Possible Humidity Chamber / Meat Locker?

[lkrfletcher]

Hi Guys. I have this old Freezer that I thought might be converted to a humidity Chamber for salami, soppresetta, or other forms of charcuterie meats. I am seeing some great posts about this and really want to try it, but will need a chamber, as humidity in Denver is pretty much nil.

The Thing is, they don’t make freezers like this anymore, the evap. coils are in the back and the shelves, so I would have to lie down the meats, or put them on some kind of rack to maximize air flow. I see everyone else hanging them.
After seeing processhead link on the smoker he made, I am willing to try it. I will have to read up, I don’t know about temps needed. What do you guys think?

[Dr_Pain]

I may have to be the barer of bad news on this. I don’t believe you will have your best results if you lay your salami directly on your cooling element. In order to maintain the temperature through the unit you will have to cool the shelves cooler than the ambient temp you need. Additionally you would have to rotate the salamis 3-4x/day to allow uniform evaporation. As for air flow you want minimal air flow to prevent quick drying and creating a dry ring, so this locket would be decent if you had wire shelves

[Jonathon]

Dr_Pain What if he installed some wire shelving between each shelf? Maybe then only have to rotate once a day?

[Dr_Pain]

Jonathon said in Possible Humidity Chamber / Meat Locker?:

Dr_Pain What if he installed some wire shelving between each shelf? Maybe then only have to rotate once a day?

Well that would be a FANTASTIC IDEA!!! I would be scared to drill holes in that beast but that could definitely work. Instead of 1 humidifier I would be tempted to do 2 (one at the top and one at the bottom) or because it is pretty boxed in I would do one at the bottom and have a couple of computer fans since it won’t directly provide airflow over the salamis. Top shelve could be used for semi-hard cheeses since they get vac sealed and don’t require much humidity

[Dr_Pain]

The doors would be a great place for cheese as well. You could easily test the temp and humidity at each shelve level (24hr test) and see what the average is and which charcuterie would tolerate it better.

[lkrfletcher]

Dr_Pain - Maybe the Juice is not worth the squeeze on this one. Who needs a big freezer?

[Chef]

lkrfletcher Well, I’m likely not going to be the popular answer, but using a freezer with coils in the shelves for this poupous is not the best choice in my opinion.

I would use something like this for a smoker, but never a curing cabinet.

I think the best choice for a curing cabinet would be a frost free freezer. Much easier conversion. Can add a humidifier to regulate the humidity.

I would avoid a freezer like this.

[lkrfletcher]

Well the freezer still works very well. I do not use it any longer. Guess I will put it on the curb with. Free sign on it.

[calldoctoday]

lkrfletcher I think you have a winner!

[Ridley Acres]

I would go for the meat locker rather than put it to the curb, but I like challenges.

[Dr_Pain]

Chef said in Possible Humidity Chamber / Meat Locker?:

lkrfletcher Well, I’m likely not going to be the popular answer, but using a freezer with coils in the shelves for this poupous is not the best choice in my opinion.

I would use something like this for a smoker, but never a curing cabinet.

I think the best choice for a curing cabinet would be a frost free freezer. Much easier conversion. Can add a humidifier to regulate the humidity.

I would avoid a freezer like this.

We were of the same opinion but as Jonathon pointed out you could technically put some wire racks in between the shelves and made it work. The frost issue won’t be an issue because you will never cool below 55F and actually not having a coil will help not needing much humidity from the humifier

[Dr_Pain]

lkrfletcher said in Possible Humidity Chamber / Meat Locker?:

Well the freezer still works very well. I do not use it any longer. Guess I will put it on the curb with. Free sign on it.

I seriously think you should give it a go before getting rid of it. Get a couple of those and a few controllers, a humidifier, and some computer fans and you are golden. You will need one penetration for your power to the humidifier and fans (if you use them) and and for the controller sensors.

A couple of stacking racks like this (obviously the right height

[Ridley Acres]

Worst case if you break it and it no longer cools you can use for smoker or paint storage if you live in an area that freezes. I have an old upright freezer that lost charge and is now my insulated paint cabinet for the shop.

[kyle]

lkrfletcher you need to shoot more elk and fill that freezer up

[Randie N]

Here is a link for you to check out. A lot of good info here for you. Also has videos on dry aging set up and humidity control

https://youtube.com/c/2GuysACooler