Dryness

[Don Speranza]

One month ago I made chorizo, pepperoni and soppresata. The meat has shrunk away from the casing and in all this time they have only lost one gram of weight and the meat is not very firm as I would expect. They have been curing on a wire rack in the refrigerator with plenty of air space. These are in 32mm casings. Did I do something wrong or does is just need more time?

[Joseph Czerniawski]

Did you use a standard frost free refrigerator or one that needs to be manually defrosted?

[Jim]

Wow! Only one gram? You must have a very precise scale to measure the loss of one gram. If the casing is separating from the meat, it indicates that the meat is shrinking/drying. You may want to check that the fridge has air circulation and dehumidification is woking.
The sausages should have firmed up in a month, especially the 32 mm. It usually takes 3 weeks max to loose 35% in a good fridge.

[Phil]

Not trying to be a jerk here but I would put a fresh battery in my scale and weigh again to be sure of the result.

[Don Speranza]

Actually that is a good suggestion but alas that is not the problem. Wished that it had been that simple.

[Don Speranza]

New commercial refrigerator–no freezer or defrosting.

[Don Speranza]

They have been curing on a wire rack in a commercial refrigerator at 37 degrees. I cut the chorizo open today and it was very moist and soft. Do you think hanging it in a warmer environment, say 58-60 degrees would hasten the drying?

[Jim]

I would find a fridge that has air circulation and put it in there. Most modern fridges circulate and dehumidify the air. That is what the sausage needs to properly dry.

[Dennis]

I made salumi on November 10th, on December 2nd, my dried weight loss was at 40%

My refrigerator drawer has a separate temp control, I set it to 37 degrees, not being a butt head, but did you weigh before you hung to ferment in a warm, draft free location?

Did you place it in the fridge on wire racks, leaving space between them?

If it’s not a modern frost free fridge, did you at least open and close the door several times a day?

I think that it is not drying because of high humidity, and that is why a modern frost free fridge is needed.

[Don Speranza]

I put a hygrometer in the fridge and discovered that the humidity is very high..89%. So now I have to figure out how to deal with that. I have plenty of air space around the product and the fan is working but obviously there is a serious humidity issue. I did not weigh before the incubation period but did weigh when I put them in the fridge.

[Dennis]

Glad to see that you tested the humidity, it will help if you open and close the door several time a day, it also depends how much you have drying in there, because all the moisture from the drying meat has to go somewhere.

With the use of a modern frost free fridge, when it cycles the fan runs removing some of the humidity.

If there is not a defrost cycle, I think it will be hard to remove the humidity unless you can vent the area. Like leaving it cracked open a little to help remove some. I’m sure someone with more experience will help you. There are a lot of good people on here that will give you advise worth taking.

Good luck

[Author]

Posts