Homemade Sausage Making

I noted in the thread concerning butts, that the butts had lost about 16 to 20 % weight loss. Is this enough to extend shelf life?

I posted this question because I haven't found the answer anywhere else. I years past when I bought a "ham" and drained the water from the package. I had to use it rather quickly or it would rot in a 35 degree fridge. But I remember slab bacon from my childhood that was just covered to keep the dust off and left out on the kitchen counter.
Fermented sausage requires about a 30 percent weight loss to keep without refrigeration.

Hi Ross,

I'm hoping we get responses from experienced members here, this is a very interesting topic that I would like to follow.
Also I don't know if I'm running the risk of this going off topic......but I'd love to get some understanding of shelf life derived from weight loss during/ after curing, and then what happens after smoking?
During wet curing (brine curing) there is no weight loss, then how does that affect shelf life?

In fermented sausage the keeping qualities depend on the available water. Reduce that by 30% and along with the rest of the process you get a durable product.