Curing environments

[The Idiot]

Hi all!

First off, I apologise if this question is screamingly obvious. I've been dabbling in the world of curing and smoking for around a whole ten days now, and every question I have results in a tidal wave of conflicting opinions.

At present, I'm just doing some simple curing, but intend to get going with more advanced stuff once I'm up and running.

My main confusion seems to stem from the curing environment. Not only are there a plethora of opinions out there, but there are also plenty of folks who insist that their way is the only way, and if it's not followed to the letter, then death (or at best impotence) will surely follow. Now, I might be somewhat new to all this, but many years ago I had an uncle who had a leg of cured bacon hanging in his kitchen as a regular feature. He ate slices off it on a regular basis, summer and winter, and lived to be 93, when he died falling off a roof (no, I don't understand why a 93 year old would take it upon himself to replace his own roof tiles).

I understand that the need is for a balance of temperature, humidity and airflow. From what I've read, temperature should be roughly between 50-60 degrees F/8-15 degrees C. To this end, I've secured a cheap secondhand wine cooler with a temperature range of 45-65 degrees F/7-18 degrees C. The internal capacity is 132 litres, so it's not huge. Next up comes air flow - I'll finish off with humidity because that's my problem. For airflow, I am wondering whether regular use - I'll be checking on things in there often - will be enough, given the small overall capacity. As an alternative, I can rig up a small fan.

My concern is over humidity. I've read a lot about how other people solve their issues, but it is all a bit confusing, mainly referring to controllers from the States side. I've looked for ones in the UK, but I'm not really sure what I'm looking for! I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of a hygrometer to check the RH when the unit is running, but following a chat with a refridgeration engineer I am led to believe that wine coolers have very low RH.

Given the small capacity of the cooler, is a humidifier going to be overkill, or is it necessary? If so, what are the options available in the UK that don't require a good understanding of electronics to set-up? I've read so many different opinions that my head is spinning (that could also be the home brew), and when I think I've found something of use it tends to be from someone that's running a unit I could fit my entire kitchen in!

Apologies again, as I know humidity has been done to death, but many of the answers I've read just confuse me more.

Many thanks in advance!

[wheels]

I'd do nothing until you get your hygrometer. Even then you won't be able to really judge what the humidity will be like until you put some salami/salumi in there to dry.

In respect of airflow: I'd do nothing unless a problem presents itself when you start using the cooler.

Alternatives to humidifiers for increasing the humidity include: a tray of saturated salt, wet towel, or Cigar Humidor Humidity Beads.

I'm sure that other members will add to this.

Phil

[The Idiot]

Thanks Phil,

I probably am getting a bit ahead of myself, but from initial searches most of the necessary bits and pieces come from overseas or slow-to-react sources. I keep finding bits of meat knocking around and doing things with them, and I know I'm going to have one of those 'oh balls' moments!

I only panicked because I read a piece by someone swearing that wine coolers were the devil incarnate, and all my meat would be fit for was burning!!!

[DiggingDogFarm]

If you find that you need to increase the humidity, and you likely will, I'd try the saturate salt solution (with adequate surface area)...that should provide ~75% humidity regardless of the temperature (0C-80C)

~Martin

[The Idiot]

So much for my confidence! I received the hygrometer today, and it shows 68-70 per cent RH, albeit in an empty fridge. At first I figured it was a piece of junk, because the temperature was showing as 4 degrees C, despite being at the highest setting which should be around 18 degrees C. Okay, the unit's empty so it might run lower.

I used a rather expensive mercury thermometer I have for chillis in the greenhouse, and it confirmed that the digital jobby is only 0.5 degrees out. Therefore, the hygrometer might be not too far out!

The wine cooler, however, is way too cold, so I've been on-line and purchased an STC-1000 temperature controller.

One thing is for certain; I don't see this being the end of it!!!

[wheels]

Umm, 68% RH @ 4°C is about 43% (ish) RH @ 12°C. But don't forget that at 12°C the fridge motor will be on less so the RH should increase. Also, adding product will make a big difference.

Phil

[LouisJ]

Hi,

im interested to know where you read about wine coolers being the 'devils incarnate' as i too am thinking of getting hold of one without a compressor to start air drying chorizo. Would be good to have as much info on the pitfalls as possible.

I had an idea about shielding the chorizo from direct air-flow from the fans at the back of the cooler by using a sheet of perspex with some holes drilled into it. the sheet wouldn't be the entire height of the interior of the cooler, but also have a gap at the top and bottom, just sufficient to stop the fan blowing directly onto the chorizo but still allow air to get around the rest of the cooler. Would this stop the problem that most people find of premature case hardening in wine coolers?

What do people think?

Louis

[larry]

I have a wine cooler that would hold about 40 bottles. It has a compressor and the back wall is always wet. I get readings in the 60-80% range for humidity when I have product hanging. I've noticed a big difference in humidity readings based on the temperature of the room. I have the cooler in a finished basement, which is kept under 60F when no one is living down there, but is at 66F when there is. The humidity level varies with how often the compressor runs, so that is worth watching. My cooler temp. is a fairly constant 54F.

I have no fan, but I have the door open twice a day, when I'm recording the temp and humidity, and that seems to be enough airflow with a compressor driven unit.

[The Idiot]

Having had mine running for a bit, I've noticed that if the temperature is around the 7-10 degrees C (44-50 F), relative humidity is around 50-60% - that's with a large pan of water in the bottom, and there was only two duck breasts hanging in there (and a packet of sausage skins)!

However, by adjusting the temperature upwards to around 14 degrees C (57 F) the RH actually went up to around 75-80%.

From what I understand, a rise in temperature should bring it down, shouldn't it?

Mine is a Baumatic BWE41BL, which apparently does have a fan, but I certainly can't hear or see one!!!

[NCPaul]

Here is a table of RH vs. temp.:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7742

If I'm reading it correctly, you are seeing the opposite of what it would predict. Maybe the fan is causing this effect?

[larry]

Witn the temperature adjusted upward, the compressor would not kick on as often, allowing the humidity to rise a little. Also, the water in the bottom would be that much warmer, and evaporation would increase, so it's not inconceivable that raising the temperature would cause a rise in humidity. It's a small space with a number of variables. If you get sustained higher humidity readings for a week or so with the higher temperature, you can probably depend on it. I have been writing side notes in my temp/humidity log whenever I change anything, so I can figure out what happened and what caused it. I even write down the fact that I moved the thermometer/hygrometer higher or lower in the chamber, as that also causes the readings to vary.

[The Idiot]

I'm off to San Sebastian for a week on the Basque pig meat and cider tomorrow (just showing off), but when I'm back I'll try a few tests. I'm certainly seeing better RH at around 55-60F (14-16C) than when its cooler!