Noob

[Sherri]

I’ll start things off and answer what I can answer to the best of my abilities. I am not that far ahead of you at about 9 months of consistent use of the umai products.

So, equilibrium curing can be done the way that you describe but that does not define the concept of equilibrium curing. Basically, there are two ways of curing (please correct me people if I am getting this wrong!), salt box and equilibrium. Salt box has the meat basically packed in a very large quantity of salt. The meat cures in this salt for some amount of time, then removed for drying. I guess the risk to this is knowing how much salt actually got absorbed into the meat. Given the amount of salt, leaving the meat in too long can create an over-salted product. In equilibrium curing, the meat is cured in a calculated amount of salt based on the weight of the meat. I often see the number 3%, I have been using 2.5%. There is no risk to the meat becoming over salting by remaining in the cure too long because there is a calculated amount of salt. In both cases, not leaving the meat to cure long enough can produce an under salted meat. As for the half and half that you mentioned, that is a variation on the equilibrium cure. The meat can be cured with the whole mix from the start, or you can use half the cure on day 1 and the other half added halfway through the curing time. I am currently using the 1/2 and 1/2 method you asked about.

Cold smoking. I know basically nothing about it, but would love to read what other’s bring to the topic. I only know that you cannot smoke the meats while in the Umai product unlike natural casing. Apparently, Australia offers a different but similar product that does allow the smoke through the membrane. But that is not an option in the states.

So final storage, here again I am anxious for the input you receive. Personally, we vacuum seal the finished salami and meat to stop the drying. I have some that are about 5 months old now but I have no idea how long I should expect them to last.

Processing everything in one day. That sounds like a great plan, with a couple of exceptions in my mind. For salami, they stay exposed to the air at a controlled temp for about 3 days. We hand ours except for the pressed salami. Then they go into the refrigerator and there should be air circulation around the individual pieces so they can dry properly. Can you handle the large volume and provide the air circulation? Are you planning to do the whole muscle meats that day as well. If so, that will all add some space considerations for you.

Hope what I said is accurate and, if not, hopefully someone more experienced will correct.