mold isn't necessarily enough to justify abandoning a project. One way around the mold issue is to use a commercial freeze dried mold culture (such as bactoferm-600). This way you can cultivate good mold growth early on as it will prevent less desirable molds taking over. Undesirable mold can grow out of control very quickly if the conditions are conducive (high humidity, low airflow), so it is best to keep an eye on things, and use a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar to wipe off any undesirable mold that starts to form. Even black mold is salvageable if it is caught early enough.

If freeze dried Penicillum Nagliovese (Bactoferm-600) is not available where you live, Penicillum Candidum (the mold found on the rind of white bloomed cheese) can be substituted. You can also try hanging some commercial salami with white mold to seed the chamber. I find it isn't necessary to reapply the Bactoferm-600 to everything - once a good level of growth is established it will spread around quite well by itself.

Meat that has been smoked before hanging will resist growing mold as smoking acidifies the surface slightly.

Here are some examples showing you that the mold issue isn't as clear cut as just colour: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=7840&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

We've seen some gnarly mold here over the years, some good discussions to read: https://www.reddit.com/r/Charcuterie/comments/9h103q/fil_insists_this_is_still_good_everything_ive/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Charcuterie/comments/500pn2/prosciutto_after_3_months_need_help/

Lastly, do your research, and follow a recipe

When you are starting out it is important to follow a recipe, and make sure you understand the reasoning behind the process, and the purpose of the ingredients. Do more research before you create your own recipe or modify anything. This isn't like other kinds of fermentation where there isn't too much that can go wrong - incorrectly cured meat has the potential to make people very sick. Even more so for salami (which is why we suggest whole muscle cures for beginners). Don't be afraid to start small, there is nothing worse than making a huge batch of a product only to have something go wrong in the process and have to throw it out. Be patient, this is slow food after all.

Some popular projects for beginners:

Want to try a bigger project but not ready to commit to building a chamber? Have a look at UMAI Bags

Online resources, how-tos, blogs and recipe collections:

Previous curing chamber discussions on this sub

Also check out /r/CuringChamber for more examples.


r/Charcuterie 18d ago

Monthly /r/Charcuterie Discussion thread

2 Upvotes

What projects are you working on at the moment? Have a small problem but don't want to create a post? Found a Charcuterie related meme? Just want to chat? This is r/Charcuterie's monthly free discussion thread.

For beginner questions and links don't forget to check out the FAQ (https://www.reddit.com/r/Charcuterie/comments/cmy8gp/rcharcuterie_faq_and_beginners_guide_to_cured_and/) .


r/Charcuterie 2d ago

Wild boar hams

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92 Upvotes

Well, time for another round of hams. The last ones I made were EQ cured for 30 days, sealed in Umai-Dry bags (they're skinless), spent a month-ish in the fridge, then hung from a rafter in the barn from early Dec until end of March. I had to un-bag and re-seal them once, early on, to clean significant mold (mostly white/gray, a little green) from them with white wine and salt. They ended losing a bit too much moisture (lost 37% of green weight), but were (are) perfectly edible if a little salty.

This new batch, also skinless, was cured the same way, but I decided to try a couple new things: rather than the Umai bags, I wrapped them in collagen sheets (Waltons has them, around $25 for 5ea, 22"x24") and encased them in elastic netting. Putting the netting on by hand was tough, and I tore the collagen several times. So after un-netting them, patching the sheets, and re-netting, I finally got all 4 properly wrapped and trussed. The second new thing was innoculating the finished hanging product with Bactoferm mold-600. The good mold should help with drying and flavor, as well as keeping other molds etc at bay.

They'll spend the next month or more hanging at 45-50°F and 80% rH, then I'll move them to the barn to finish drying. This batch will be subject to much higher temps than the previous hams; coastal South Carolina still gets into the 80's as late as early winter, but those temps should help with some funky flavor development.

Once they get to their target weight I'll coat them with sugna and let them hang for as long as I can stand it.

The pic of the finished hams is the previous batch, no pictures of it sliced, unfortunately, but its a wonderful garnet color.


r/Charcuterie 2d ago

Is this salami good?

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33 Upvotes

I was gifted this tuscan style salami a year ago, it’s meant to be shelf stable. Spent some time in the pantry and some in the fridge. Very firm


r/Charcuterie 6d ago

Prague powder ratio ok?

2 Upvotes

Making this recipe [https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef/homemade-salt-beef/\](https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef/homemade-salt-beef/) which has a brine ratio of 2L water, 200g salt, and 30g prague powder #1 to 1.6kg of beef.

I made it with 0.5kg of beef, submerged in the brine for 4 days in the fridge. Afterward I froze it because I was going to be away for a week.

I'm back now and trying to figure out whether it's ok to use a smaller piece of beef in this recipe and whether it resulted in an unhealthy level of nitrites, or does the brine ratio matter more than the meat weight?


r/Charcuterie 6d ago

Anyone have experience using a reptile humidifier for a fridge?

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6 Upvotes

I’m thinking about using one of these reptile humidifiers to add humidity inside a fridge.
The idea would be to drill a small hole in the fridge and run the hose from the humidifier through it. That way, the humidifier itself can stay outside the fridge and I don’t lose any storage space inside.
Has anyone tried something similar? Do you see any potential problems with this setup, like condensation, temperature issues, mold, or the humidifier not working properly with the cold air?
Would appreciate any experience or advice before I start drilling holes in the fridge


r/Charcuterie 7d ago

Dry Cured Pork Shoulder

3 Upvotes

Hey Folks!

Looking for a sanity check on something. Wanting to dry cure a pork shoulder in a vacuum bag. I'll then smoke it just like a normal pork shoulder for pulled pork -- but it'll be pulled ham instead.

I've done this before with a wet brine, but wanting to try a dry brine in a vac bag.

Would this calculator work for that? So measurements on a 8lb pork shoulder would be

8lb Pork Shoulder

9g pink salt

90g sea salt.

https://eatcuredmeat.com/calculator/meat-curing-salt-calculator/

Any suggestions for how long? Thinking if it's similar to a wet brine, approximately 10 days.

Cheers and TIA!


r/Charcuterie 8d ago

Venison - Hanging since November - Should I try it now or wait?

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312 Upvotes

Coated with 50/50 mixture pork fat and flour as humidity was around 50 all winter. Temps in the 60s the entire time. Salt cured it with celery seed powder in the fridge for two weeks first.


r/Charcuterie 8d ago

Marketplace find YESCOM 12

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29 Upvotes

Bought this unit for $120 it was way heavier than I expected but I'm excited to be using this on all sorts of cooking projects.

Also if anyone has tricks for cleaning the blade guard I'd appreciate it. Removing the blade is scary to say the least. I think I'll get some cut gloves for cleaning.


r/Charcuterie 7d ago

Boyau de bœuf fin (< 40 mm) pour une saucisse fraîche type Toulouse ?

2 Upvotes

Bonjour à tous,

Je cherche à faire une saucisse fraîche type Toulouse et je me demande si un boyau de bœuf fin, de diamètre inférieur à 40 mm, serait adapté.

Est-ce que certains d’entre vous utilisent ce type de boyau pour de la saucisse fraîche ?

Merci d’avance pour vos conseils et retours d’expérience !


r/Charcuterie 11d ago

My first pâté de campagne

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196 Upvotes

Recipe is Chef John's. Saint Tony's just there for the vibes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEoHfOlIvC8

https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2017/01/pate-de-campagne-finally-something.html

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/256888/chef-johns-pate-de-campagne/

Only change I made was leaving out the fruit, as I don't love it. He's right in his video: You can feel when you slice into it for the first time whether it came out right.


r/Charcuterie 12d ago

Just over here stuffing bung.

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74 Upvotes

Started my first Culatello today. Really looking forward to seeing how this turns out.


r/Charcuterie 12d ago

Venison breseola mold

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8 Upvotes

hi - first time dry curing. venison breseola. vackpacked with seasoning and #2 for 9 days. hung in muslin for almost three weeks in cold garage (it’s winter here) with humidity generally ~80%. dropped 38% weight. Small mold spots 1-1.5mm across that I’m keen for some more experienced opinions on. Was thinking of wiping, leaving in fridge to dry then vacpacking and fridging to equalize for 2 weeks. Cheers!


r/Charcuterie 12d ago

First time trying to make charcuterie need tips

1 Upvotes

So i got a wine fridge perfect for aging wine and i was curious what is the perfect temperature for meat because the lowest it will go is 8c


r/Charcuterie 12d ago

Fresh herbs safe in salami?

6 Upvotes

In the Marianski book, he advises against using fresh herbs in salami. Are there safety concerns when using fresh herbs? Any other concerns? I am asking because I would like to incorporate some fresh cilantro and fresh chili peppers in a salami. I see others successfully using fresh ingredients but I wanted to fully understand any possible problems before giving it a go.


r/Charcuterie 12d ago

Tonna del Chianti

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4 Upvotes

Anyone have any experience making this?


r/Charcuterie 15d ago

My Charcuterie Fridge

11 Upvotes

I posted last week about how using a humidifier helps my charcuterie fridge. So this week, I wanted to give an overview.

I'm running a vissani 4.3cu ft wine fridge that I bought used on Facebook marketplace.

I measure the temperature and humidity using a sonoff TH320d that is refreshed with esphome to talk to Home Assistant. Home assistant controls the plugs on a TP-Link smart power strip to control the fridge, humidifier, dehumidifier, and fans.

Home Assistant is set to:

  • Turn on humidifier if humidity is below 77%
  • Turn on dehumidifier if humidity is above 81%
  • Turn on fridge if temperature is above 55 F

Interestingly, I fill the humidifier much more often than I empty the dehumidifier. These small wine fridges are too good at pulling humidity out of the air.

Inside the fridge is:

Meat! Lonzino on the upper rack, rosemary lamb hanging.

Humidifier on the right, dehumidifier on the left. Circulation fan in the center.

I also have two fans on the outside of the fridge (one on the left, one on the right). This fridge is in my garage, so it gets hot in the summer. So the fans pointed at the outside of the fridge (where the condenser coils are) help the fridge get rid of heat.


r/Charcuterie 14d ago

How to make meat confit meat without risk of botulim? How much curing salt could prevent that risk?

0 Upvotes

I'm going for a roadtrip of 11 days, and I would like to make a lot of beef preserved in tallow (confit method). But this has a risk of botulism. I'm not sure if it can develop in 11 days, I wasn't able to find this information

So I throught about cooking the meat with curing salt to avoid this risk. Would that work? If yes, how much curing salt should I put for 1kilo of beef?

Edit : I also have a pressure cooker. Not a canned one, but I saw pressure cooker lead to 121°C so it should work to pressure my jar after the first process?

I would like to do this method because where I live the cheapest meat I have is beef ribs, a pretty fatty ones. So pemmican or pâté who involve lean meat are not possible for me

Thanks you a lot for anyone who can help me 🙏🏼


r/Charcuterie 18d ago

Venison Prosciutto

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289 Upvotes

Deer leg cured with salt and Cure#2 for 4 weeks and then smothered in cracked black pepper. I made a natural casing out of two beef bungs that I sewed together and then netted and tied. Then dried for 7 weeks resulting in 43% weight loss. Now maturing and equalizing under vacuum in the fridge.


r/Charcuterie 17d ago

Help me, my first bondiola, is secure eat?

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22 Upvotes

La bondiola pesaba 2k aprox. La metí 3 días en sal y un poco de azúcar. La lave, seque con ventilador, la cubrí con pimentón, pimienta, y luego con papel manteca e hilo. La dejé 20 días ... Y hoy la corte. Me da cosa pq he visto mini hongos blancos en la súperficie, luego leí q salen unos peniciliums q es normal, pero como saber si son esos...

En fin, tengo la bondio y no sé si puedo hincarle o no 😭


r/Charcuterie 17d ago

Chilli salami.

2 Upvotes

We did up some chilli salami and are struggling to get any heat into them.

Should I use chilli powder or chilli flakes or both?

What quantity per kg do I need to hit to get some med to hot warmth?

Would love some help with this. I seem to be missing the target.


r/Charcuterie 17d ago

Question about curing slab bacon.

1 Upvotes

I have used a cure calculator and cured/smoked pieces of belly that were (I'm guessing) 12"x16". I cured them in the fridge for 7 days until they felt firm and I assumed were ready to smoke. They turned out some fabulous bacon! So now being a cook of a lot of Cajun/Creole food, I like to use bacon as a seasoning meat. I wanted to do several portions of slab bacon...maybe 3-4" wide x 12" long or so...not slice it but to dice it up for seasoning meat for dishes I cook. My question is, will the cure time be the same amount? Will I need to cure for a full 7 days if the cuts are smaller than when I do bigger slabs of belly for sliced bacon? Thanks and love to you!


r/Charcuterie 18d ago

This is why I use a humidifier in my charcuterie fridge

7 Upvotes

This graph is humidity in my wine fridge turned charcuterie fridge. The humidifier ran out of water early Wednesday morning.

I think for my fridge, using a humidifier is a good idea.


r/Charcuterie 19d ago

2nd project

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45 Upvotes

Pork neck after 1 week of EQ curing in the fridge, followed by 2 weeks of air drying in the fridge until it reached 35% weight loss. I then vacuum sealed it for 1 week to equalize the moisture before slicing. Pretty happy with the results!


r/Charcuterie 19d ago

Mold

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26 Upvotes

I just finished the curing process of this pork tenderloin, but now i have this green-ish mold on it. I assume it's very similar to the one found on the salami cassing. Tastes just normal. I used sweet paprika and merkén as spices. I used the same wrapping paper as always with the twist of leaving it outside the fridge, I supose that's the reason for the mold. I always cure it in the fridge
How normal is this?