Heat Problem

[azaffiro]

Hi. So I've been curing meats for quite a few years now and this is the first time I have run in to this problem. I generally hang in my attic where I keep a small heater and humidifier. This morning I noticed my heat was at 95* F! The last time I was up there was 48 hours ago so I have to imagine I accidentally hit the heater dial all the way up at that time. I have some salamis and sopressatas up there both with TSPX & pink salt added which have already hung for over 2 weeks and have a 30-35% loss. I have sausage with pink salt and no culture at 45-50% loss. And I have duck proscuitto with no pink salt or starter at 30% loss. I was literally planning on taking it all down this weekend. Now I am concerned. Should I be? I really don't ant to throw away 100lbs of meat, but I will if I have to. There has been no mold growth and everything smells fine. Thanks for the help!

[NCPaul]

It sounds as if all the items have lost enough water to be shelf stable and able to take the temperature. You may have hurt the outer texture but you won't know until you cut them. Welcome to the forum.

[azaffiro]

Thanks. After research and discussions with an old Italian (my father), I agree. I cut in to a salami finnochiona yesterday. The smell was perfect. The taste was right. Even the texture was good. Maybe a little tough on the outside, but no one will know the difference. I am so relieved. All that work... Thanks again!

[wheels]

... Maybe a little tough on the outside, but no one will know the difference. I am so relieved. All that work... Thanks again!

They can be 'evened out' by vac-packing.

Phil

[azaffiro]

Yup... That I am completely familiar with. I actually figured this out on my own accidentally. I had (and sometimes still have) a case hardening issue. I vacuum pack and refrigerate all my meats because I feel like it just keeps it fresher longer. So I noticed that the moisture really evened out when I cut in to it again. I try to mitigate it with a humidifier, but I forget to fill it and it drops in to the 50's sometimes. I need to shrink my room so I only have to humidify a smaller area.

I'm glad I found this forum. It is tough to find good info on this stuff. Thanks again!