It was a good day!

[Jonathon]

The long wait is over! Actually only partially, we are going to leave them in for a few more days but for the most part they are done! Pepperoni was my favorite, followed by the Salami with wine and then the Habanero BBQ which is growing on me! Then the sticks in the background are Hatch Green Chili Brat that we used 10% more seasoning on to make it work as a snack stick. We did 3 different techniques on those and will have a video on it soon!

[skibumben]

Salami looks great! What percentage weight loss did you get?

[Joe Hell]

Jonathon I’m getting a curing chamber to play with at the shop soon. I can’t wait!

[Jonathon]

skibumben It was about 40% loss. The pepperoni was my favorite but the salami with wine was a close second. The Habanero BBQ seems to be getting better after a few hours out of the chamber, but it is still #3 in my mind. For whatever reason it had a strong vinegar smell (we soaked all strings in vinegar first) when we cut into it but it has faded and the sweetness and the heat have jumped to the forefront!

Joe Hell You’ll love it, can’t wait to see what you come up with!

[TexLaw]

Man, my mouth is watering! I’m dying to get (or work up) a home curing chamber.

[Jonathon]

TexLaw We are going to be getting more into it here. But from Austin and I all we can provide are things like the pH drop you are wanting and then the temp, time and humidity. We won’t be able to say “yeah hanging your basement should be close enough” or anything like that, so users will have to help each other out on that a lot. I am considering creating a Dry Cured Sausage group so anyone with experience doing this at home can join and then if another user has an issue they can just tag that group and everyone in it will get alerted. Good thought, bad thought?

[TexLaw]

Jonathon It sounds like a good idea to me.

I keep eyeing curing chambers, as well as all the stuff to cobble one together. My wife is starting to think that something is up.

[Dave R]

Jonathon count me in on the dry cure group

[Dave R]

Jonathon what I’m doing so far in my dry cured tests are working great, both the special casings and without. Not saying to go against the grounded science, but there are some new developments in dried cured meats that are interesting.

[glen]

Of all I’ve processed meats I’ve made, the dry cured salami impresses people the most!
I think it is the surprise factor of not believing it could taste that good made at home.

[skibumben]

I have to say dry curing and salumi have been my greatest demands from neighbors, friends and family. So much you can do with salt, time and a few ingredients.

[YooperDog]

Jonathon I think that it is a great idea. I am building a curing chamber out of a retired reach in drink cooler. Currently rebuilding the cooling system, cleaning and some R&R. I figure on putting together a control system for temp, humidity and air movement.

[Jonathon]

I created the group Dry Cured Sausage with the idea being that people who are either experienced or wanting to learn more can be tagged in any post from either a customer or Walton’s. Some of those questions might be ones that Walton’s/Meatgistics isn’t going to answer because we aren’t going to be able to tell you about just hanging the sausage in your basement but plenty of people do this with great results.

So, if you want to help with or learn more about Dry Cured Sausage join the group! https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/groups/dry-cured-sausage

[Dave R]

Jonathon my first experiment is going pretty well. Almost 3 weeks in the refrigerator. Not quick to 30 percent weight loss but I could wait. They wanted pizza for mother’s day lunch. I hope the photos sync up.




Dry aged pepperoni, scratch Italian sausage, home made dough on my high temp stone oven.

[Jonathon]

Dave R That’s a good looking homemade Pizza! I’ve never used dry-cured stuff on a pizza, I imagine it would be amazing though, how does it cook up?

[Dave R]

Jonathon great flavor and texture. Needs to be sliced thin, gets some nice toasted edges from the high heat. It’s at 3 weeks of drying and a little under 30 percent weight loss. I’m going to take it out to 35 percent and evaluate.