Day 1 of Salami di Allesandra and Pepperoni

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 00:08

could this be dried meat juice caused by a pinhole in the casing"

Yes, that is certainly possible. I need a closer look. Be on the lookout for multiple dark colored spots.

TSMODIE · Post by **TSMODIE** » Tue Nov 06, 2012 17:06

Day23 and its going good, I have been having problems keeping humidity down, with out the humidifier, its hoovers around 82%, so yesterday I put a fan on it, It cost about 35 dollars for th total cost, I got a computer fan, 120v to 12v/5v adapter and a reostat to control the fan speed for 21 dollars at www.coolerguys.com, then went to Home Depot and go a dryer ven plastic part with a flapper that opens when the fan is on, the air fom the fan opens it and then it closes when the fan turns off, and then got a line volt digital timer for 12 dollars shipped on Amazon, drilled a 3 inch hole on the left front of the freezer, and mounted it there, then on the left lower, drilled a 2 inch hole and put a 2 inch pvc elbow there, i will put a screen over this

I then mounted the fan controller on the left side

I set up the timer to come on every 2 hours for five minutes, the fan I have is a 50 CFM, and the cabine is 50 suare feet, so with the 3 inch intake, it shoud remove the air in the cabinet twice in 5 minutes

this has kept the humidity at 75% spot on, the Salami is at about 25% weight loss, and the Pepperoni is at about 35% weight loss, I will cut one of the pepperonis open this weekend and see how is going, I am thinking I will want about 45 to 50% loss on the pepperoni, which should be within a week,Tim

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Wed Nov 07, 2012 07:30

Tim, that is terrific work! Everyone around here is jealous!

You wrote:

every 2 hours for five minutes,

and

the fan I have is a 50 CFM, and the cabine is 50 suare feet, so with the 3 inch intake, it shoud remove the air in the cabinet twice in 5 minutes

Here's a site that might help you a bit.
Air Flow & Air Speed - Calculation & Conversion (link here...) http://www.comairrotron.com/airflow-unit-conversion

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

TSMODIE · Post by **TSMODIE** » Wed Nov 07, 2012 16:59

I used that calculator Chuck, but was confused by the results, maybe you could explain it better for me???

atcNick · Post by **atcNick** » Wed Nov 07, 2012 23:15

Thanks for the description and pictures of the fan! Coming along nicely. Question: is 82% RH too high? Mine is regularly at low 80's and I dont seem to have any problem loosing weight, (err..my salamis, not me

) And no bad mold forming.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 06:48

Hi Nick,
Stan Marianski's directions for this particular sausage are as follows:

Dry the salamis at 57°; F. (14°; C.) in 80-85% humidity for 2 to 3 months (until 30-35% weight loss is achieved). The salamis are stored at (+or- 4°;) 55°; F. (13°; C.) in 75% humidity.

Hope this helps.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

TSMODIE · Post by **TSMODIE** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 17:30

Mine was up to 89% without the humidifier on, and I had to open the cabinet twice a day, I was getting smalldark spots on the suasages, and was worried it had too much humidity, I am also having good drying, despite the higher humidity, the pepperonis are at about 40% loss, I am going to cut one open Sunday and see what they look like, the fan really helped alot with the humidity,Tim

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Fri Nov 09, 2012 07:36

Hi Tim,
Those little "small dark spots" are just yeast growths - normal in this stage of the project. They take much longer to grow than do molds. Should be just fine! Let us know how the test goes though... perhaps a few pics too eh?

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

TSMODIE · Post by **TSMODIE** » Fri Nov 09, 2012 18:32

Hi Chuck, here are some closer pictures of the spots, they ae only on the Salamis, and only a few of them, there are none on the pepperonis, do you think they are yeasts, and should i remove them?

Post by **redzed** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 07:10

Geez, you've had these on the salamis since August, how did they turn out?

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 08:29

Hi Chuck, here are some closer pictures of the spots, they ae only on the Salamis, and only a few of them, there are none on the pepperonis, do you think they are yeasts, and should i remove them?

Oh... those little dark spots!

Much better photos. Good close ups Tim. Yup, I would remove them pal. Anything of gray or green color is possibly of the Zygosaccharomyces genus and only anybody's guess as to which species - countless numbers that have never even been identified. Keep your sausages nice and cream-colored or white.

Use a little rag, dampened and wrung out with vinegar and a bit of salt. It should come right off.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

TSMODIE · Post by **TSMODIE** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 18:38

Thanks Chuck, I will remove them today, they are not big, and there are only a few on the Salamis, they have been there for a little more than a week or so. I had the pepperoni at 40% weight loss, so I cut one open this morning, It looks great and taste great, I am going to let them dry to about 50% before vacuum packing them, below is a picture of the cut Pepperoni, Tim

TSMODIE · Post by **TSMODIE** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 18:40

I just noticed the date stamp on my photos are off, this picture was taken today, i will have to change the date on my camera,Tim

TSMODIE · Post by **TSMODIE** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 18:49

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sun Nov 11, 2012 07:29

It looks great and taste great,

Good work pal! If you get a chance, try to take a super-close up with additional light for the photo. Also, is there any evidence of case hardening? It looks terrific Tim. What does your helper say about it?

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Day 1 of Salami di Allesandra and Pepperoni

Day 23