# Curing Fridge Set-up (Bear’s Method)



## Bearcarver

*Curing Fridge Set-up*  (Bear’s Method)

I figured I’d post this in case anyone’s interested. This method works good for me. I’ll explain it the best I can:


When I started Dry Curing meat, 6 years ago, I read that the temp should be between 34° and 40°. Any lower than 34° could slow the curing process, and any higher than 40° could be a problem with spoilage. I decided to hold my temp right in the middle of that range.
So I didn’t like checking the temp by opening the door, because that just lets warm air into the fridge, and if you look at a thermometer in the fridge, it might say 30°, because that may be the air temp at that time, or it could say 45°, because that could be the air temp at that time.
So what really is the meat temperature??-----Who knows???

So I figured since the best way to monitor your smoker is with a wireless digital thermometer, why not use that same system to get accurate Refrigeration temps. So for the air temp of the inside of the Fridge, I just hang my Maverick smoker probe on a Fridge rack, but that just tells the air temp as it cycles from the low temp to the peak temp, as the cold cycles on & off in the Fridge.

Then to get the temp of the inside of the meat that’s curing in the Fridge, instead of sticking a probe in a piece of meat, I filled a bottle about 3/4 full with water, and dropped my Maverick Meat Probe in the bottle.

It takes awhile, and some adjustments to the setting to get it to where you want it, but I had the water temp holding between 37° and 38°, and for quite some time now I’ve had it holding exactly 37°, which I figure is also the temp of the inside of the meats, and the air temp of the Fridge just continues to cycle from a Low of 31° to a High of 43°.

So this is how I’ve been doing it for 6 years, and using the curing times calculations that I use with my Dry Curing, I have never had anything that wasn’t cured to center, and nothing has ever been too salty. I think the temperature while curing is one of the factors in proper curing.

Below are a few pics of what I just explained. I’m sure there are other ways of doing this, but this is the way I’ve been doing it.


Bear



Here’s a shot of the inside of my Basement Meat Fridge:
At this time I had Pork Loin curing for CB on the top shelf, and Pieces of Pork Butt curing for BBB on the shelf below that.
However the thing I want to show here is the Maverick ET-73 probes on the right side of the lower shelf.
The one hanging is monitoring the Air Temp of the Fridge all the time.
The Meat Probe is in water inside the Gatorade Bottle.
At the point I have that fridge set, the air temp cycles from 31° to 43° continuously, and the one in the bottle holds exactly 37° at all times.
I keep the receiver unit upstairs on the Hutch in my Dining Room, so I can see what the temps are whenever I pass by.








Here is a shot of my receiver showing the low point of the Air Temp cycle at 31°, and the Water temp in the bottle is at the 37°.







Here I got the camera out a couple seconds too late to get the Air Temp peak, which was at 43°, and the Water temp was at 37°.


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## gary s

Good Info. This should help a lot of folks.   
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Gary


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## ndkoze

Do you leave your thermometers running all the time? Or was this just to calibrate your fridge dial?

Just wondering how long your batteries last if you leave them running all the time.


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## atomicsmoke

Makes sense. Saw the same principle in someone's temp controlled wine cellar. He had the thermostat probe inside a wine bottle (filled with water).

My I suggest you make a clarification for some who might confuse this with a dry curing chamber setup?


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## daveomak

Bear takes this stuff serious...    EXCELLENT IDEA !!


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## WaterinHoleBrew

That's a great idea Bear, thanks for sharing your setup !    Thumbs Up


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## Bearcarver

NDKoze said:


> Do you leave your thermometers running all the time? Or was this just to calibrate your fridge dial?
> 
> Just wondering how long your batteries last if you leave them running all the time.


I leave it set up like that 24-7-365. Have to change batteries twice a year at the most.

Bear


atomicsmoke said:


> Makes sense. Saw the same principle in someone's temp controlled wine cellar. He had the thermostat probe inside a wine bottle (filled with water).
> 
> My I suggest you make a clarification for some who might confuse this with a dry curing chamber setup?


Thanks Atomicsmoke.

I thought about that, but didn't know how best to state it.

I only use this for normal short time Dry curing, such as Belly Bacon, Canadian Bacon, Buckboard Bacon, Dried Beef, Bacon-on-a-stick, etc, etc.

With this kind of curing, I don't worry about what the Humidity is.

Bear


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## Bearcarver

gary s said:


> Good Info. This should help a lot of folks.
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> Gary


Thanks Gary!!!

And Thanks for the Point !!

Bear


DaveOmak said:


> Bear takes this stuff serious... EXCELLENT IDEA !!


Thank You Dave!!

I Appreciate it.

And Thanks for the Point too!!

Bear


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## dukeburger

Excellent method, Bear! Points!

I can't help but notice that empty rack space though


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## ndkoze

Thanks Bear,

If I ever save up the dough for a dedicated meat/cure fridge, I will definitely be getting an extra Maverick to go along with it.


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## Bearcarver

WaterinHoleBrew said:


> That's a great idea Bear, thanks for sharing your setup !


Thank You Justin!!

And Thanks for the Point !!

Bear


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## tropics

John that is good info it should help some.I do that some times just I do not leave the probe for more then a day or 2.Will be doing it later,have a new fridge for the basement coming today.

Richie


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## HalfSmoked

And the Bear comes through again !!!! great info Bear nice to have the time to work all this up for us.


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## Bearcarver

tropics said:


> John that is good info it should help some.I do that some times just I do not leave the probe for more then a day or 2.Will be doing it later,have a new fridge for the basement coming today.
> 
> Richie


Thank You Richie!!

The good thing about having it in there all the time, is it takes awhile to get the Temp right where I want it.

I don't use the top freezer in this Fridge, because when holding the Fridge at 37° or 38°, the freezer is not low enough for my liking. I like my Freezer at ZERO.

And Thanks for the Point !!

Bear


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## Bearcarver

HalfSmoked said:


> And the Bear comes through again !!!! great info Bear nice to have the time to work all this up for us.


Thanks Warren!!

And Thank You for the Point !

Bear


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## tropics

Bearcarver said:


> Thank You Richie!!
> 
> The good thing about having it in there all the time, is it takes awhile to get the Temp right where I want it.
> 
> I don't use the top freezer in this Fridge, because when holding the Fridge at 37° or 38°, the freezer is not low enough for my liking. I like my Freezer at ZERO.
> 
> And Thanks for the Point !!
> 
> Bear


John top freezer has its' own temp setting started making ice in about an hour. I have a cup of water in the fridge now with the probe in it.will tweak in the morning

Richie


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## Bearcarver

tropics said:


> John top freezer has its' own temp setting started making ice in about an hour. I have a cup of water in the fridge now with the probe in it.will tweak in the morning
> 
> Richie


Yup---Our 4 year old French Door Kenmore can be set anywhere with individual controls.

However my Older "Cheapo" from Home Depot (curing Fridge) only has one control, and if I would set it so the freezer would hold ZERO, the Fridge would be at freezing.

And holding the Fridge at 37°, like I do, makes the freezer too warm for my liking, so all I keep in that freezer is bottles of frozen water & paint brushes I use for painting my Log House.

Bear


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## tropics

Bearcarver said:


> Yup---Our 4 year old French Door Kenmore can be set anywhere with individual controls.
> 
> However my Older "Cheapo" from Home Depot (curing Fridge) only has one control, and if I would set it so the freezer would hold ZERO, the Fridge would be at freezing.
> 
> And holding the Fridge at 37°, like I do, makes the freezer too warm for my liking, so all I keep in that freezer is bottles of frozen water & paint brushes I use for painting my Log House.
> 
> Bear


John thanks for this post I always checked mine with just the probe.That bottle is a great idea,I used a coffee cup it was handy LOL.Checked at 5:00 AM 38* rechecked at 8:00 38* so the fridge is set.Now beaking in the new stove,have a bottom round roast in the oven.Thanks again Bud

Richie


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## ndkoze

Bear

Do you leave the thermometer in the water all the time? Or did you just do this to calibrate where the fridge thermostat needed to be set?


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## Bearcarver

tropics said:


> John thanks for this post I always checked mine with just the probe.That bottle is a great idea,I used a coffee cup it was handy LOL.Checked at 5:00 AM 38* rechecked at 8:00 38* so the fridge is set.Now beaking in the new stove,have a bottom round roast in the oven.Thanks again Bud
> 
> Richie


Sounds Good Richie!!

Bear


NDKoze said:


> Bear
> 
> Do you leave the thermometer in the water all the time? Or did you just do this to calibrate where the fridge thermostat needed to be set?


I leave my probes in there 24/7/365 so I don't have to start over every time I cure something.

Plus my original 6 year old ET-73 has a frozen on-off switch, and the only way I can shut it off is to remove the batteries.

My other Fridge & Freezers only have the cheap little stand-up thermometers in them, and I just glance at them once in a blue moon.

Bear


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## HalfSmoked

I got it figured out whoopee.

Question do you think one of the small dorm type fridge's would work?


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## Bearcarver

HalfSmoked said:


> I got it figured out whoopee.
> 
> Question do you think one of the small dorm type fridge's would work?


Sure---As long as it's big enough to cure what you want to cure in it.

Bear


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## Bearcarver

DukeBurger said:


> Excellent method, Bear! Points!
> 
> I can't help but notice that empty rack space though


Just noticed I missed your comment, Duke!!

I just don't eat as much any more. Mrs Bear never did, but I used to eat like a Hog---I could tell you stories you wouldn't believe!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





And Thanks for the Point !!

Bear


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## Rings Я Us

You got the set up down pat!  Lol your fridge is good for the coldest beer in town too! Thanks for the info .

Great to have your knowledge and not have to learn by trial and error..
Pays to ask and search the threads..


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## Bearcarver

Rings Я Us said:


> You got the set up down pat!  Lol your fridge is good for the coldest beer in town too! Thanks for the info .
> 
> Great to have your knowledge and not have to learn by trial and error..
> Pays to ask and search the threads..




Thanks Johnny!
I reinstalled the Pics for you to see too.

Bear


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## pilch

Since the change in the forum I've been in the wilderness and haven't been keeping my finger on the pulse.
Just fount this post and must give that big ol' bear a pat on the back.
What a magnificent set up and explanation for the cold side of smoking, THANKS BEAR.
Cheers from Down Under


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## Bearcarver

pilch said:


> Since the change in the forum I've been in the wilderness and haven't been keeping my finger on the pulse.
> Just fount this post and must give that big ol' bear a pat on the back.
> What a magnificent set up and explanation for the cold side of smoking, THANKS BEAR.
> Cheers from Down Under



Thank You Ian!!

Bear


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## Jabiru

Think I am going to setup my Beer Brewing fridge to dry cure after reading this. I use a Fridge temp controller for my Beer and I think it will great for this.

With a Fridge temp controller, plug fridge into controller set the temp and walk away. Has about 1-2c sway.

If anyones interested this is what I use: 
https://www.amazon.com.au/Inkbird-P...ocphy=9070909&hvtargid=pla-672793573653&psc=1


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## Bearcarver

Yup---Those are pretty neat. Don't they make one that's 120v??
Maybe that's more common in "Oz"?
I don't cure much any more, because it's too hard for me to use the stairs to & from the basement.
I sold my extra fridge to my Son, and I only cure small amounts in our main Kitchen Fridge.

Thanks for the info,
Bear


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