The Original Dry Bag Steak | Make Artisan Dry Age Steak at Home › Forums › UMAi Dry® Forum Questions › General Questions › Is a mini fridge ok to use?
- This topic has 9 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 2 months ago by
Ron Pratt.
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October 31, 2015 at 9:52 pm #2369
Dennis
MemberMy wife is giving me the evil eye about using the kitchen fridge, I have a mini fridge, doesn’t have a freezer compartment. Can I use it to use the dry bags? :angry:
November 1, 2015 at 1:00 am #9628Ron Pratt
MemberIn a nutshell the general answer is NO. Unless yours is an expensive model with normal operating cycles like a full fledged unit so as to draw off the moisture released in the aging process. You will actually run the risk of spoilage! Trust me – your wife is not the first one who doesn’t get it! What I always suggest is “ask” for the very bottom of “her” refrigerator then place your UMAi Bag sub-primal on a rack there and push it to the back. Then to help hide it from her constant reminder place jars of pickles. mustard etc in front! Hopefully she will become a convert once she tastes the results of your efforts! Who knows…maybe next time she’ll insist you use the top shelf!
RonNovember 1, 2015 at 2:02 pm #9629MemberRon,
Thank you very much, it is great to have someone like you here.November 3, 2015 at 12:48 pm #9634Rick
MemberIn my experience with curing i have found that you can use just about any size. Try to stay away from the wine cooler type that use the electronic style cooling with a fan. Fan can cause case hardening if used to much.
Fridges with a dedicated motor and pump work the best this way your temp controls will not fight to over ride the electronic style boards in the wine fridge.
November 3, 2015 at 7:02 pm #9635Jan Ooms
MemberRick,
Just a follow up on your wine cooler suggestion.
I was given a large non working wine cooler and a friend of mine fitted a brand new compressor for very little money.
He also disconnected all controls including the thermostat.
It works now solely on an external electric temperature controller as a trial and it works great, temperature wise.
Humidity control is the next in line and than the tidying up.
No fan is working in the cooler but I am considering of fitting one to transfer some fresh air at a controlled rate.
Any other suggestions are appreciated.
Jan.November 3, 2015 at 7:18 pm #9636MemberSince this is my first attempt and hearing that a frost free Fridge is needed, and having a mini fridge, has manual settings, compressor no freezer compartment was my original question. I want build a cring chamber soon, but going in for some surgery kinda holds me up. But I’m picking up some meat tonight and Saturday I’m planning on making Salami, two days after fermenting and placing into the fridge I have my surgery.
I will be off work for 6 weeks watching it dry and can’t do anything to eat it. I will post photos a long the way.
Thanks everyone, and if you have tips or anything please feel free to contact me
November 5, 2015 at 7:15 pm #9639MemberNovember 15, 2015 at 6:15 pm #9659George Sevelle
MemberHello to all, I’m new the this forum but have been dry curing for three years now and have just gotten started with the dry bags. I’ve done a bone in rib eye and now have a prosciutto in the frig that is down to 25%.
In researching different methods to both ferment and cure meats I decided to go with a stand alone freezer-
less refrigerator and have it hooked up to an external temp controller. I also have a humidifier that is hooked up to a digital controller to manage humidity. This system has worked well for me in the past and is working fine with the dry bags as well. I find I can keep my smoked meat in it along with other items such as beer and wine that are not as temp sensitive as raw foods. If you have the space consider going this route, it will keep the wife happy and you will have complete control of your curing environment.Good luck 🙂
October 21, 2019 at 6:26 am #12672pkfridges
MemberMini fridge is best for use in home, office, car ect. I have Black & Decker BCRK25B in my in my home. It has adjustable feature so it can be placed anywhere.
October 21, 2019 at 2:09 pm #12673MemberGlad you asked first! NO – neither a mini nor a wine frig will work for dry aging meat. The reason is simple…while they are cold they do no have a capability to draw off the moisture in the meat. That means your meat quite likely will merely rot!
Ron -
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