# Curing Chamber Build (w/ Cure View)



## solaryellow (May 24, 2011)

I have finally decided to make the leap into fermented dry-cured sausages. I have been wanting to do this for a while but the timing finally worked out just right.I am planning on using a Whirlpool fridge that doesn't quite hold perfect temp in the summer and winter. It looks like this:








I will remove the separator between the freezer and fridge so I have more room to hang suasage and ham.







Temperature control will be controlled by this freezer temp controller.







For humidity controls I bought this which has separate outlets for a humidifier and dehumidifier. I ordered a fogger that will be plugged into the humidifier outlet and have an AC AV cabinet low RPM fan that will be mounted to the side of the fridge for the dehumidifier.







The fogger I bought has a float. I plan on putting it in a large tub of water so I don't have to refill it all that often.







And to keep track of my temp and humidity I bought this remote probe weather station.







Parts should start arriving late this week. I need to add a 20a circuit to my panel and wire up the corner of my garage for all of this. Should be fun.


----------



## smokingohiobutcher (May 24, 2011)

Joel you been a busy boy!  Looks like a cool idea.

Grabbin me a boxO corn 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





SOB


----------



## solaryellow (May 24, 2011)

SmokingOhioButcher said:


> Joel you been a busy boy!  Looks like a cool idea.
> 
> Grabbin me a boxO corn
> 
> ...




Been very busy SOB but it is so worth it. I am hoping to get the dry curing chamber done on the days we aren't working on the 500gal RF smoker.


----------



## tjohnson (May 24, 2011)

Looks Cool

Keep a photo log of your progress.

Todd


----------



## chefrob (May 24, 2011)

very cool..............and ditto TJ!


----------



## BGKYSmoker (May 25, 2011)

Yeah keep us posted on your build. Dry cure sausage is fun.

This is the controller i'm using


----------



## solaryellow (May 25, 2011)

nepas said:


> Yeah keep us posted on your build. Dry cure sausage is fun.
> 
> This is the controller i'm using


I looked at that one after our conversation in chat the other night nepas. I decided to save $20 with the one I got. The homebrew guys had lots of good things to say about it so hopefully I won't be spending that money twice. :o)


----------



## alelover (May 25, 2011)

I have the same Johnson Control one I bought for lagering. They work well. I may have to take a ride up 85 sometime and see your projects. Good stuff.


----------



## alblancher (May 25, 2011)

Glad you started your build,  can't wait to see the first salamies hanging in it.

I got a lot to learn about fermented sausages so go step by step please!


----------



## exhaustedspark (May 25, 2011)

That looks impressive. I picked up a small humidifier yesterday and have been thinking of doing what you are doing just have been following my # one rule though.

Never do anything today you can put off until tomorrow.

Karl


----------



## BGKYSmoker (May 25, 2011)

Here is the humidity control, humidifier and probed hygrometer i use. Had them in the front to give my wifes spider plant some humidity. Now to the fridge.


----------



## meatball (May 26, 2011)

Good luck with your built, it's ambitious and you have my curiosity! Can't wait to see how it turns out.


----------



## solaryellow (Jun 20, 2011)

Started to make some progress on this project.

My box o' parts.







And the fridge ripped apart. The separator is gone but the cross piece will be put back on so the doors can still seal. I am still trying to figure out what to do with the controls. I am tempted to mount them in a small tupperware like container and then attach that to the back or side of the fridge.


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 8, 2011)

I finally got a chance to get back to my dry curing chamber project today. I started off by using a hole saw to put a hole in this PVC junction box to match the hole I had already drilled in the lower part of the fridge.







The next hole for the low volume AC powered fan I had was not so easy. I wasn't going to buy a 4" hole saw for it so I made do with a plastic cut off wheel on my Dremel. It is ugly but it works. The purpose of the fan is to draw humidity out of the chamber.







I then worked on fitting the fan to the junction box cover.







After drilling my holes for the fan I cut out a piece of screen to keep bugs out.







I then put the bolts through the hole in the junction box cover and screen. I added a couple washers between the fan and screen to keep the screen away from the fan blades and bolted it all together.







It's ugly, but it works.







Then I wired up the fan.







From there I installed the junction box onto the fridge. A tip that will make it easier for you to line up the hole, use the hole saw bit with a bit protruding to hang the junction box off of. That allowed me to get it damn near perfect.







The ugliness of that hole is bugging the ever living shit out of me but it works. The dehumidifier fan installed.







Next I installed the humidity controller and hooked up the fan to it.







I installed the temp controller next. The fridge plugs into the temp controller and when the fridge hits the ideal temp the controller kills power to it.







I hung the probe in the middle of what used to be the freezer. My thought is that heat rises so the best place to put the probe is up top.







For independent verification of humidity and temp levels I went with this Honeywell wireless unit. It supports up to 3 different probes should I decide to expand my collection of dry curing chambers.













Time to test it out. Temp is set.







The humidify light is on!







And the fogger is producing humidity.







An hour later we have perfection.







Tomorrow I have to figure out how to clean up all the wiring, mount the fridge controls, get the hanging sticks installed, and put some screen on the top hole in the fridge. I will be placing an order with Butcher Packer tonight for starter culture and mold.


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 8, 2011)

Oh yeah!


> Order Confirmation from Butcher and Packer
> 
> Joel
> 
> ...


And


> Date : 8 Oct 2011 - 17:45
> Order ID : 8879231
> 
> Payment by Card
> ...


The smoked hot spanish paprika will be for dry cured chorizo and the lemon grass will find its way into my Thai sausage.

My first attempt at dry cured sausage will be spanish chorizo, saucisson sec, peperone, and salume.


----------



## DanMcG (Oct 8, 2011)

Boy that's one ugly hole ya cut there!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Sorry but had to say it cause somehow I knew it bugged ya

Joel when ya get a chance could ya post your suppliers for the electronics. .


----------



## desertlites (Oct 8, 2011)

Good to see your finding the time to get it going Joel. You sure have taken this sausagemakin and run with it my friend,sure puts a smile upon my face. Hey when u ain't useing that fogger sure would be cool at Halloween parties HUH.


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 8, 2011)

DanMcG said:


> Boy that's one ugly hole ya cut there!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




It looked better before I tried to make it look prettier. Then it just got butt ugly. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





The fridge was a Craigslist freebie. I knew it couldn't hold temp when I got it. However, it will hit 50* all day long in my garage in the NC summer so it was fine for this. Removing the separator plate between the fridge and freezer made sure of it.

The humidity controller is the HUM-1 unit and I purchased that on Amazon. 
The temp controller I also picked up at Amazon. 
The pond fogger also came from Amazon. 
The remote thermometer/hygrometer I also picked up off of Amazon. 
The AC powered low flow fan was a freebie from a friend. It came out of an old AV cabinet they had. I am sure a variable speed PC fan would work as well with a power converter.

The junction box came from Lowes. http://www.lowes.com/pd_10030-223-E...urrentURL=/pl__0__s?Ntt=carlon+box&facetInfo=

The water reservoir was a plastic tub I had laying around.

The screen came from a local hardware store.

Misc bolts and fasteners came from Tractor Supply.

Let me know if you have any other questions Dan.


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 8, 2011)

desertlites said:


> Good to see your finding the time to get it going Joel. You sure have taken this sausagemakin and run with it my friend,sure puts a smile upon my face. Hey when u ain't useing that fogger sure would be cool at Halloween parties HUH.




I was thinking I might stop taking showers and start taking baths with it. 120VAC from a 15A circuit in the tub with ya can't be that bad can it?


----------



## roller (Oct 8, 2011)

Thats nice !!! I hope to have mine done in the near future..The only thing I have so far is the Freezer...Thanks for the parts list and where to buy them...


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 8, 2011)

Roller said:


> Thats nice !!! I hope to have mine done in the near future..The only thing I have so far is the Freezer...Thanks for the parts list and where to buy them...




Good luck. It isn't too difficult to do once you have the parts. I guess the art part is coming soon. ;o)


----------



## roller (Oct 8, 2011)

Yea I have been doing alot of reading....I am also trying to learn how to make cheese...you thought about that one ?


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 8, 2011)

Roller said:


> Yea I have been doing alot of reading....I am also trying to learn how to make cheese...you thought about that one ?




I have. That is my next project after getting the dry curing down. Mozzarella seems easy and simple enough but that doesn't top the list of my favorite cheeses.


----------



## roller (Oct 8, 2011)

I was thinking about starting out with chedder and was wondering if I could use my sausage stuffer as a cheese press?


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 8, 2011)

I am not much of an authority on the subject but after hitting up Google, I don't see why not. Drain holes would be my first concern. The other would be getting the cheese out although using cheesecloth should simplify that. I am assuming you are using a vertical stuffer.

If the wifey knew what I was thinking right now you (and me) would certainly be in trouble Roller. lol


----------



## roller (Oct 8, 2011)

Yes a vertical stuffer and I would use cheese cloth.. I just need to get busy on the curing chanber because the cheese has to cure for 3 to 12 months...Thanks


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 9, 2011)

I let the curing chamber run all night to see how all of this stuff was going to work and so far it is doing exactly as expected. The HUM-1 humidity controller is a little too precise but I haven't been able to figure out how to adjust it. It seems to hold within a percentage or two of the desired humidity level but will kick on the fan or the fogger beyond that. I had expected a little more tolerance for fluctuations much like the temp controller.


----------



## roller (Oct 9, 2011)

I am going to build mine using the same equip that you used. Do you think that they are working against one another? And do you think that you have to much surface water in the chamber? The more surface water you have the more the humidity you have. You might put a cover on the water chamber and cutting a 2 in. hole in the top for the moisture to escape..That will cut back on the surface area of the water and still leave you with a large volume tank...


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 9, 2011)

Roller said:


> I am going to build mine using the same equip that you used. Do you think that they are working against one another? And do you think that you have to much surface water in the chamber?




Not exactly. I think the HUM-1 unit is just too precise. It either is just right or it isn't which could cause some contention between the fan and the fogger. I am doing this for personal use so a little variation in humidity isn't that big of a deal to me. I am wondering if this unit was really designed for a much larger space where the variations in humidity level will be less pronounced. As an example, when the humidity level is set for 70%, the fan is being kicked on at 72%. Then when the chamber hits 69% the fogger is kicking on. I would have expected at a minimum a 5% variation before kicking either on but that does not seem to be the case. I am going to keep an eye on it and if needed I can just unplug the fan from the controller. I do need airflow though for the extended dry curing I hope to do so I am not sure what to do. I suppose I could purchase another hygrometer and regulate it that way. Regardless, I am not going to borrow any trouble at this point and will do a batch of sausage with the current setup and see what my results are.

I don't think I have too much surface area of water in the chamber but take that with a grain of salt since this is my first build. It could simply be the placement of the HUM-1 unit. I have it about halfway between the humidity source and the top of the fridge which also happens to be where the temp probe is placed. As the fridge runs it should be removing humidity in theory so that may play into this as well.


----------



## roller (Oct 9, 2011)

When I had my Turtle Farm and was hatching 100,000 turtle eggs a year I had a simular set up with a AC and a heater and water tank...It worked great but the room size was 12x20 ft. and had a controler unit on each unit working seperatly so I could put any varency that I wanted in the room..

Do you think 2 seperate units would work better than one that way you could set each one at different settings..That would be the seperation in degrees that you would need so the fan would not be coming on so much...


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 9, 2011)

It might. That would be a significant expense though. To be fair it isn't like the fan is kicking on within seconds of the fogger turning off. It is more like an hour or so.


----------



## roller (Oct 9, 2011)

Well thats not to bad. I thought it was like on and off at a steady pace all the time non stop...Sounds like you have a good system to work with. I like the idea of the fan that way you can keep the air fresh all the time .


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 9, 2011)

Ah. Sorry if I made it sound like that. The fan and air circulation is key to the drying process. Hopefully I will have some great results to post in about 4 - 6 weeks.


----------



## roller (Oct 9, 2011)

Looking forward to it..Maybe I can have mine built by then..


----------



## hdflame (Oct 9, 2011)

solaryellow said:


> Ah. Sorry if I made it sound like that. The fan and air circulation is key to the drying process. Hopefully I will have some great results to post in about 4 - 6 weeks.




Seeing that you're in NC too, where did you hear about making this kind of sausage?  I've always just heard of hanging and air drying link sausage.  That is done at temps just above freezing.  Also read about and watched a couple of shows on food network about air drying/aging beef the same way.  One of the shows was with Alton Brown and the other was Guy Fieri.

I would love to try air drying some country link.  Do you or anyone know of some good links on a how to for that?  I'm not sure if I need to add more salt or any Morton cure if I'm planning on air drying.  Drying sausage and making sugar cured hams are too things I wish I'd learned from my Grandpa before he died.  When you're younger, you don't think of those kinds of things till they're too late!

You know, I've got a whole set of Foxfire books.  Think I'll check them for some info.  If I find anything, I'll share.

Bobby


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 9, 2011)

hdflame said:


> Seeing that you're in NC too, where did you hear about making this kind of sausage?  I've always just heard of hanging and air drying link sausage.  That is done at temps just above freezing.  Also read about and watched a couple of shows on food network about air drying/aging beef the same way.  One of the shows was with Alton Brown and the other was Guy Fieri.
> 
> I would love to try air drying some country link.  Do you or anyone know of some good links on a how to for that?  I'm not sure if I need to add more salt or any Morton cure if I'm planning on air drying.  Drying sausage and making sugar cured hams are too things I wish I'd learned from my Grandpa before he died.  When you're younger, you don't think of those kinds of things till they're too late!
> 
> ...




I have been reading and researching for at least a few years. Most of my motivation has been to recreate Iberico and Serrano Jamon which I had in Spain almost 20 years ago. I also enjoy dry cured sausages and want to make my own. Any half decent sausage book should have instructions on how to do it. http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/ has plenty of information on their website but their books are even more informative.

For these types of fermented sausages you will want cure #2.


----------



## slownlow (Oct 10, 2011)

Man looks great!!  Thanks for the step by step. I'd like to get into this one day.


----------



## alelover (Oct 10, 2011)

Excellent Joel. That's going to be great. And when I get ready to take that leap I will know how to do it. Thanks buddy.


----------



## smokin - k (Oct 10, 2011)

Brilliant idea.... Thanks for sharing... Smokin - K


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 10, 2011)

slownlow said:


> Man looks great!!  Thanks for the step by step. I'd like to get into this one day.




Thanks!




alelover said:


> Excellent Joel. That's going to be great. And when I get ready to take that leap I will know how to do it. Thanks buddy.


Glad to be of assistance Scott.


Smokin - K said:


> Brilliant idea.... Thanks for sharing... Smokin - K


Sure. Not entirely my idea but thanks!


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 15, 2011)

Today I mixed up:

5lbs of tuscan salami

5 lbs of saucisson sec

10 lbs of spanish chorizo

10 lbs of peperone

I am letting it sit in the fridge tonight. Tomorrow I will add the Bactoferm F-RM 52 to the meat and stuff it. I also picked up some Mold-600 to spray on to the sausages. Fermentation begins tomorrow. :o)


----------



## DanMcG (Oct 16, 2011)

Best of luck to ya Joel!


----------



## hdflame (Oct 18, 2011)

Looking forward to seeing it hanging in the chamber.  I guess you'll have that finished by the time the meat is ready?


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 18, 2011)

I guess I forgot to post some pics. As usual, crappy cell phone pix. Once I get started I usually forget to get the good camera and take better ones.

6 of the 10lbs of beef pepperoni mixed with starter culture added.








Mold 600 bath waiting for its first customer.







Rinsed out 32-35mm hog casings.







And then I really got into it and didn't think to take any pics until everything was stuffed and hung.







I did remember to weigh each one. I will give it about a week or so before I start checking weights.


----------



## slownlow (Oct 18, 2011)

looking great.  Boy I though waiting 2 weeks for smoked cheese was long, this would kill me.


----------



## chefrob (Oct 18, 2011)

nice chamber and thx for the build process, good to see some links hanging!


----------



## hdflame (Oct 18, 2011)

What are the hangers you're using to hang the links on?


----------



## michael ark (Oct 18, 2011)

I'll be watching.


----------



## BGKYSmoker (Oct 18, 2011)

Looks great Joel.


----------



## desertlites (Oct 18, 2011)

Yup Pa. and the northeast has worn on me, gonna start heading south for the SELA and looks like after that will have to make another visit to Joels place.


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 18, 2011)

hdflame said:


> What are the hangers you're using to hang the links on?


Bacon hangers. Using every other tine keeps a nice inch gap between the links as they are hanging. http://www.butcher-packer.com/index..._id=65&zenid=4f50a30d02b908df09cd9863de867384


michael ark said:


> I'll be watching.




It will be a while. ;o)




nepas said:


> Looks great Joel.


Thanks Rick!


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 18, 2011)

desertlites said:


> Yup Pa. and the northeast has worn on me, gonna start heading south for the SELA and looks like after that will have to make another visit to Joels place.




I'll got set some cones up at the grocery store to reserve you a parking spot Bob.


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 18, 2011)

Got home from work today and went to check temps and humidity levels. I also opened the door to check for mold growth. Lots of tiny white specks are starting to show.


----------



## hdflame (Oct 19, 2011)

So what will you do when it's finished?  Do you just wash off the links under running water?  Wipe it off?  Usually mold is a sign of spoilage, so in this case it's supposed to be there, but how will you know it's the good kind?

I've been buying air dried sausage from a local guy, and last year some of what I got from him had some light white mold on the outside when I got it from him.  I wiped it off and  I went ahead and froze part of it, but some of what I left in the fridge spoiled pretty quick!  I'm just trying to figure out the difference because I'd like to try air drying some myself.  Not going to add any bacteria like you did, just hang it in a small fridge with a little fan moving air.

I guess the "air dried" I'm talking about is really  more like just aging it rather than completely drying it.  Would I need anything other than just salt or should I also add some of the Morton's tender quick?

I remember seeing my grandpa hang hams in a net bag and coat the outside of hams and sausage with black pepper.  I seem to remember hearing the black pepper was to keep flies off of it.  This was just hung in the smoke house or sometimes the pack house.  In NC we don't have many days that are cold enough to keep flies and such off of curing meat unless you have it inside a building that is sealed with something like screenwire.  My grandpa never smoked any of his meats, but I guess the smoke would also keep pests away too.


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 19, 2011)

hdflame said:


> So what will you do when it's finished?  Do you just wash off the links under running water?  Wipe it off?  Usually mold is a sign of spoilage, so in this case it's supposed to be there, but how will you know it's the good kind?
> 
> I've been buying air dried sausage from a local guy, and last year some of what I got from him had some light white mold on the outside when I got it from him.  I wiped it off and  I went ahead and froze part of it, but some of what I left in the fridge spoiled pretty quick!  I'm just trying to figure out the difference because I'd like to try air drying some myself.  Not going to add any bacteria like you did, just hang it in a small fridge with a little fan moving air.
> 
> ...




The mold is harmless so it can be wiped off or left on. Most of us do see mold as a sign of spoilage but not in this case. If the mold is any color other than white or off-white/cream it will get wiped off with a vinegar solution. The good mold serves a couple of purposes. First off, it protects the meat from yeasts, molds, and bacteria that occur naturally that could spoil the sausage. It also helps to prevent the outside of the sausage from drying out and hardening which trap moisture and not allow the sausage to dry properly.

For long term curing you should use Cure #2.

Do you know if your grandpa dredged them in salt long before hanging them?


----------



## bratrules (Oct 19, 2011)

nice setup i wish i had room for something like that!!!!!


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 19, 2011)

Thanks bratrules! I didn't really have room for it either. I have to shuffle equipment now just to get the mower out but my little goat path through the garage can be navigated. lol


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 19, 2011)

Before heading out on a little 3 day work related roadtrip this afternoon I stopped by the house get my clothes and check on the sausages. More mold!


----------



## shoneyboy (Oct 19, 2011)

Very nice work, I have never thought about air drying sausage. Something else I want to try now !


----------



## bratrules (Oct 19, 2011)

I feel that the mold gives it a better flavor.


----------



## hdflame (Oct 20, 2011)

solaryellow said:


> The mold is harmless so it can be wiped off or left on. Most of us do see mold as a sign of spoilage but not in this case. If the mold is any color other than white or off-white/cream it will get wiped off with a vinegar solution. The good mold serves a couple of purposes. First off, it protects the meat from yeasts, molds, and bacteria that occur naturally that could spoil the sausage. It also helps to prevent the outside of the sausage from drying out and hardening which trap moisture and not allow the sausage to dry properly.
> 
> For long term curing you should use Cure #2.
> 
> Do you know if your grandpa dredged them in salt long before hanging them?


I was pretty young at the time, so I really don't remember about the sausage.  I know he used Morton's Sugar Cure for the hams...no smoke.  I know he used brown sugar mixed with the salt.

For the sausage, covering with salt prior to hanging and drying, sounds like a good idea to keep it from spoiling.  

The guy I've been buying air dried link from the last few years, never has it ready till sometime in January.  I'm assuming that's because he's waiting for good cold weather before hanging.  Around here, we really only have a short window to hang meats outside without temperature controlled environment.  

I'm thinking about asking the guy I buy from now, if he'd share his secrets before their lost, like with my Grandpa.  I wish I'd taken more time to learn more from him when he was living.  He only went to about the 6th grade in school but he could do math in his head like a calculator!  He was a farmer and building contractor.  He built some really big houses in a local gated community.  You'd never know from looking at him, how much he really knew.

We went out in the woods once and cut down a small White Oak tree.  He showed me how to split it into strips and then we used it to cane a chair bottom.  I really enjoyed documenting that, wish I'd learned more....dumb kids!


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 20, 2011)

The dredging question was in regards to the hams.

I hear ya. I wish I would have asked both of my grandfathers more questions before they passed on. :o(


----------



## hdflame (Oct 21, 2011)

solaryellow said:


> The dredging question was in regards to the hams.
> 
> I hear ya. I wish I would have asked both of my grandfathers more questions before they passed on. :o(




I remember the hams laying on a bench table top with the salt caked over them.  I've also seen packing boxes used.  I think he hung the meat in cheesecloth after a certain period of time.  I remember him going out and just slicing off enough for breakfast, and also remember seeing him tasting it right off the ham before cooking.


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 22, 2011)

In just a short few days the mold development has really taken off. Still no sign of any bad mold.


----------



## bratrules (Oct 22, 2011)

Nice those are coming along well!!!!!!


----------



## michael ark (Oct 22, 2011)

Looks like powdered sugar.


----------



## DanMcG (Oct 22, 2011)

Those suckers are looking perfect Joel, I'm a little envious to say the least.

One dumb question for ya, how did you tie the string to the sausage? I don't see a knot ....Did ya just poke it through the casing?


----------



## boykjo (Oct 23, 2011)

Those are looking great joel...... Might have to take a trip when bob gets there.........

Joe


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 23, 2011)

bratrules said:


> Nice those are coming along well!!!!!!




They sure are.




michael ark said:


> Looks like powdered sugar.




It really does. Interestingly enough I touched one yesterday to see if it would come off like powdered sugar and it didn't.




DanMcG said:


> Those suckers are looking perfect Joel, I'm a little envious to say the least.
> 
> One dumb question for ya, how did you tie the string to the sausage? I don't see a knot ....Did ya just poke it through the casing?




Thanks Dan! For each one I would tie a loop of butchers twine on to the casing before stuffing. The knot is hard to see because the casing has dried out but it is there. I did that instead of hanging the casing directly on the hangers because I figured the dried casing would be hard to get off after it finished drying. I also tied the links instead of twisting them.




boykjo said:


> Those are looking great joel...... Might have to take a trip when bob gets there.........
> 
> Joe


That sounds like a great plan Joe. Bring that cooler with ya and I will get something on the UDS.


----------



## bmudd14474 (Oct 23, 2011)

Looking good Joel. We need a countdown timer for this thread so we know when its gonna be done.


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 23, 2011)

It is a matter of weight and not time at this point Brian. I am gonna guess three weeks. The sausages need to lose 30% of their overall weight before they are considered done.


----------



## bmudd14474 (Oct 23, 2011)

Im in the process of looking for a old fridge now thanks to you. My wife isn't happy with you Joel LOL :wife:


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 23, 2011)

Hehe. Glad we are 2500+ miles apart. lol


----------



## pineywoods (Oct 24, 2011)

Dang that's looking good well not really but it will be


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 25, 2011)

You don't want some partially mushy and completely fuzzy sausage Jerry?


----------



## slownlow (Oct 25, 2011)

Man they are coming along good. Thanks for keeping us updated.


----------



## rwills81 (Oct 26, 2011)

Joel

Everything looks awesome....I am researching and learning to build my own meat curing chamber and will document everything I buy and build with. I bought a used GE mini-fridge, but it is narrow and taller than most with no freezer which makes this guy the perfect size. I will create my own post with pictures at a later time. I plan on taking my time with this fun project and going to do soem things a little different.

Tell me what you guys think of this.....My first thing I am going to do is customize the walls with mutliple removable 8" x 8" x 1" slabs of Pink Himalayan Salt, creating a perfect little extra atmoshpere.

Also, I have a question can I age a rib roast in the chamber open with other meats curing? or will there be a cross contamination with aging steak and curing sausages?

Another question for Joel.....what do you do for fermentation. I have read some people putting a heat source in there chamber to get it to 80 degrees witha 85-90 humidity for a day, another person customized a blue bin storage for that purpose and another guy just lays his down on a cookie sheet, places a damp towel over them and puts it in the oven, with the oven being off of course.

I read one guys chamber building experiment and he put a small computer fan towards the bottom of the chamber blowing out...has anyone done this? His reasonings were to help control the humidity, he also had some holes drilled in at the top to let clean air in....has anyone done this? I worry about the amount of cool leakage but it does sound like a way out of condensation problems.
 

Thanks for the posts, this is great stuff


----------



## solaryellow (Oct 26, 2011)

RWills81 said:


> Joel
> 
> Everything looks awesome....I am researching and learning to build my own meat curing chamber and will document everything I buy and build with. I bought a used GE mini-fridge, but it is narrow and taller than most with no freezer which makes this guy the perfect size. I will create my own post with pictures at a later time. I plan on taking my time with this fun project and going to do soem things a little different.
> 
> ...




I have done some aging but I have always aged beef in a 38* refrigerator. My dry curing chamber is running at about 58* which is where it needs to be for the sausage. I would think that is too high of a temp but I am not an aging expert.

For fermentation, it happened to be 83* outside the day that I did this so I opened the doors to the curing chamber, let it get up to ambient temp, unplugged the temp controller and left the humidity controller plugged in and let it go for two days. At the end of day 2 the temp had dropped to about 75* but that was still good enough for me. With winter coming up I will need to find a way to heat the chamber and am looking into my options.

If you look back at my pics you will see I have an audio/video cabinet fan in the bottom to pull out humidity and a hole in the top to pull air in. It holds temp pretty well despite that. Summer might be a different story though.


----------



## laszlo (Nov 6, 2011)

Nice setup solary.

This guy here was my inspiration:

http://mattikaarts.com/blog/charcuterie/meat-curing-at-home-the-setup/

Also check out his charcutterie receipes - the guy is really good. Valuable write-up on fermenting meat safety.

I sourced good size fridge (without freezer, good, less messing around), temp and humidity controllers and other bits and pieces. No time as yet to do actuall build, but if I get into it, I'll post the progress here.

I have a question about your fogger: when I did my research on the topic, it seems like the "standard" equipment to create humidity are ultrasonic humidifiers. Never seen fogger mentioned. Does it have any advantages over humidifier? The humidifiers are usually blowing the mist from outlet, wouldn't that be advantage to have wet mist distributed more evenly thrughout the fridge volume?

Happy dry curing.

Cheers.


----------



## solaryellow (Nov 6, 2011)

The reason I went with a fogger was because I could put the fogger in a large or small vessel full of water instead of being limited by the size of the tank on a humidifier. I sometimes am out of town for more than a few days at a time and want to make sure there is plenty of water available for humidity. The downside to the fogger is that if your container is too full the fogger can spit water outside of it.

Good luck with your build Lazlo!


----------



## laszlo (Nov 6, 2011)

Thanks solary. I see your point. I do few business trips per month as well, although I always do have someone staying at home, so I think after giving instructions how to change water in humidifier I should be sweet.

But while I'm on it, do you use distilled water? I'm hearing that those humidifiers should use distilled water. Although cheap to buy, the quantities will add up rather quickly over several months and may present a bit of logistic problem down the track.

Cheers.


----------



## solaryellow (Nov 6, 2011)

This is my first dry curing attempt so what I know today may not be the correct response for the long term. I am not using distilled water but I am using filtered water from my fridge that removes chloramine and chlorine from my tap water. The fogger that I am using was designed for pond use so I don't think I have too much to worry about in terms of what kind of water it is.


----------



## higgins11 (Jan 30, 2012)

What would be wrong with using an upright freezer for a project like this? How did you seal the doors back up on your refrigerator after you cut out the divider

thanks


----------



## solaryellow (Jan 30, 2012)

A freezer would work fine. I removed the separator plate between the fridge and freezer but not the actual divider that the door seals contact.


----------



## laszlo (Jan 30, 2012)

I've finally managed to build my curing chamber. Turned up pretty good, currently housing my dry cured chorizo and smoked bacon batch done over Christmas.

Still in testing stage to check all systems, so far it is working like a charm.

Unfortunatelly, I've broken my wrist and the arm gonna stay in plaster for six more weeks, taking any decent pics is impossible. So once I'm cured (pun intended) I'll share my build experience here with tons of pics.

Cheers,

Laszlo


----------



## ldrus (Jan 30, 2012)

solaryellow said:


> I looked at that one after our conversation in chat the other night nepas. I decided to save $20 with the one I got. The homebrew guys had lots of good things to say about it so hopefully I won't be spending that money twice. :o)




i use the exact same one on a chest freezer i turned into a  8 ft x 3 ft deer cooler.....ummmm maybe  2fer???????? lol


----------



## dangerdan (Feb 7, 2012)

Soon you'll find that, it's not how it looks on the outside but how it looks on the inside. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






I'd start off with something simple like a few pork loin for Lonzino. This will show you how your chamber is going to react to product and how to dial in your unit before you go to a lot of trouble grinding and stuffing. Once you get the drying under your belt, fermenting is another challenge that has to be understood. In properly fermenting your sausage you gain the flavor your looking for. After that, drying is like waiting for paint to dry. (once you know your units kinks) Proper logging of weights, molds and feel of a dried sausage will follow is suit.

Good luck!


----------



## diesel (Feb 7, 2012)

solaryellow,

Very impressive.  Next thing ya know you will have a prosciutto hanging.


----------



## ironhorse07 (Feb 17, 2012)

My wife has a couple of humidifiers that use the same fogger/mister unit. I am trying to remember the manufacturer. Anyway, in the manual that came with them it said to use only tap water and that distilled water would not work.


----------



## BGKYSmoker (Feb 18, 2012)

OH MAN that looks soooooo good.

Nice job


----------



## redhawke (Dec 26, 2012)

SolarYellow how did it turn out??? I would like to know how you went about removing the section between the freezer and the frig part??? The pictures looked really good.


----------



## chix-boy (Dec 26, 2012)

018.JPG



__ chix-boy
__ Nov 23, 2012






I also have the Hum 1 in my chamber its kind of finicky.,


----------



## solaryellow (Dec 27, 2012)

Redhawke said:


> SolarYellow how did it turn out??? I would like to know how you went about removing the section between the freezer and the frig part??? The pictures looked really good.



Unfortunately, it hasn't seen as much use as I would like. Too much crap going on. :o(

As for removing the separator plate, I searched Google looking for a factory service manual for the refrigerator. It had an exploded parts view which showed me how to remove it. :biggrin:


----------



## redhawke (Dec 27, 2012)

Thanks for the idea, I am thinking of using two separate chambers one for the fermenting and one for the curing or drying chamber. Still in research mode, reading everything I can find.


----------



## trickydick (Jul 19, 2013)

Looks great!  Any updates?  How did your sausages turn out?  I've been wanting to build a similar chamber.  How do you heat the chamber for the fermentation phase? I have been thinking about maybe using a smaller chamber  just for fermentation , and a fridge like you've got for the drying and aging.
I am concerned about the use of mold and bacteria and cross contamination in my walk out basement where I do my homebrew fermentation. I could maybe put it in the garage instead.  I was thinking about also adding a cold smoke generator, so I could smoke right in the chamber if I wanted to.  I was curious why you drill exhaust fan hole near the bottom of the fridge.  Have you found the hum-1 unit to be acceptable even though you cannot control a differential to reduce the cycling?  I am also wondering if there is an easy way to remote mount the humidity controller and fogger to decrease the amount of clutter in the inside of the fridge.  

Thank you for posting your build.  It is definitely encouraging.  By the way, the price on the bactoferm! Wow, more than I expected.  How much meat will that treat?  I was hoping to try smaller batches, just cause stuffing 30 pounds of sausage is a lot of work, and would be nice to start on a smaller scale.

TD


----------



## solaryellow (Jul 23, 2013)

TrickyDick said:


> Looks great!  Any updates?  How did your sausages turn out?  I've been wanting to build a similar chamber.  How do you heat the chamber for the fermentation phase? I have been thinking about maybe using a smaller chamber  just for fermentation , and a fridge like you've got for the drying and aging.
> I am concerned about the use of mold and bacteria and cross contamination in my walk out basement where I do my homebrew fermentation. I could maybe put it in the garage instead.  I was thinking about also adding a cold smoke generator, so I could smoke right in the chamber if I wanted to.  I was curious why you drill exhaust fan hole near the bottom of the fridge.  Have you found the hum-1 unit to be acceptable even though you cannot control a differential to reduce the cycling?  I am also wondering if there is an easy way to remote mount the humidity controller and fogger to decrease the amount of clutter in the inside of the fridge.
> 
> Thank you for posting your build.  It is definitely encouraging.  By the way, the price on the bactoferm! Wow, more than I expected.  How much meat will that treat?  I was hoping to try smaller batches, just cause stuffing 30 pounds of sausage is a lot of work, and would be nice to start on a smaller scale.
> ...



I use a hot plate to get it up to temp for fermentation.


----------



## hoity toit (Sep 25, 2013)

really looks good fella..., I have 30 lbs deer left from last year and I am going to make hard Salami in a couple of weeks out of i. !!


----------

